Editing Pallas Deep-Core Survey (section)

=== Surface Operations and Initial Drilling (2096–2097 CE) ===

The survey fleet made orbital insertion at Pallas in March 2096 CE. [[Survey Station Pallas-Alpha]] was assembled over six weeks on the northern hemisphere near the edge of what early surveys had called the Pallene Anomaly region. Initial surface operations were marked by recurring anchor-drift incidents in which survey equipment migrated slowly across the regolith under the combined influence of micro-seismic activity and electrostatic surface charging. Oduya's team revised the anchor design twice in the field before achieving stable rig placement.

Shallow-core drilling began in July 2096 CE. The first 800 metres of subsurface revealed a fractured silicate zone of moderate density, broadly consistent with pre-mission projections but offering no commercial-grade deposits at accessible depth. Vasanthakumar elected to continue to intermediate depth rather than relocating the primary drill site, a decision later supported by the discovery of a transitional contact layer at approximately 1.1 km depth indicating an abrupt shift in material composition.

By late 2096 CE, the crew had established three secondary drilling sites at surface distances of 12 to 40 km from Pallas-Alpha, linked by a surface traverse system using low-thrust tethered hoppers. Secondary site data was relayed to the primary station via a short-range mesh network coordinated through the [[Deimos Relay Array]], which provided burst-mode communications with the inner system during alignment windows.