Curiosity is making good progress through the Murray Buttes, and on Sol 1439 we drove another 34 m to the south.  Today’s two-sol plan fits our familiar routine: a pre-drive science block, drive, post-drive imaging for targeting, and an untargeted science block on the second sol.  The plan starts with Mastcam and ChemCam observations of the targets “Viana,” “Ukuma,” and “Waku Kungo” to assess the composition and sedimentary structures in the local bedrock.  We’ll also acquire a large Mastcam mosaic to document some of the buttes.  After the drive we’ll take some post-drive imaging for targeting and context, as well as an autonomously selected ChemCam target using AEGIS.  The second sol is mostly devoted to atmospheric monitoring, including a ChemCam passive sky activity, and Navcam observations to search for dust devils and clouds.  If we keep up this driving pace, we could be looking for our next drill target as early as next Wednesday!

By Lauren Edgar

Dates of planned rover activities described in these reports are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status.