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28 November 2016
Sol 1534: Preparing to drill
Curiosity had a productive Thanksgiving weekend and now we are getting ready to drill at “Precipice.” Sol 1534 begins with MAHLI imaging of the post-sieve dump pile from the previous drill sample (“Sebina”). Then we have a short science block to acquire a ChemCam passive observation and a Mastcam multispectral observation of the dump pile.
25 November 2016
Sols 1531-1533: Thanksgiving at Precipice
While the rover is busy with all of that, the Americans on the MSL team will be celebrating Thanksgiving, and thinking about how thankful we are that we get to work on such an amazing project with such great colleagues!
22 November 2016
Sols 1528-1530: Fifteen Kilometers!
Our weekend plan for Curiosity went as expected, including a ~16 meter drive which brings us to our next drill target: “Precipice.” That drive also brings our total drive distance from Bradbury Landing to just over 15 km! We have a three sol plan today as we head into the long holiday weekend and prepare for drilling next week.
19 November 2016
Sols 1525-1527: Contact science at Sutton Island and approaching the next drill site
Mars as close as your nose.
16 November 2016
Sols 1523-1524: Investigating Sutton Island
Today’s plan is focused on contact science to study the grain size, stratification, and chemistry of the “Sutton Island” outcrop.
14 November 2016
Sols 1516-1520: Playing in the Sand
We’re continuing to make steady progress, with successful drives interspersed with plenty of good science.
7 November 2016
Sols 1514-1515: Touch and Go at Southwest Harbor
Our weekend plan was successful, with lots of good observations and a 43 meter drive. Today’s 2-sol plan starts out with a brief contact science block, during which MAHLI will observe the target “Southwest Harbor.” After that, we have a remote sensing block. ChemCam will observe some nodules in the targets “Asticou” and “Bass Harbor Head.” Mastcam will document those targets, as well as the Sol 1513 ChemCam AEGIS target. …
6 November 2016
Sols 1511-1513: Brushing Penobscot
Sol 1513 starts with another ChemCam observation using AEGIS and Mastcam measurements of atmospheric dust opacity. Finally, CheMin will read out the data resulting from the recent analysis of empty sample cells and MARDI will acquire another image during twilight. The rover will then get some well-earned rest and charge her batteries overnight. It was a busy morning for me and the other MAHLI/MARDI uplink leads, but we’re happy with the plan!
2 November 2016
Sols 1509-1510: No contact science
Planning is restricted, so we are planning 2 sols today. On Sol 1509, Navcam will search for dust devils and ChemCam will acquire passive spectra of “Ellsworth,” another target in the area about 500 meters away where orbital data indicate the presence of clay minerals.
1 November 2016
Sol 1508: A sandy spot
Mastcam will acquire a full multispectral set of images of “Thunder Hole,” an area about 500 meters away that shows evidence for clays in data acquired from orbit. Then ChemCam and Mastcam will observe a bedrock target named “Ingraham Point.”
