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11 October 2016
Sols 1487-1488: Cleaning CheMin
While some of us enjoyed the Columbus Day holiday, Curiosity continued working on Mars.
9 October 2016
Sols 1484-1486: Dropping off samples to SAM
The Curiosity rover made another 40 meters of progress up the flank of Mt. Sharp on Sol 1482, and there were multiple bedrock blocks within reach of the arm for the weekend plan.
5 October 2016
Sols 1482-1483: Another touch and go
Curiosity drove another 35 meters on Sol 1480, stopping at a location with a layered bedrock exposure right in front of the rover. So the tactical planning team decided to take advantage of the touch and go option again. MAHLI will take pictures of the layered target “Cassongue” and of the rover wheels before the arm is stowed in preparation for another drive on Sol 1482.
3 October 2016
Sols 1480-1481: Touch and Go!
Curiosity drove 12.5 meters on Sol 1478, to an area with lots of nodules in the bedrock. The tactical planning team decided to exercise the “touch and go” option, so the arm will be deployed for contact science before driving away on Sol 1480.
1 October 2016
Sols 1477-1479: Rocky Road
Everything went well in our previous plan and we are making slow but steady progress over rough terrain toward our next drill location. We should get there by next weekend! Today’s plan starts off with a bunch of remote sensing on Sol 1477. Navcam has an atmospheric observation, followed by ChemCam analysis of the targets “Chadibe”, “Bobonong”, and “Dukwi”. Mastcam will document those targets once ChemCam is done with them, …
28 September 2016
Sols 1475-1476: Finishing up on Jwaneng
Finally, the rover will get some sleep in preparation for what will likely be a busy weekend.
27 September 2016
Sol 1474: Murray cross-bedding
The 16-meter drive on Sol 1473 completed perfectly, placing the rover in position for contact science on an outcrop of cross-bedded Murray bedrock. The primary goal for Sol 1474 is to characterize the cross-bedding and measure grain sizes using MAHLI, and we were able to squeeze in a lot of other good observations. Before the arm is deployed, ChemCam will measure the chemical composition of the “Kopong” bedrock target, Mastcam …
26 September 2016
Sol 1473: In search of a contact science location
Over the weekend Curiosity drove 43 m to the south, in search of a good place for contact science. Unfortunately, our present location is in a small valley, and we don’t have many good rock targets in the workspace. After evaluating the Mastcam drive direction imaging, we decided to drive further to the southwest. This should put us in front of a small exposure of cross-bedding for contact science in …
25 September 2016
Sol 1470-1472: Change of Plans
Our drive went nicely and we are already about halfway to our next drill site! Our original plan to head toward an outcrop called “Karasburg” had to be changed because it turned out to be covered in sand and not very steep, making it a less-desirable science target. So instead we are heading toward a location where (we hope) the stratigraphy will be better-exposed. For this weekend’s plan, we start …
22 September 2016
Sol 1469: Leaving Murray Buttes
MSL drove over 87 meters on Sol 1468, toward an outcrop named “Karasburg.” The Sol 1469 plan includes another drive toward Karasburg, after ChemCam and Mastcam sample a local bedrock target named “Cacolo” and a patch of brighter material dubbed “Malembo.” Mastcam will also acquire mosaics of the Karasburg area both before and after the drive. Following the typical post-drive activities, AEGIS will again be used to autonomously select a …
