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14 April 2019
Sol 2379: Wrapping up at Aberlady
With Curiosity’s time at Aberlady coming to a close, the search for our next drill target is in full swing. On Friday, the team discussed two different ‘bump’ options that are near our current workspace and may be drillable.
13 April 2019
Sols 2376-2378: Refining Composition and Mineralogy at Aberlady
We are continuing the sequence of Curiosity drill activities at Aberlady. We will be collecting APXS of the dump pile with two offset observations to better understand any compositional variations, which are hinted at by the color variations observed in the drill fines.
12 April 2019
Sol 2375: CheMin Success at Aberlady!
Today we received the initial results from CheMin‘s analysis of the ‘Aberlady’ drill sample, and they look great! This means that CheMin received enough sample and we do not need to deliver more material.
11 April 2019
Sol 2374: Taking some time for remote science
This week’s drill activities have been very power-intensive for Curiosity. So we’ll spend today, Sol 2374, catching up on some remote science observations while waiting for data from yesterday’s CheMin run to arrive.
10 April 2019
Sol 2373: To sample or not to sample? That is the question.
After looking at our exciting new drill hole, ‘Aberlady,’ a few interesting observations were made: the drilled block lifted up a centimeter or two as the drill was retracted, there might be some evidence of a horizontal calcium sulfate (i.e. gypsum) vein within the drill hole…
8 April 2019
Sol 2372: Drill Success at Aberlady!
Our drill attempt at target ‘Aberlady’ this weekend was a success! In today’s plan we are continuing our investigation of Aberlady and the surrounding areas and preparing to deliver our drilled sample to our onboard instruments.
7 April 2019
Sol 2369-2371: This is why we came to Gale
We are go for full drill! Today’s plan will see Curiosity execute the final preparatory steps and then drill at our ‘Aberlady’ bedrock target (seen here underneath the rover’s arm and turret during the pre-drill APXS measurement) .
6 April 2019
Sol 2368: Let the Drilling Proceed!
Today marks the conclusion of the MSL Science Team Meeting currently taking place at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. These meetings are where scientists and engineers can come together to discuss the ongoing activities associated with the Curiosity rover.
2 April 2019
Sol 2367: Luck be an Aberlady
Curiosity’s short drive on Monday was successful, bringing two candidate drill targets into closer, clearer view. The prime candidate (image above), ‘Aberlady,’ appeared to have the same color, structure and texture as the Sol 2365 contact science target ‘Longannet.’
Sols 2365-2366: Edging closer and closer to a new drill target!
One of the primary goals of the Curiosity mission, to determine the composition of a region which appears to be rich in clays (informally known as ‘Glen Torridon’) is getting closer to being achieved.
