You are browsing the archive for Curiosity.
9 August 2015
Sols 1068-1070: Back at Missoula
Curiosity had a successful drive of 19 meters on Sol 1067, and we are currently back at Missoula for more targeted science. The goal is to perform a detailed study of the Stimson-Pahrump contact, and to determine the relative timing of some of the veins that we’ve observed here. The three-sol plan is a busy one, with a lot of ChemCam analyses. On Sol 1068 Curiosity will acquire ChemCam LIBS …
7 August 2015
Sol 1067: Bumping to Missoula… sound familiar?
With a familiar blog title, I report that in today’s plan we’re bumping towards the Missoula outcrop. On Sol 1066 Curiosity drove ~ 25 m back toward Missoula, but we still have a little further to go. However, the science team took advantage of our current position to collect some additional data on the Stimson unit (shown in the above Navcam image). Today’s plan includes ChemCam and Mastcam observations of …
5 August 2015
Sol 1066: Happy 3rd Anniversary on Mars!
By Lauren Edgar Tonight marks the third anniversary of Curiosity’s landing in Gale crater. It’s been a great three years, full of a number of important science discoveries. Check out this video and webpage for a summary of some of the top science results so far. To celebrate starting her 4th year on Mars, Curiosity is driving away from the Lion outcrop, and back toward the Missoula outcrop. I feel like …
4 August 2015
Sol 1065: Last Call at Lion
By Lauren Edgar It’s been a great couple of weeks at the Lion outcrop, but it’s time to move on. After a successful investigation that included observations by almost every science instrument, we’re getting ready to drive away tomorrow. That means that today (and tomorrow before we drive) is the last call for science observations. So we put together a full plan for Sol 1066. In the morning we’ll …
3 August 2015
Sol 1064: Dump pre-sieve sample
The activities planned for last weekend completed successfully, including sample dropoff to CheMin (shown in image) and analysis of the minerals present. So the Sol 1064 plan includes dumping the portion of the drill sample that has not been sieved and Mastcam, ChemCam, MAHLI, and APXS observations of the dump pile. ChemCam and Mastcam will also observe nearby targets “Martz” and “Mountain Home.” MAHLI will image the drill hole, tailings …
2 August 2015
Sols 1061-1063: Sample dropoff to CheMin
This morning, the MSL operations team was very happy to see that drilling into Buckskin was successful! The weekend plan therefore has more arm activities, including transferring the sample to the scoop for inspection. But first, the ChemCam RMI will take pictures of the new drill hole and Mastcam will image a potential location for eventually dumping the sample. The sample will be sieved and a portion of the fine-grained …
30 July 2015
Sol 1060: GO for drilling!
By Lauren Edgar It’s another exciting day on Mars! Curiosity is investigating some high-silica targets at an outcrop named “Lion.” The team selected the “Buckskin” target to drill, and we successfully completed a mini drilling test yesterday (shown in the above MAHLI image). That means that today we’re going for the FULL drill hole. Today’s plan is focused on the drilling activity, and a lot of imaging to document the …
29 July 2015
Sol 1059: Drill Testing and Analyzing "Ch-paa-qn"
Today the main event is a “mini-start hole”, which is the name for a new type of initial drilling test that we are trying out on the target “Buckskin”. This test will drill a small hole in the rock to help determine whether it is safe to go ahead with the full hole. In addition to that test, we are planning a detailed study of the target “Ch-paa-qn” which means …
28 July 2015
Sol 1057-1058: Getting Ready to Drill Buckskin
The “bump” over the weekend was successful, so we are right where we want to be to attempt drilling at “Buckskin” in the “Lion” area. I was on duty as ChemCam sPUL (science payload uplink lead) today, and it was a fun day to be on duty. Sometimes it can be stressful trying to make sure that all the settings are correct and that the instrument will be safe, but …
26 July 2015
Sol 1055-1056: Closing in on High-Silica Targets
The main priority in today’s plan is to nudge the rover a bit closer to the target “Buckskin”, which is in the area where we have discovered rocks high in silica and hydrogen. But before we do that, ChemCam and Mastcam will observe the targets “Marent”, “Pilcher”, and “Twinkle”, all of which may also have high silica. Navcam will also search for dust devils and do some atmospheric monitoring. On …
