You are browsing the archive for Curiosity.
30 June 2015
Sol 1030: Bumping to Missoula
By Lauren Edgar Curiosity is still investigating the contact between the Pahrump and Stimson units. Over the weekend, Curiosity acquired MAHLI images on a coarse-grained rock named “Big Arm” (above). The goal today is to characterize some of the veins that occur above and below the contact, and then bump towards a target named “Missoula” to assess the contact at that location. The plan today includes ChemCam observations of …
28 June 2015
Sols 1027-1029: Resuming tactical operations
Mars has passed through solar conjunction, and reliable communication with the spacecraft at Mars is possible again. As planning started this morning, we were still waiting for more data to be relayed by the orbiters to confirm that MSL is ready to resume science planning, but proceeded with tactical planning so that we would be ready when the data arrived. The Sol 1027 plan starts with Mastcam observations of …
2 June 2015
Sols 1003-1004: Last tactical planning before solar conjunction
Today is the last day of MSL tactical operations until after solar conjunction, so this will probably be the last MSL update for a few weeks. Ryan Anderson and I are both on shift as payload uplink lead today, but because the instruments we’re representing (ChemCam and MAHLI/MARDI, respectively) are already standing down in preparation for conjunction, our efforts have been focused on planning for the resumption of activities after …
31 May 2015
Sol 1000-1002: Photometry
by Ken Herkenhoff We’re planning 3 sols of MSL activities today, starting with Sol 1000! As we continue to prepare for solar conjunction, arm motion is allowed in this plan, but no contact science. The plan starts with ChemCam and Mastcam observations of a platy rock called “Newland” and a Navcam search for dust devils. Then the first of several Mastcam/Navcam photometry observations is planned. The goal of these …
28 May 2015
Sol 999: Last MAHLI images before conjunction
by Ken Herkenhoff Today is the last day we can plan MAHLI activities before the operational stand-down for solar conjunction, to ensure that we have time to confirm that MAHLI‘s dust cover is safely closed. So we worked to include as many MAHLI images as possible in the Sol 999 plan, making for a rather hectic day for me as MAHLI uplink lead. The plan includes a full set of …
27 May 2015
Sol 998: Contact Science at Marias Pass
By Lauren Edgar A short bump on Sol 997 put Curiosity in a great position to investigate a few different rock units in Marias Pass, using the instruments on the rover’s arm. The 2.5 m drive brings our total odometry to 10,599 m. With the upcoming solar conjunction (Mars will be on the opposite side of the sun from the Earth, so we can’t communicate with the rover for most …
Sol 997: Preparing for contact science
By Lauren Edgar Curiosity spent the weekend characterizing the terrain and bedrock exposed in Marias Pass. Curiosity drove 33 m further into Marias Pass, bringing our total odometry to 10,596 m. The drive set us up perfectly to investigate the contact between two different types of bedrock – the underlying Pahrump unit and the overlying Stimson unit. Today’s plan is focused on characterizing the contact in this new location, and …
25 May 2015
Sols 993-996: A long weekend at Marias Pass
By Lauren Edgar On Sol 992 Curiosity took a short drive into Marias Pass to get a better look at the terrain ahead. The 6 m drive on Sol 992 brought our total odometry to 10,562 m. It also put Curiosity in a great position for targeted science over the long holiday weekend. The 4 sol plan includes some large Mastcam mosaics to characterize the terrain and the contact between …
22 May 2015
Sol 992: Marias Pass
By Lauren Edgar Curiosity conquered the hill on Sol 991, and we were rewarded with a beautiful view of Marias Pass. The 22 meter drive on Sol 991 brings our total odometry to 10,556 meters. In today’s plan, Curiosity will acquire ChemCam and Mastcam observations on the targets “Elk” and “Bull” to characterize the bright bedrock and a nearby boulder. We’ll also take several Mastcam mosaics to document the local …
21 May 2015
Sol 991: Taking the high road
By Lauren Edgar After assessing a few different drive paths to deal with the challenging terrain, the team decided to drive uphill to avoid crossing the ripples near Jocko Butte. On Sol 990, Curiosity drove 53 m back towards Mt. Shields, which puts our total odometry at 10,749 m. The goal of today’s plan is to climb uphill towards an interesting geologic contact. It’s the same contact that we would …
