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11 January 2016
Sols 1221-1222: Back on track
MSL has recovered from the motor controller anomaly, so tactical operations are back on track, with a drive to the dune sampling area planned for Sol 1221. I helped the ChemCam team select targets for LIBS and RMI observations today. Before the drive, ChemCam will observe a target named “Probeer” on a patch of bedrock in front of the rover. Mastcam will also image Probeer and acquire a stereo mosaic …
10 January 2016
Sols 1218-1220: Change in plans
We came in this morning curious to see how the Sol 1217 bump and scuff went, but unfortunately there was an anomaly that prevented any use of motors during the plan. No motors meant no drive and no scuff, and most of our planned activities did not occur. So today turned into a recovery day – first trying to assess what happened and why it happened, and then figuring out …
7 January 2016
Sol 1217: Where to sample?
On Sol 1216 Curiosity drove 43 m toward the Namib Dune sampling location. That meant that today we had to decide on our final sampling spot, and there were many different factors to consider. I was the GSTL today, and it was a busy morning trying to figure out our top science priorities. We eventually settled on a location that met all of our science objectives: a sharp-crested ripple that …
6 January 2016
Sol 1216: Looking forward to sampling and scuffing
On Sol 1215, Curiosity drove 67 m toward the Namib Dune sampling location. The desired location is visible in the middle of the above Navcam image. Today’s plan includes another drive to get into position for sampling and “scuffing” (using a rover wheel to dig a small transect in the sand). Science activities today include ChemCam and Mastcam observations to monitor the composition and opacity of the atmosphere, and a …
5 January 2016
Sol 1215: Driving to a sampling location
After wrapping up our holiday investigation on the lee side of Namib Dune, it’s time to move to a new location along the dune to sample the chemistry and mineralogy of the sand. On Sol 1214 we checked out our wheels (see the MAHLI wheel image above, with Namib Dune and Mt. Sharp in the background), and decided to go for a long drive today. The plan is drive ~ …
4 January 2016
Sol 1214: Catching up after the holidays
While the science team took a break from operations over the holidays, we sent up plenty of commands to keep Curiosity busy over Sols 1205-1213. Curiosity acquired a number of change detection and environmental monitoring observations over the holidays, and we’re just starting to assess all of the great data that was returned. In today’s plan we’ll wrap up our investigation at this particular location (on the lee side of …
19 December 2015
Sols 1198-1199: Dune imaging and dumping the “Greenhorn” sample
On Sol 1196 Curiosity drove an additional 33 m closer to the lee side of “Namib Dune.” The Mastcam images that we took earlier this week are coming down now, and they reveal a lot of great details about the dune morphology. Although today is a weekend plan, we’re only planning 2 sols because Sunday is a soliday (a day without planning to allow Earth and Mars schedules to sync …
17 December 2015
Sols 1196-1197: Aeolian paradise
On Sol 1194 Curiosity drove 47 m around the lee side of “Namib Dune.” The latest Navcam images reveal many beautiful aeolian features on the slipface and interdune deposits. In today’s 2-sol plan, we’ll continue driving around “Namib Dune.” On the first sol we’ll use ChemCam to assess the composition and grain size of a ripple. Then we’ll use Mastcam to image the brink of the dune and its slipface …
15 December 2015
Sols 1194-1195: Driving around “Namib Dune”
Over the weekend Curiosity drove 42 m closer to “Namib Dune, and the view is pretty spectacular. We’ve received a lot of beautiful Mastcam and Navcam images, which can be found here. In today’s 2-sol plan, we’ll continue driving around the “Namib Dune” to get to the lee side. It was a pretty straightforward day for me as GSTL, and Ken as the MAHLI/MARDI PUL. On the first sol Curiosity …
7 December 2015
Sols 1187-1188: Analyzing bedrock and sand
After successfully completing a mobility test last week (as seen by our wheel tracks through this sand patch), Curiosity drove ~35 m toward a dune that is now named “Namib.” We’ve accomplished a lot of reconnaissance imaging of the dunes, and we’re looking ahead to monitoring the dune slipface and sampling the chemistry and mineralogy of an active dune. We’ve also acquired some beautiful close-up images of the sand grains, …
