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24 May 2019
Sols 2416-2418: Drill No Go – time for Plan B!
At the start of today’s planning, the Geology theme group (GEO) had a major decision to make, whether to drill here at ‘Broad Cairn’ or not. Unfortunately, APXS data indicated that this rock lies just outside of our desired compositional parameters, with lower potassium (K) than we would have liked.
Sol 2415: Cairn today, drill tomorrow?
After a short six meter drive to ‘Hallaig,’ the science team began the investigation of a new potential drill target named ‘Broad Cairn,’ a flat spot on a bright block in the clay-bearing unit. To confirm whether this location is high in potassium (K), the Curiosity rover was commanded to clean off the spot with the dust removal tool (DRT)…
22 May 2019
Sol 2414: Curiosity’s Potassium "Special K" Campaign
Curiosity is investigating an area that is very high in potassium, and we’re trying to characterize the distribution and the source of that potassium. Yesterday we did a short drive to get one of these potassium-rich rocks into our workspace – ‘Grampian Mountains.’
21 May 2019
Sol 2413: Back to work after a weekend at the beach
After spending the weekend playing in the sand of a nearby ripple field, Curiosity is back on the move, searching for our next drill target. Since nothing in our current workspace stuck out as an obvious drill candidate, we planned a ~10 meter drive south towards an area that may be more promising.
20 May 2019
Sol 2410-2412: Grains, up close!
Curiosity is continuing the investigations at ‘Rigg.’ The image in this update shows a close up taken by the MAHLI Hand Lens imager to allow the detailed investigation of the materials that make up the field of ripples.
17 May 2019
Sol 2409: Playing in the Sand
The sol 2408 plan ended with the rover using its front wheel to dig a small trench in a ripple at the ripple field named ‘Rigg.’ That means today’s plan is focused on studying what that scuff uncovered.
15 May 2019
Sol 2408: Touch-and-Go!
Now that we’re back on the road following our drill campaign at Kilmarie, Curiosity is planning a quick ‘touch-and-go’ activity today to characterize the local bedrock.
14 May 2019
Sol 2407: Turning our wheels
We’re driving today! …but only about three meters.After weeks of staying put while we completed drilling activities at ‘Kilmarie,’ Curiosity is stretching her wheels.
10 May 2019
Sols 2404-2406: (Starting to) Drive Away!
On Sol 2405, we will take a MAHLI selfie of the rover, giving us a nice view of the ‘Aberlady’ and Kilmarie drill holes and the landscape of the Glen Torridon region.
