24 February 2017
Sols 1620-1622: A weekend full of remote sensing
On Sol 1619, MAHLI experienced a fault and did not finish its planned imaging, so unfortunately the subsequent arm and mobility activities did not execute. That means that the weekend plan is devoted to MAHLI recovery activities and a lot of remote sensing. I was the GSTL today, and although it was a challenging start to the day, we were able to put together a very full plan.
Sol 1619: Wrapping up dune stop #2
We are wrapping up our observations at stop #2 of the second Bagnold dunes campaign. In the Sol 1619 plan, we start off with Navcam and Mastcam atmospheric observations, followed by a ChemCam observation of the sandy target “Leighton.” Mastcam will then document Leighton and the autonomously identified ChemCam target from the post-drive science block on Sol 1617.
22 February 2017
Sol 1618: A second stop at the dunes
The drive on Sol 1617 went well, and Curiosity drove 20 m to the south, which put us in a good position for another stop at the Bagnold Dunes. This site was selected to enable comparison of the leading and trailing edges of the dunes. Today’s plan includes ChemCam observations of disturbed and undisturbed soil, at targets named “Tomhegan” and “Macworth.”
Sol 1617: Re-attempt the drive
The drive planned for Sol 1616 halted early, apparently because the right rear wheel got stuck between two rocks. The mobility team concluded that it is safe to continue, so the drive planned for Sol 1617 is essentially the same as the previously-planned drive.
17 February 2017
Sols 1614-1616: Delayed planning
The Sol 1612 drive went well, and there is a nice bedrock block in the arm workspace. We received a bit more data than expected before planning started, but not enough to finalize drive plans and contact science targets. As expected, we received more data during planning, including color images of the arm workspace that were very useful in selecting contact science targets. The late arrival of the necessary data …
16 February 2017
Sols 1612-1613: Planning challenges
After a 23-meter drive on Sol 1611, MSL again ended up in an area with many bedrock blocks partly covered by dark sand.
15 February 2017
Sol 1611: Patch Mountain
Curiosity drove almost 27 meters on Sol 1610 to a location with several potential targets, so the planning team spent some time discussing priorities.
14 February 2017
Sol 1610: Finishing up at Ireson Hill
Curiosity’s activities planned for Sol 1609 went well, and MAHLI focus data indicate that high-resolution images of Perry were successfully acquired. So we’re ready to drive away from Ireson Hill after some more remote sensing of the rocks in front of the rover.
13 February 2017
Sol 1609: Passagassawakeag and other challenges
Curiosity drove a little over 9 meters on Sol 1608, to get the vehicle closer to Ireson Hill and the dark blocks that have rolled down from the top of the hill.
12 February 2017
Sols 1606-1608: Studying Ireson Hill
Curiosity’s drive on Sol 1605 was successful, putting us in a good position for weekend science on the northeast side of Ireson Hill. The sol 1606 plan starts off with ChemCam observations of “Quimby,” which appears to be a piece of cap rock that has tumbled down from the top of the hill, and a bedrock target “Quoddy.”
