15 June 2016
Sols 1373-1374: No touch, just go!
The 32-meter Sol 1371 drive completed exactly as planned, giving the rover a good view of the path toward the south. So another ~30-meter drive is planned for Sol 1373, after some remote science observations. We had the option of using the DRT and taking MAHLI images of the brush spot before the drive, but the science team decided to acquire more remote science observations rather than brushing the Stimson …
13 June 2016
Sols 1371-1372: Driving south
The weekend drive went well, and Curiosity drove ~ 32 m to the south. This southward path will eventually take us through a gap in the active sand dunes that will be easier for Curiosity to traverse. We’re planning another drive today, which will take us in the direction of the above Navcam image. Today’s two-sol plan consists of several ChemCam and Mastcam observations of the Murray formation to assess …
12 June 2016
Sols 1368-1370: On the road again
We received the engineering data that we needed to proceed with the final science activities at the Oudam drill site. Today’s plan is focused on analyzing the pre-sieve dump pile and getting on the road again. The three-sol plan starts by moving the arm out of the way so we can target the workspace. First we’ll acquire a ChemCam passive observation on the pre-sieve dump pile, followed by several ChemCam …
8 June 2016
Sols 1366-1367: Opportunistic contact science
The day started off with some changes to the sol path due to some holes in the downlink. Unfortunately some engineering camera and MAHLI images from Sol 1364 were not fully transmitted, so the team worked quickly to rearrange the intended activities this week. Fortunately that also meant that we could add in some opportunistic DRT, MAHLI and APXS activities on Sol 1366. The two-sol plan starts off with ChemCam …
6 June 2016
Sols 1364-1365: Analyzing drill sample
The Oudam drill campaign continues to go well, with sample acquired and ready for analysis. Planning is now restricted, so we are planning 2 sols today. On Sol 1364, ChemCam will acquire passive spectra of the drill tailings and a LIBS raster of the wall of the drill hole. Later that afternoon, the unsieved portion of the drill sample will be dumped on the ground and imaged by MAHLI from …
5 June 2016
Sols 1361-1363: Drilling Oudam
The MSL Rover Planners have all the data they need to drill (no “mini-drill” required), so the plan for this weekend focuses on drilling into the Oudam bedrock target. The full drill is scheduled for Sol 1361, followed by MAHLI and Mastcam images of the new hole. The rover will then rest until Sol 1362, when the drill sample will be transferred to the scoop for Mastcam imaging and sieved. …
2 June 2016
Sol 1360: Preparing to drill
Arm work continues to go well, so preparation for drilling and sample analysis is the focus of the Sol 1360 plan. First, CheMin will dump the Lubango and Okoruso drill samples out of their cells. Then ChemCam and Mastcam will observe a bright vein named “Charlottenfelder” and a bedrock target called “Chameis Bay” before arm activities resume. MAHLI will take close-up images of the Oudam drill target and a single …
1 June 2016
Sol 1359: Cleaning CHIMRA (Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis device)
The remaining Okoruso drill sample was successfully dumped onto the ground on Sol 1358, so MSL is ready for a new drill sample. In preparation, the Sol 1359 plan includes an arm preload test on “Oudam,” the next drill target, and cleaning out CHIMRA with imaging to verify that everything is clean. Before all the arm activities, ChemCam and Mastcam will observe the Okoruso dump pile and a bedrock target …
31 May 2016
Sol 1358: A Simple Plan
Our activities over the weekend went well, and after a couple of complicated multi-sol plans we get to do a nice simple one-sol plan today! The Sol 1358 plan starts with ChemCam observations of the targets “Otiiha,” “Otjihase,” “Otjikoto,” and “Otjimbingwe” to assess variations in the bedrock chemistry. Mastcam will document those targets, and then we will dump out our remaining Okoruso sample. APXS then has an overnight observation of …
30 May 2016
Sol 1355-1357: Coordinating with MRO
Our drive went well and Curiosity is now sitting on a nice patch of the Murray formation, putting us in a good position for a very busy holiday weekend! On Sol 1355, ChemCam has observations of the targets “Auchas,” “Kaisosi,” “Inamagando,” and “Horingbaai.” Mastcam will document those targets and then do some multispectral observations of the targets “Kunjas” and “Navachab,” plus a mosaic of the contact between the Murray and …
