3 September 2015
Sol 1094: Turning in to Bridger Basin
The drive on Sol 1093 went well, and Curiosity drove ~15 m towards Bridger Basin. In the Sol 1094 plan, we’ll drive for ~30 m to round the turn into the basin, as we continue making our way through the Stimson unit. These rocks exhibit a lot of beautiful cross-bedding, as seen in the Sol 1093 Navcams. Today’s plan consists of ChemCam and Mastcam observations on the targets “Whitewater” and …
2 September 2015
Sol 1093: Leaving the Williams area
After successful contact science on the Stimson unit in the Williams area, it’s time to get back on the road. In today’s plan we’ll finish up a few activities at the Williams area, and then continue on our drive towards Bridger Basin and eventually the Bagnold Dunes. Today’s plan consists of ChemCam and Mastcam observations on the targets “Interlake,” “Ledger,” and “Mackay Dome.” Then we’ll image the “Ledger” target using …
1 September 2015
Sol 1092: Stimson Contact Science
Curiosity is currently investigating an outcrop of the Stimson unit. On Sol 1091, Curiosity acquired some low-resolution MAHLI images of the targets “Pentagon,” “Lebo,” “Ivanhoe,” and “Ledger” in order to plan more detailed imaging of those targets today. The Sol 1092 plan includes targeted remote sensing followed by more contact science. In the midday science block, we’ll acquire ChemCam and Mastcam on the targets “Rabbit Hills” and “Horseshoe Hills” to …
31 August 2015
Sol 1091: Lots of MAHLI targets
Planning is no longer restricted, but we had to start at 6:00 PDT this morning to give the operations team enough time to uplink commands by the time the rover expects them. Driving to work before sunrise reminded me of the sometimes odd times we had to wake up during the first 90 sols of the mission, when the entire operations team was on “Mars time.” The team is very …
30 August 2015
Sols 1089-1090: Stimson is Stunning
Curiosity is currently making her way through some beautiful exposures of the Stimson unit. The 6 m drive on Sol 1087 went well, and Curiosity is in a good position for possible contact science early next week. Today we’re planning 2-sols for the weekend (Sunday is a “soliday” to allow Earth and Mars schedules to sync back up). One of the main activities on Sol 1089 is dropping off part …
27 August 2015
Sols 1087-1088: Bright features
The complex, nearly 39-meter Sol 1085 drive completed successfully, leaving the rover in another target-rich area. Again, I helped pick targets for ChemCam observations–our favorites were on the brighter parts of the outcrop just south of the rover. The targets for ChemCam and Mastcam observations were named “Fitzpatrick,” “Keith,” and “Fred and George Creek.” Mastcam will also acquire 2 mosaics before the rover drives away on Sol 1087. Planning is …
24 August 2015
Sols 1085-1086: Rough road ahead
MSL had a good weekend, and returned lots of data including nice MAHLI images of Ravalli. The nearly 22-meter Sol 1083 drive completed as planned, and placed the rover near some nice rock outcrops. I helped the planning team select targets for ChemCam observations; we settled on two that were named “Tinder Box” and “Gordon.” Mastcam will acquire mosaics of these targets as well as “Centennial Range” and “Willow Ridge.” …
22 August 2015
Sols 1082-1084: Nice view
I’m having another very busy day as SOWG Chair, as we are planning lots of activities to keep the rover busy this weekend. The vehicle is on a local high spot that gives us a spectacular view of the terrain ahead. But there aren’t many targets in front of the rover that are suitable for contact science, so we selected only one (called “Ravalli”) to investigate using MAHLI and APXS. …
20 August 2015
Sols 1080-1081: Official New Selfie!
We had another successful drive on 1079, going about 29 meters this time. The plan for sols 1080-1081 is pretty similar to the previous plan: remote sensing and a drive on the first day, and untargeted science on the second day. On sol 1080, ChemCam has observations of the targets “Red Lodge,” “Mowry,” and “Rosebud,” with accompanying Mastcam images. Mastcam will also take a 19-frame stereo mosaic of a cliff …
17 August 2015
Sols 1078-1079: Back to restricted planning
I had an easy planning day as MAHLI/MARDI uplink lead today, because another drive is planned for Sol 1078 with only the usual post-drive MAHLI (stowed) and MARDI (twilight) imaging. Planning is restricted again (Mars and Earth time are out of sync), so we are planning two sols. Before driving away from the current location, ChemCam and Mastcam will observe rock targets dubbed “Huson” and “Ignatius” and Mastcam will image …
