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30 July 2019
Sols 2482-2483: A Drill with a View
The rover is currently located in the southern part of the ‘Visionarium,’ where we are set to start our next drill campaign, and we can’t help but take in the scenery!
29 July 2019
Sol 2481: On the Lookout for a Drill Site
After a successful ascent to the top of the southern outcrop in the ‘Visionarium,’ we are now searching for our next drill site. There were no bedrock exposures available for contact science activities in our immediate workspace, so our first order of business today was to identify a drill site area that we will drive to in today’s plan.
26 June 2019
Sol 2449: Keep on rollin’ through the rubble to "Harlaw"
Curiosity is continuing our exploration of Glen Torridon (the clay-bearing unit) and the varied lithologies exposed in this area of Gale crater, including more rubbly bedrock that is mixed with sand, and more coherent bedrock exposed both in the ground and capping prominent ridges.
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.
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.
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.
15 April 2019
Sol 2380: Lucky Number 3
Yesterday’s discussions with the Curiosity rover science team focused on determining which target in the vicinity of ‘Aberlady’ will become the focus of the next drill campaign:
25 March 2019
Sols 2359-2360: Hopping from outcrop to outcrop
At the start of Sol 2359, Curiosity found herself parked in front of some layered bedrock outcrops (see above image), a rarity in the rubbly landscapes that we’ve explored so far in the clay-bearing unit. We were constrained by power in today’s plan, but managed to make use of every available minute for science.
13 February 2019
Sols 2320-2323: Onwards to Midland Valley
Today was a very busy planning day for the Curiosity operations team. We planned a 3-sol plan, with contact science, imaging, environmental monitoring and a drive.
