Sols 816-818 Update On Curiosity From USGS Scientist Lauren Edgar: Leaving Book Cliffs

21 November 2014

Over the weekend 3-sol plan, Curiosity will wrap up the investigation at Book Cliffs and drive toward Alexander Hills and Carnivore Canyon. It’s been a great week at Book Cliffs, and Curiosity acquired a lot of exciting data. We analyzed 3 fresh surfaces at Book Cliffs, at the lower, middle and upper parts of the outcrop. This Navcam image from Sol 815 shows the arm extended while Curiosity was investigating the target “Topanga”. The brush spots at “Punchbowl” and “Afton Canyon” are also visible at the bottom middle and lower right sides of the image. In the weekend plan, Curiosity will acquire Mastcam multispectral images and ChemCam passive observations of the three brush spots. There are also several Navcam and ChemCam activities to monitor the atmosphere and search for clouds. Then Curiosity will drive toward Alexander Hills and Carnivore Canyon, and acquire standard post-drive imaging to prepare for contact science next week!

Dates of planned rover activities described in these reports are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status.

