Sols 896-898 update by Lauren Edgar: In search of the next drill target (11 February 2015)

After completing our drilling activities at the Pink Cliffs outcrop, Curiosity is ready to move on to the next location. But where to drill? We’re searching for something that is chemically very different from the last drill target (Mojave2). After much discussion, we decided to try for a recessive rock near the Whale Rock outcrop. Several possibilities were presented, and the rover planners spent the morning evaluating the terrain and accessibility of the targets. The goal is to get close to the outcrop seen in the middle of this Navcam image from Sol 837.

With that location in mind, the plan today includes a pre-drive targeted science block, a drive towards that outcrop, and some post-drive remote sensing. I was the Geology Theme Lead today, and we filled the first science block with ChemCam and Mastcam observations of the post-sieve dump pile. Then we’ll drive up the section one more time, towards the next drill target. After the drive Curiosity will acquire Mastcam and Navcam images to help with future target selection. On Sol 897 we’ll perform several atmospheric monitoring activities with Mastcam, ChemCam and Navcam to measure the atmospheric opacity and composition, and search for clouds. The science block on Sol 898 includes a Mastcam 360 degree mosaic to document the Pahrump Hills region, and a ChemCam calibration activity.

Sols 899-902 update by Ryan Anderson: Long weekend, long plan! (13 February 2015)

Today we planned 4 sols to take the rover through President’s day weekend. We humans get a long weekend, but the rover has a lot of work to do! We were supposed to drive about 45 meters in the previous plan, but the data received this morning showed that the rover stopped after only 17 meters. I was on duty as the ChemCam science Payload Uplink Lead (sPUL) today, and in the science theme group meeting we were worried that the short drive would cause a major change in the plan, but it turned out not to be a problem. The rover drivers understand why the rover stopped early and had no concerns about simply continuing the drive in today’s plan. Even better, there was enough room in the plan to do the drive without changing how much time we had to do science!

The location where the rover stopped was mostly flat bedrock and large sand ripples: not where we planned to stop, but still plenty of science to do. On sol 899, ChemCam will analyze the target “Osiris” and on Sol 900 ChemCam will analyze “Garley.” Both of these targets are patches of bedrock, so the chemistry data, when combined with the many other observations of bedrock over the last few weeks and months, will help understand how the rocks change throughout the stratigraphic section.

Mastcam has an 8x3 mosaic of Osiris on Sol 899, which seems to have some fine layering that is barely visible in Navcam. On sol 900 Mastcam also will take a documentation image of Garley, a 2x2 mosaic of a layered rock near the rover called “Sneakover” (because it was snuck into the plan at the last minute), and a 2x2 mosaic of “Hermosa,” where the rover tracks cross a sand ripple.

On sol 901, ChemCam will make some passive (no laser) measurements of the sky, and then Curiosity will resume the drive that was cut short. After the drive, we have standard imaging to get our bearings, plus a Mastcam 360 degree mosaic and a Navcam cloud observation. The DAN instrument will do an active measurement after the drive to characterize the amount of light elements (such as the hydrogen in water) under the rover in the new location. And finally, ChemCam will do some routine measurements of the calibration targets.

On sol 902, the rover gets a bit of a rest, with just routine environmental measurements by RAD and REMS.

Sols 903-904 update by Lauren Edgar: A Bumping Day on Mars (18 February 2015)

Curiosity is in search of the next drill target, and the main activity in today’s plan is to “bump” closer to a rock outcrop for contact science. Curiosity will perform a short drive, which will set us up to use the instruments on the rover’s arm to assess the potential for drilling here. The plan also includes several ChemCam and Mastcam observations of the targets “Emery” and “Elbert” to characterize the outcrop and a nearby vein. We will also acquire a Mastcam mosaic of the outcrop named “Newspaper Rock” to understand the local stratigraphy. After the drive Curiosity will acquire Navcam images for future targeting, and a Mastcam image for a systematic clast survey. The second sol of this plan is untargeted, so Curiosity will monitor the atmosphere with Navcam and Mastcam, and perform some ChemCam calibration activities. I’m on MER duty today, and Opportunity is also “bumping” to a location overlooking Marathon Valley. Another busy day on Mars!

Sols 905-907 update by Lauren Edgar: Testing "Telegraph Peak" (20 February 2015)

The latest "bump" placed the rover in a good position for detailed study of the outcrop of interest, as we all hoped. The plan that will take the rover through the weekend is, in the words of the SOWG Chair Doug Ming, "jam-packed" with science observations. The MSL tactical team is focused on examination of an outcrop target called "Telegraph Peak" to determine whether it is suitable for drilling. On Sol 905, MAHLI will take pictures of Telegraph Peak before it is cleaned off by the brush. Mastcam and ChemCam will then observe the brushed target before the arm is used to acquire a full suite of MAHLI images, two APXS measurements, and test the strength of the target by pushing the drill assembly against it. Finally, the APXS will be placed on Telegraph Peak again for overnight integrations. In parallel, starting around midnight, SAM will perform a static test of its quadrupole mass spectrometer.

The next morning, the arm will be moved out of the way to allow ChemCam and Mastcam observations of nearby targets "Brazer" and "Crazy Hollow." Later in the afternoon, when lighting will be better for some distant targets, Mastcam will acquire a couple of mosaics. Just after sunset, now that the rover is in a new location, MARDI will acquire an image of the ground near the left front wheel. Only a few activities are planned for Sol 907, including another Mastcam mosaic and a Navcam search for dust devils, to allow the rover's batteries to recharge in preparation for possible drilling on Sol 908.

Sols 908-913 update by Ryan Anderson: Drilling Telegraph Peak and Leaving Pahrump (27 February 2015)

It’s been a busy week on Mars, as usual! The big activity in the Sol 908 plan was drilling at the target “Telegraph Peak”. After the drilling, on sol 909 ChemCam made measurements of the targets “Tapeats” and “Humbug”, and Mastcam took supporting images of those targets. Mastcam also took images of the fresh drill hole using all of its scientific filters.

On sol 910, ChemCam took some passive spectra of the powder generated by the drilling at Telegraph Peak, along with an RMI image of the drill hole. As the whole internet learned this week, the way your eye and brain perceive color can be misleading, so we like to use the Mastcam filters and ChemCam passive spectra to really get an accurate idea of the color of our drill tailings. ChemCam also had an observation of a gray raised ridge called “Bluff” and some fine soil dubbed “Tintic”. Mastcam helped out by taking color images of those ChemCam targets and Navcam took a routine atmospheric monitoring “movie” over Mt. Sharp. At night on Sol 910, MAHLI used its built-in LEDs to take pictures of the drill hole.

On sol 911, the rover dropped off some of the powder collected from Telegraph Peak to CheMin for analysis, and APXS had an overnight analysis of the drill tailings.

On sol 912, Mastcam will take a mosaic of some dunes in an area called “Artist's Drive” and ChemCam will zap the Telegraph Peak drill hole. It turns out that we missed the gray resistant ridge target “Bluff” from sol 910, so we will try to hit it again on sol 912.

After that, we will drive down Artist's Drive, away from the “Pahrump” area. After the drive, we will collect our standard post-drive images so we can select targets next week. On sol 913 ChemCam, Mastcam, and Navcam will make some atmospheric measurements, since we won’t have data down yet to allow for targeted observations.

Sol 917 update by Ken Herkenhoff: Mastcam Thermal Characterization (5 March 2015)

I'm MAHLI/MARDI uplink lead today, but there hasn't been much for me to do because of the restriction on arm activities following last week's fault. The arm is being used exclusively for diagnostic testing to determine the cause of the fault; test results are being analyzed by the MSL engineering team. As this work continues, the remote sensing instruments are being used to examine nearby rocks and soils, including ChemCam observations of the drill hole. More ChemCam observations are planned for Sol 917, plus several Mastcam observations intended to measure the effect of varying temperatures on camera focus.

Sols 918-920 update by Ken Herkenhoff: Diagnostic testing (6 March 2015)

More diagnostic data are needed to fully understand the cause of the Sol 911 fault, so no arm activities are planned for this weekend. The Mastcam thermal characterization will be completed early on Sol 918, while it's still cold. Another test to diagnose the power issue is planned that afternoon, followed by ChemCam and Mastcam observations of targets dubbed "Ophir" and "Keetley," and a Navcam "movie" to search for clouds over Aeolis Mons ("Mt. Sharp"). On Sol 919, a Mastcam stereo mosaic of "Book Cliffs" will be followed by more ChemCam observations, including another attempt to measure the elemental chemistry of a bright feature in the wall of the "Telegraph Peak" drill hole. The feature is only a few millimeters long, so is difficult to hit with the laser--previous attempts just barely missed it. Later in the afternoon, Mastcam will acquire a stereo mosaic of a target called "Brazer." The only science activities planned for Sol 920 are the usual REMS and RAD observations.

Sol 921 update by Ryan Anderson: Wrapping Up Diagnostics (9 March 2015)

The engineers on the team have been working hard to understand the current fluctuation that caused the arm to halt on Sol 911, and they are expecting to wrap up their diagnostics this week! In the meantime, we on the science team have been keeping ourselves and the rover busy by using the remote sensing instruments.

In the morning of the sol 921 plan, Mastcam has a 14x4 mosaic of the target “Newspaper Rock” and ChemCam will be doing a calibration measurement and an observation of the “Telegraph Peak” drill hole. Navcam will also do some routine monitoring for dust devils.

In the afternoon, ChemCam will analyze two gray vein-like targets: “Old_Woman,” and “Marsden” and Mastcam will take supporting images of the ChemCam targets as usual. Navcam will then watch the sky and try to detect any cloud motion.

We’ve been getting some great data but everyone is eager to see the arm back in action soon so that CheMin can work on analyzing the sample from Telegraph Peak and the rover can leave Pahrump and head toward our first contact science target along “Artist’s Drive”!

Sol 922 update by Ryan Anderson: Arm in Action (10 March 2015)

Good news! We’re allowed to use the arm again! The engineers have done all the diagnostics needed, and so today’s plan was dominated by arm activities for science.

In the morning of sol 922, there is a short science block during which ChemCam and Mastcam will analyze the target “Whitmore_2” on the “Newspaper rock” outcrop to see if it is similar to the “Whale Rock” outcrop that we studied previously. After that, the rover will transfer some of the drill sample that it collected before the arm fault into CheMin. Once the sample is inside CheMin and ready to be analyzed overnight to figure out what minerals it contains, the arm will place APXS on the pile of tailings near the drill hole. This will allow APXS to do an overnight measurement of the chemical composition of the tailings pile.

Sol 923 update by Ryan Anderson: Getting out of Dodge (11 March 2015)

The plan for today, as our SOWG (Science Operations Working Group) chair put it, is to “get out of Dodge”! We will be driving to a location where we can do “full MAHLI wheel imaging” in the coming sols.

During the drive, the rover will stop long enough for Mastcam to get an image of the drill tailings to document where we placed the APXS overnight. We’ll also get a Mastcam image of a wind-blown ripple to see what the grain sizes are. After the drive, we have Mastcam observations of the candidate contact science target “Garden City” along with routine post-drive images from Navcam. There will also be several standard environmental monitoring measurements.

Tomorrow I’m on duty as the “Keeper of the Plan” for the geology and mineralogy group and it looks like there will be time for lots of remote sensing science from our new location, so it should be a busy day!

Sols 924-927 update by Ryan Anderson: Garden City Here We Come! (13 March 2015)

Yesterday was a challenging day on Mars and Earth. On Mars, the rover stopped its drive early because it detected that its wheels were slipping in the sand, so we weren’t where we expected to be and we had to adjust our observations accordingly. At the same time on Earth, some network issues at JPL made it difficult for many of us to connect to the tools that we use to do our planning. Luckily those issues didn’t start up until the planning for Sol 924 was pretty far along, so we were still able to get a good plan put together.

On sol 924, ChemCam analyzed a layered rock target called “Hennefer”, and Mastcam took a supporting image. Mastcam also took a mosaic of the outcrop we are heading toward, called “Garden City”, as well as a small mosaic of the sand ripple (called “Tropic Ripple”) near where we stopped, and a mosaic of a tiny crater that we called “Hemicyon Basin.”

After that, the rover continued on its drive toward Garden City. After the drive, ChemCam did a calibration measurement, MAHLI took an image from its stowed position, and Mastcam took a 2x1 mosaic looking back across the floor of Gale crater toward the “Peace Vallis” alluvial fan. Mastcam and Navcam also had some atmospheric observations, and Mastcam and Navcam also took some standard post-drive mosaics.

This morning things were a lot smoother. We started off planning ogling the beautiful images of the Garden City outcrop, which is cris-crossed with erosion resistant ridges. The plan for sol 925 is to do a ChemCam analysis and associated Mastcam mosaic on one of the nearby ridges called “San Timoteo”, along with a Mastcam stereo mosaic of Garden City. Later in the day, ChemCam has an observation of a dark rock to test some focusing settings on a very dark target. Then CheMin will do an overnight analysis on the sample that it is currently working on.

On the morning of sol 926, ChemCam has some passive observations of the sky, and Mastcam and Navcam also have some atmospheric measurements. Then the rover will do a short drive toward Garden City, followed by standard imaging plus some extra Navcams of the hill that is rising above us.

Finally on sol 927, Mastcam and Navcam have some more atmospheric measurements.

Next week many of us on the science team will be at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, but we will also be eagerly checking in on what Curiosity is doing at the tantalizing Garden City outcrop.

Sols 928-929 update by Lauren Edgar: Checking Out Garden City (16 March 2015)

Over the weekend, Curiosity bumped closer to the target “Garden City” located in “Artist’s Drive.” “Garden City” is an intriguing target because it contains a lot of really big veins, captured here in this Mastcam image from Sol 926.

Today’s plan is focused on characterizing “Garden City” and getting ready for contact science on Wednesday. The plan includes ChemCam observations on the targets “Ouray” and “Hoskinnini” to characterize the composition of the light and dark parts of the veins, as well as several Mastcam multispectral observations. There are also several Navcam and Mastcam activities to monitor atmospheric opacity and search for dust devils. Furthermore, this plan includes several important SAM activities to prepare for and analyze the previously acquired “Telegraph Peak” sample.

I’ll be the Geology Science Theme Lead on Wednesday so I dialed in to the planning meetings to prepare for what is shaping up to be a very busy day of arm activities!

Sols 930-931 update by Ken Herkenhoff: Arm Science (18 March 2015)

The MAHLI team was well prepared for contact science today, but had to scramble to react to news early this morning that the right front wheel is perched on a small rock and therefore is not in a safe position for arm contact with the surface. We had originally planned to brush a potential APXS target with the Dust Removal Tool (DRT) and take MAHLI images of the brushed spot. But the DRT activity had to be deleted, and MAHLI reconnaissance imaging of another potential APXS target added to the plan. This made for a hectic morning for me and the other MAHLI uplink leads, but we are happy with how the plan turned out. On Sol 930, ChemCam and Mastcam will observe an outcrop target named "Swasey" before the arm will be used to acquire MAHLI images of the bright and dark rocks shown in the lower left part of this image. These MAHLI images will be useful in planning future scientific observations. The APXS will then be placed close to a dark patch for overnight integration. None of the MAHLI or APXS activities includes surface contact, so they are safe even with the rock under the right front wheel. Early on the morning of Sol 931, the left Navcam will be used to search for dust devils and clouds as part of an ongoing experiment to determine how these atmospheric phenomena vary with time of day. Mastcam images of the terrain ahead are planned around noon, followed by MAHLI imaging of another APXS target late in the afternoon. Then the APXS will hover near the surface for another overnight integration. Planning is "restricted" this week, so the next tactical planning will occur on Friday.

Sols 932-934 update by Lauren Edgar: What’s Growing in Garden City (20 March 2015)

While many of us in the northern hemisphere are celebrating the first day of spring, Curiosity is busy tending to her “Garden City.” Sadly there are no flowers in sight, but the outcrop contains some beautiful veins. This MAHLI image from Sol 930 shows some of the complex relationships that we’re trying to sort out. I’ve been the Geology Science Theme Lead this week and Ken Herkenhoff has been the SOWG Chair and MAHLI PUL, so the team here at the USGS has been very involved in planning contact science at this location.

Today we’re planning 3 sols, during which Curiosity will acquire MAHLI and APXS on both the dark and light portions of these veins to better understand their texture and composition. We’ll also acquire a ChemCam transect across one of the veins, to look for variations in chemistry. And Curiosity will stay busy overnight, working on the third CheMin analysis of the “Telegraph Peak” sample. In addition to these observations, Curiosity will perform a number of environmental monitoring activities to measure atmospheric composition and opacity, and search for dust devils. Next week we’ll have to decide if we want to stay here at “Garden City” for further analyses, or continue driving down “Artist’s Drive.”

Sols 935-936 update by Lauren Edgar: More Contact Science at Garden City (23 March 2015)

Last Friday we planned some additional contact science at “Garden City.” Unfortunately, an error resulted in the loss of contact science during Sols 931-933. A change needed in commanding is understood, and the rover is healthy and has not moved, so we’ll be recovering that science this week.

Today’s two-sol plan looks pretty similar to what we had planned for the weekend. Curiosity is still investigating the dark and light portions of the veins at ”Garden City.” The plan includes MAHLI and APXS on the veins, and some ChemCam and Mastcam observations to look for variations in chemistry. Curiosity will also perform a number of environmental monitoring activities to measure atmospheric composition and opacity, and search for dust devils. Although we were disappointed that the weekend plan didn’t execute as we had hoped, the images that we’ve received so far show that this is a complicated outcrop and very deserving of additional investigations!

Sols 937-938 update by Ken Herkenhoff: Veinfest (25 March 2015)

Interest in the dark and bright veins continues to be high, so the Sol 937 plan is dominated by observations of these features. But first, ChemCam and Mastcam will observe the unsieved Telegraph Peak drill sample dump pile. Ryan is ChemCam science uplink lead today, and I helped him plan ChemCam rasters on the dump pile and the dark material just right of center in this image. APXS and MAHLI will also continue the investigation of the vein materials, including a new target named "Live Oak Canyon." On Sol 938, ChemCam will measure 3 different targets, then Mastcam will acquire a large mosaic of the ridge southeast of the rover.

Sols 939-941 update by Ken Herkenhoff: Leaving Garden City (27 March 2015)

yan and I are working ChemCam tactical operations again today, planning 3 sols to get MSL through the upcoming weekend. We therefore focused on planning Sol 939 ChemCam observations of "Live Oak Canyon," "Idyllwild," and "Blanco Mountain." Mastcam images of these and other targets are also planned before 3 sets of MAHLI images of the wheels. Two more sets of MAHLI wheel images will be taken on Sol 940 before the rover drives south toward a rock dubbed "Kanosh." Because less data than normal are expected to be received in time for planning on Monday, extra effort was put into prioritizing various post-drive datasets. CheMin will perform another mineralogical analysis on the Telegraph Peak drill sample overnight, then Navcam and Mastcam will observe the horizon early on the morning of Sol 941. We are exploring the use of Mastcam to get high-resolution measurements of dust and ice in the atmosphere. Later on Sol 941, ChemCam will observe calibration targets on the rover, and SAM will perform an engineering diagnositc activity.

Sols 942-943 update by Lauren Edgar: Cap Rock “Kanosh” (30 March 2015)

Over the weekend, Curiosity drove further into Artist’s Drive to investigate a rock named “Kanosh.” This boulder appears to represent the “capping unit,” so we’re planning to study Kanosh in more detail to understand this resistant type of rock.

Today’s two-sol plan consists of remote sensing and contact science to investigate this boulder. We’ll acquire ChemCam on the targets “Piru,” “Little Devil,” and “Tierra Blanca.” We’ll also use MAHLI at several locations on the boulder to document the grain sizes and textures that are present, and then we’ll place APXS for an overnight integration on the target “Little Devil” on the top of the boulder. There are also a number of Mastcam observations to characterize “Kanosh” and some nearby veins and ripples. Today the team is also trying to decide if we should continue driving down Artist’s Drive, or return to “Garden City” to continue exploring the interesting veins there.

Sols 944-945 update by Ken Herkenhoff: Return to Garden City (1 April 2015)

After receiving and analyzing the most recent "Garden City" data, the MSL team decided that more data are needed to better understand this interesting outcrop. Therefore, after acquiring some ChemCam and Mastcam observations near "Kanosh," the rover will drive back to Garden City on Sol 944. The goal is to position the rover for contact science activities in a part of the outcrop that was not previously within the arm's reach. CheMin will perform another analysis of the Telegraph Peak drill sample overnight, then ChemCam, REMS and Mastcam will measure atmospheric properties on Sol 945. Tactical planning is still "restricted" due to the difference between Pacific Daylight Time and the local time in Gale Crater, so the next set of rover activities will not be planned until Friday.

Sols 946-947 update by Ken Herkenhoff: MAHLI mosaic (3 April 2015)

The MAHLI operations team did a lot of good work preparing for Sol 946, so I expected that it would be an easy day for me as uplink lead. Unfortunately, a problem on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) prevented some of the data we expected to receive in time for planning from being relayed to Earth. MRO has been very reliable in the past and we have gotten used to receiving most of the MSL data through MRO. Fortunately, the orbiter is recovering quickly and should be back to normal operations this weekend. But without some key MSL data this morning, it was more difficult than usual to plan arm activities. Despite valiant efforts by the Rover Planners and APXS team, a safe target for APXS placement could not be found. The focus of the weekend plan is the outcrop at the center of this image. But first, ChemCam and Mastcam will observe nearby targets "Elsinore" and "Bishop" early in the afternoon of Sol 946. Then a few reconnaissance MAHLI images of potential APXS targets and a 12-position MAHLI mosaic of the outcrop are planned. Before dawn on Sol 947, Mastcam will image stars in order to measure the concentration of dust and ice in the atmosphere at night. After dawn, more Mastcam (plus Navcam and ChemCam) observations of the sky are planned for comparison with the nighttime measurements. Later that morning, ChemCam and Mastcam will observe a target dubbed "White Mountain." Only two sols are being planned because Sunday is a “soliday," a sol we skip on Mars so that we’re back in sync for unrestricted planning on Monday.

Sol 948 update by Lauren Edgar: Good Morning Mars (6 April 2015)

As we started the planning day before sunrise, I was reminded of the first three months of the mission that we spent living on Mars time. Today is an early “slide sol,” meaning that the planning timeline is shifted 1.5 hours earlier in order to compensate for our downlink and uplink times. Today is also a “tight” planning sol, meaning that the planning timeline is slightly shorter today. On top of that, we have a very complex set of activities planned for today!

Despite these restrictions, we certainly didn’t hold back on any science, and we developed a plan that uses almost the entire payload. I was the Geology Science Theme Lead today, and the goal today is to wrap up contact science on the veins at Garden City. The plan includes ChemCam observations on a dark vein and a plate that looks like it broke off from a vein, followed by Mastcam documentation. Then we’ll acquire a large MAHLI mosaic to assess the morphology of one of the prominent veins, seen in this Mastcam image from Sol 946. In the evening we’ll do a short APXS integration on the target “Amboy,” and then a longer overnight integration on the target “Kern_Peak” (“Kern_Peak” is the flat plate near the middle of this Mastcam image). The plan also includes another CheMin analysis of the Telegraph Peak sample, as well as a SAM GC diagnostic activity, in addition to standard DAN, RAD and REMS observations. I guess Curiosity doesn’t have much time to sleep either…

Sol 949 update by Lauren Edgar: Leaving Garden City (7 April 2015)

After an extensive study of the veins at Garden City, it’s finally time to continue on our path down Artist’s Drive. We’ve collected a lot of really great data, including MAHLI images like this one from Sol 946, which will help us to determine the history of fluid flow through these rocks.

Today’s plan includes one last Mastcam multispectral observation on a bright block at Garden City, and a Navcam dust devil search prior to driving away. The drive will start by turning around so that DAN can make a measurement over the vein-rich area. After a drive of ~20 m, we’ll acquire images to be used to select targets in the Sol 950 plan. It’s really exciting to be driving again, and we’re looking forward to checking out the stratigraphy exposed in the valley walls along the way!

Sol 950 update by Lauren Edgar: Taking in the Scenery along Artist’s Drive (8 April 2015)

Like most tourists who visit Artist’s Drive on Earth, Curiosity is busy taking lots of photos to document the valley walls of Artist’s Drive on Mars. We are officially on the road again, and working our way through a very scenic drive.

I’m the Geology Science Theme Lead today, and today’s plan involves a pre-drive science block, a drive for hopefully ~30-40m, and some post-drive imaging for targeting. Unfortunately we have to be on a bit of a diet in terms of the total data volume that we can acquire. Back at Garden City we acquired a lot of really great data, and now we need to trim down so that we don’t acquire more data than we can downlink in a reasonable amount of time. The plan includes several large Mastcam mosaics to look at the stratigraphy exposed on the northwest and southeast valley walls, and post-drive Navcam mosaics to help select targets in the Sol 951 plan. We’ll also acquire Mastcam imaging to monitor atmospheric opacity. Tomorrow’s plan looks fairly similar to today – we’ll continue to drive and study the valley walls, taking time to appreciate the views along the way.

Sol 951 update by Ryan Anderson: 10k (9 April 2015)

We are continuing our driving tour of Artist’s Drive, and we should be reaching the 10k mark on Curiosity’s odometer in the sol 951 plan! The rover will start off the day with a targeted science block full of Mastcam observations. We are planning two Mastcam mosaics looking at the layers in the valley walls on either side of us, plus a routine “clast survey” image to document the soil and gravel at our feet, plus an observation of a portion of Mt. Sharp that is visible in the distance (which we have given the name “Tip Top Mountain”, even though we can’t see the top of the mountain from where we are), and a Mastcam image of the target “Joshua Tree.” It won’t be a purely Mastcam-filled block though: ChemCam has two long-distance Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) observations, also of “Tip Top Mountain” and “Joshua Tree.”

After the science block, the plan is to do a short drive to a location that gives us a nice long-distance view to help with drive planning. After the drive (and passing the 10k mark!), we will have our standard post-drive imaging so that tomorrow we can do targeted science again. There is also a post-drive Navcam movie to search for clouds and measure the wind direction overhead.