Sols 1326-1329: Wrapping Up at Lubango

29 April 2016

After a nice rest on Sol 1325, Curiosity was charged up and ready for lots of science! On Sol 1326, we started off with multispectral Mastcam observations of the pile of dumped powder from the “Lubango” drill target and the targets “Rubikon” and “Ebony”. Then ChemCam had a passive observation of the dump pile, followed by active observations using the laser on Rubikon as well as “Ida” and “Lorelei”. Mastcam documented the ChemCam observations as usual, and then finished the science block with an atmospheric observation. Later in the day on Sol 1326, MAHLI observed the dump pile and drill tailings, as well as a bedrock target called “Nara Valley”. Finally, APXS had an overnight observation of the dump pile.

In today’s weekend plan, which covers Sols 1327-1329, we start off with a sol focused on dumping out more of the powder acquired from the Lubango drill, this time after passing it through a sieve. Mastcam and MAHLI will take pictures of the new dump location before and after the sieved sample is dumped, and then APXS will do an overnight measurement. On Sol 1238, we have lots of remote sensing. Navcam and Mastcam have a few atmospheric observations, and then ChemCam will measure the pre- and post-sieve dump piles, Nara Valley, and a target called “Ovitoto”.

Then, on Sol 1329, Curiosity will do a short drive to a nearby patch of flat Stimson formation sandstone that should not have as much silica enrichment as what we see at Lubango. This will put us in position to drill that location sometime next week!

by Ryan Anderson

-Ryan is a planetary scientist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the ChemCam team on MSL.

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