Sol 815 Update On Curiosity From USGS Scientist Lauren Edgar: Another busy day at Book Cliffs

20 November 2014

Over the past few sols Curiosity has been investigating the Book Cliffs outcrop at the Pahrump Hills. On Sol 814, Curiosity brushed off the dust at “Afton Canyon” as seen in this MAHLI image. Today’s plan is focused on characterizing the upper part of Book Cliffs. ChemCam is back in action after a brief stand down due to degradation of the instrument’s smaller laser used for focusing. The plan today includes a ChemCam passive observation of the sky and a focus test on a small pebble. We will also use the Dust Removal Tool to clear off a fresh surface at the target “Topanga” followed by MAHLI and APXS on that surface. We’re also planning to acquire MAHLI images on the targets “Goblin_Valley” and “Jail_Canyon.” Another busy day on Mars! We’ve been delivering some pretty complicated plans lately, but thanks to a very talented operations team, everything is going well and the data looks great.