Sols 896-898: 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.

By Lauren Edgar

--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of MSL science team.