Sol 1278: Nodules: Take 2
10 March 2016Our APXS observation of the nodules in yesterday’s plan didn’t go exactly as planned: it was slightly misaligned with the nodule we were trying to analyze, so the measurement was mostly of the neighboring bedrock. That meant planning today started with a discussion of whether the… Read More
Sol 1277: Nodules!
9 March 2016Our drive yesterday was a success, putting us right on the contact between the “Murray” and “Stimson” units, and in reach of some very interesting nodules. The plan today is mostly focused on studying those nodules. ChemCam has an observation of a nodule and neighboring… Read More
Sols 1275-1276: Interesting Veins and Textures
8 March 2016The weekend drive went well, and put us in a great location for some contact science, right near the contact between the “Murray” and “Stimson” formations, with some interesting veins and textures in the nearby rocks. Given our nice location, we opted not to do any driving… Read More
Sols 1273-1274: Driving up to the Naukluft Plateau
4 March 2016We are planning only 2 sols today because tactical operations will transition to nominal next week (working all 5 weekdays). On Sol 1273, Mastcam will acquire a multispectral image of the contact between the Murray and Stimson geologic units. This set of images, taken using all of the… Read More
Sols 1271-1272: Remote Sensing and CheMin Analysis
2 March 2016Today’s 2-sol plan is focused on targeted remote sensing, imaging to prepare for contact science, and CheMin analysis of the Gobabeb #6 sample. We’re in a great position on the east side of the Naukluft Plateau, and we’re trying to understand the local stratigraphy and… Read More
Sols 1269-1270: Approaching Naukluft Plateau
1 March 2016Here is Monday’s blog post (can we blame the delay on leap day?). Curiosity is currently making her way toward the Naukluft Plateau, and Monday’s plan was full of driving and remote sensing. On the first sol, Curiosity will acquire ChemCam and Mastcam observations of the… Read More
Sols 1266-1268: Taking Stock of Stockdale
26 February 2016Today’s plan has a nice mix of science and driving. The rover will start off on Sol 1266 with ChemCam observations of the targets “Ugab”, “Rooibank” and “Stockdale”. We will zap the Rooibank target using two different laser energies to see if that helps us… Read More
Sols 1264-1265: Halfway to Naukluft Plateau
24 February 2016We had a successful ~70 meter drive toward the Naukluft plateau, and the drive in today’s plan should put us about halfway to the base of the plateau. The Sol 1264 plan starts with some targeted science: first we have a Mastcam mosaic of the scarp that forms the edge of the plateau, and… Read More
Sols 1262-1263: Driving Toward Naukluft Plateau
22 February 2016We’re gearing up for a nice long drive toward the “Naukluft Plateau” in today’s plan! The sol 1262 plan starts off with ChemCam of the bedrock targets “Gemsboktal” and “Ghaub”, with Mastcam documentation. Mastcam will also take a picture of the… Read More
Sols 1256-1261: Driving Around the Dune
19 February 2016Apologies for the lateness of this week’s update: The rover is fine, gradually working its way around the north end of a large dune. I’m just an absent-minded blogger with too many other things going on! We started this week on Tuesday with the Sol 1256 plan. This included some long… Read More
