Sol 809-811 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ryan Anderson: Contact Science
14 November 2014With the weekend coming up, we are working on a three sol plan for sols 809-811. The main activity for sol 809 is using Curiosity’s arm to brush off the target “Mojave” followed by supporting images with Mastcam and MAHLI and measurements with APXS. On sol 810, Mastcam has two… Read More
Sol 806-808 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ryan Anderson: Congratulations Rosetta!
13 November 2014On Sol 806, we at the USGS were off for Veteran’s Day, but Curiosity was still busy! The sol 806 plan had a pretty simple morning science block with a single Mastcam image of the target “Glendora” along with some Mastcam and Navcam atmospheric observations. After that, we used the… Read More
Sol 805 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Tight Sol
10 November 2014MSL planning is no longer restricted, but today's commands must be sent to the spacecraft earlier than usual, so tactical planning started 1 hour earlier than usual. The Sol 803 drive put the rover in a good position for examination of fine-scale layering using the arm instruments. … Read More
Sol 803-804 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Shoemaker
7 November 2014I'm not on shift today, but keeping up with planning because I'm scheduled as SOWG Chair again on Monday. And of course I'm curious to see how Curiosity is doing! The arm activities planned for Sols 801 and 802 completed successfully, so this weekend the rover will drive toward… Read More
Sol 801-802 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Investigating the Scuff
5 November 2014The short drive and wheel scuffing activities planned for Sol 799 all completed as planned, leaving the rover in position for detailed examination of the scuff. Planning is still restricted, so we are planning 2 sols again today. On Sol 801, Mastcam and ChemCam will observe the… Read More
Sol 799-800 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Walkabout Completed
3 November 2014The initial reconnaissance of the Pahrump Hills outcrop is complete, and the 53-meter Sol 797 drive successfully placed the rover near the ripples of interest. So the Sol 799 plan includes a short drive into the ripples and "scuffing" of a 15-cm high ripple to examine its interior. … Read More
Sol 796-798 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Whale Rock
31 October 2014The 30-meter drive planned for Sol 794 completed perfectly, placing the rover near laminated blocks shed from the Whale Rock outcrop (visible at upper right in this image). So ChemCam and Mastcam will observe some of these blocks and the outcrop on Sol 796, before the rover drives away… Read More
Sol 794-795 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ryan Anderson: Beautiful Layers
29 October 2014The 15.8 meter drive on Sol 792 was successful, bringing Curiosity right up to the Chinle outcrop, which has some beautiful layering. In the Sol 794 plan, we have ChemCam observations of four targets on the outcrop: “Cima,” “Sespe,” “Aguereberry Point,” and… Read More
Sol 792-793 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ryan Anderson
27 October 2014I’ve been swamped with work for other projects recently, but those are behind me now, and I’m excited to get caught up on what Curiosity has been doing! The plan for Sol 792 has a nice big science block that we plan to fill with lots of targeted observations by ChemCam and Mastcam.… Read More
Sols 789-791 Update On Curiosity From USGS Scientist Lauren Edgar: Approaching Alexander Hills
24 October 2014It was another fun day of operations as we planned Curiosity’s continued investigation of the Pahrump Hills. Ken Herkenhoff was the SOWG Chair and I was the Geology STL. The drive on Sol 787 placed Curiosity approximately 18 m from the Gilbert Peak outcrop, and 8 m from what is… Read More
