Sol 304 Update On Curiosity From USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: No Slippage
13 June 2013Images of the rover wheels showed no evidence of slippage, so the Sol 304 plan included higher-resolution MAHLI images and APXS integration overnight into Sol 305. I'm now MAHLI uplink lead, so was busy planning MAHLI images on 4 different targets. The weekend plan (Sols 305-307) is to finish up… Read More
Sol 303 Update On Curiosity From USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Nine Degree Tilt
12 June 2013The approach to Point Lake on Sol 302 went well, allowing the arm to reach the outcrop of interest. However, the rover is tilted over 9 degrees, so we have to wait a sol to confirm that it is stable before planning contact science. Therefore, we could place MAHLI no closer than 10 cm from the… Read More
Sol 302 Update On Curiosity From USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Point Lake Outcrop
11 June 2013I'm SOWG Chair again today, planning Sol 302. The Sol 301 drive went well, and we received images after the drive was complete showing the Point Lake outcrop. Unfortunately, they showed that the slopes near the most interesting part of the outcrop are large enough that we would have to spend an… Read More
Sol 301 Update On Curiosity From USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Recovery Sequence
10 June 2013The MSL activities planned for last weekend went well, except for a ChemCam instrument problem on Sol 300. Fortunately, it's not serious and the Sol 301 plan includes ChemCam recovery sequences. If they go well we will be able to use ChemCam again on Sol 302. The Sol 301 plan includes another… Read More
PILOT / UPC Data Release: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter - CTX
5 June 2013The NASA/USGS PDS Imaging Node has added the following data to the Unified Planetary Coordinate (UPC) Database. MISSION / INSTRUMENT: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter /CTX Mapped: 1,908 Unmapped: 0 Total: 1,908 The strat times for this release are: 2012-09-01 thru 2012-12-02. Please visit… Read More
Sol 291 Update On Curiosity From USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: The Drill Hole Walls
31 May 2013I'm not on shift in any tactical operations roles, but have been helping finish up important observations in the "Cumberland" area before we drive away next week. In particular, I have been leading the effort to take MAHLI images of the drill hole walls at night, using the LEDs to illuminate the… Read More
Sol 289 Update On Curiosity From USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Heating Up
29 May 2013Yesterday I was Geology/Mineralogy Science Theme Lead for the first time in months, so I was a bit rusty. We tried to fit some MAHLI imaging into the plan, along with overnight CheMin analysis of the Cumberland drill sample, but didn't have enough power. However, we were able to plan a… Read More
Sol 282 Update On Curiosity From USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Self Portrait
23 May 2013I was MAHLI uplink lead again for Sol 282, and helped plan images of the SAM and CheMin sample inlets to verify that samples were delivered properly. The plan also included sample dropoff to CheMin and overnight analysis. It's nice to see that the updates to the MAHLI "self portrait" of the rover… Read More
Sol 280 Update On Curiosity From USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Drilling Success!
20 May 2013The drilling at "Cumberland" went perfectly. The MAHLI images that we planned for Sol 279 came out well. So the plan for Sol 281 includes sieving of the sample and feeding some of it to SAM. This will happen late in the afternoon, when winds are expected to be low, to avoid loosing some of the… Read More
Sol 277 Update On Curiosity From USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Drill, Baby, Drill!
17 May 2013I was MAHLI uplink lead today, planning 3 sols to get us through the weekend. It was a busy day--lots of MAHLI images were planned, both before and after drilling the Cumberland target. A SAM measurement of the atmosphere and SAM "preconditioning" in anticipation of the second drill sample… Read More
