Sol 978-979: Jocko Chute
6 May 2015The sol 976 drive was successful and we are close to “Jocko Chute” (our informal name for the saddle point west of Jocko Butte). In the sol 978 plan, we have a ChemCam LIBS observation of a patch of exposed bedrock called “Big Salmon”, followed by lots of Mastcam images.… Read More
Sols 976-977: Onward to Jocko Butte
4 May 2015With our weekend contact science done, it’s time to hit the road again. The sol 976 plan includes some final Mastcam mosaics of the interesting outcrops that we have been studying, plus a Mastcam multispectral observation of the target “Albert” that ChemCam zapped over the… Read More
Name Approved for a Crater on the Moon: Slater
4 May 2015The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved the name Slater for a crater on the Moon. For more information, see the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
Sols 973-975: Albert, Bigfork, and Charity
1 May 2015MSL is in a good position for contact science observations on an interesting outcrop of sedimentary rock, so the rover will be busy this weekend! We had to change the timing of the arm activities a bit to optimize the illumination of MAHLI targets, so it was a busy morning for me… Read More
Names Approved for Five Craters on Mercury
30 April 2015The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved names for five craters on Mercury: Carolan, Enheduanna Karsh, Kulthum and Rivera. For more information, see the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
Sols 971-972: Approaching outcrop
29 April 2015This morning the MSL science team used all of the available data to decide whether to approach one of the nearby outcrops or drive away. Ultimately we decided to approach the closer of the large outcrops in front of the rover to set up for contact science this weekend. … Read More
Abstracts for 2011 and 2012 PGM Meeting online
28 April 2015Preliminary abstract volumes for the 2011 and 2012 Annual Planetary Geologic Mappers Meeting have been placed online: http://planetarymapping.wr.usgs.gov/Page/view/Meetings
Sol 969-970: Studying Mt. Shields
27 April 2015Our drive on sol 967 covered almost 90 meters, putting us in front of some interesting stratigraphy at "Mt. Shields", an outcrop along our drive down "Logan's Run". In the sol 969-970 plan, we have lots of Mastcam and ChemCam studying the outcrop. On sol 969, Mastcam has a 24x2 stereo mosaic and a… Read More
Sols 966-968: More Driving
24 April 2015The rover drove 32 meters on Sol 964, to a position that gave us a good view of the terrain ahead and outcrops of interest. So a longer (~90 m) drive is planned for Sol 967 after ChemCam and Mastcam observe nearby targets dubbed "Pablo" and "Pauline" on Sol 966. Mastcam,… Read More
Names Approved for Two Craters on Mars: Garni and Rauna
24 April 2015The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved names for two craters on Mars: Garni and Rauna. For more information, see the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
