Sol 796-798 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Whale Rock

The 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 on Sol 797.  I'm MAHLI/MARDI uplink lead again today, so I focused on planning MARDI imaging during and after the drive.  The goal of the drive is the sandy ripples near the Confidence Hills drill site, where the physical and chemical properties of the ripples will be investigated.

Dates of planned rover activities described in these reports are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status.