Sol 175 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Runout Plan
31 January 2013As SOWG Chair again, I worked hard today to fit as many observations into the Sol 175 plan as possible while leaving enough energy in the batteries for Sol 176 activities. Overnight SAM analysis of a blank cell in preparation for a drill sample takes a lot of power, but we were still able to plan… Read More
Sol 174 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Fully Charged
30 January 2013I served as SOWG Chair for Sol 174 planning, which includes the first use of the drill on Mars. Drill tailings will not be collected during this test, which will use only the percussion (not rotation) drilling mode. MAHLI images will be taken before and after the drill activity, so the effect of… Read More
Sol 170 - 171 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Preload Testing
27 January 2013Preparations for the first drilling activities continue to go well. The focus of the Sol 170 and 171 plans was to test the ability of arm to press the drill against the surface. Four targets were selected for the "preload" testing, and the arm was left pressed against one of them overnight, to… Read More
Sol 169 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Staying Put
25 January 2013I was MAHLI/MARDI uplink lead again today, planning images of potential drill targets. We still need more information before we can start drilling, and there are more tests to be done before the first drilling activity. So it looks like we will be in the same place for several weeks!
Sol 168 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Ninth Anniversary
24 January 2013Today is the 9th anniversary of Opportunity's landing on Mars. Her twin Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit, sent her last transmission to Earth in 2010, after over 6 years of successful operation on the surface of Mars. Not bad, considering the nominal mission lifetime of the MER rovers was 90 days.… Read More
Sol 167 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Ready to Drill
23 January 2013We have arrived at John Klein, the location selected for the first use of the drill! There are multiple potential drill targets in front of the rover, which must be flat as well as scientifically interesting. The Sol 167 plan includes a MAHLI mosaic of the area that can be reached by the drill,… Read More
Sol 160 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: A Bright Rock
16 January 2013The Sol 159 "bump" went well, and we received the images we needed to plan ChemCam, MAHLI, and Mastcam observations in the new location. As MAHLI uplink lead for Sol 160, I was focused on planning close-up images of a bright rock that apparently was broken and freshly exposed by the rover wheel. … Read More
Sol 159 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Concretions
15 January 2013For Sol 159, we planned MAHLI imaging of one more rock outcrop before stowing the arm and driving about 1 meter backward. The goal of this short "bump" is to allow us to use the arm instruments to investigate spherical objects in the rock that some team members have interpreted as… Read More
Sol 158 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: An Exciting Sol
14 January 2013I was SOWG Chair for Sol 158 planning, and it was an exciting sol. On Sol 156, there was a minor problem with the arm that caused the team to preclude more arm contact science until the anomaly was better understood. Fortunately, good work in the testbed at JPL yesterday verified that the… Read More
Sol 153 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Advance Planning
10 January 2013I was MAHLI/MARDI uplink lead again for Sol 153 planning, but there were no MAHLI or MARDI observations in the plan, so I focused instead on advance planning for Sol 154. Now that the duration of the daily tactical process has been reduced to 11 hours, part of the science team spends a couple… Read More
