Sol 302 Update On Curiosity From USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Point Lake Outcrop

11 June 2013

I'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 additional sol checking to be sure that the rover did not slip in that location before deploying the arm. The science team discussed the options and decided that the major goals of the Point Lake campaign could be achieved at a different part of the outcrop, where the rover could approach on more level ground. So the Sol 302 plan includes a short drive to this location, along with lots of imaging before and after the drive. If all goes well, we will be able to deploy the arm on Sol 303 and take close-up images with MAHLI and measure the rock's chemistry with APXS. ChemCam observations will help us decide where to target the arm work.