NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is busily at work, carrying out Sol 1475 duties.
“The science team had a lot of good ideas for new observations, so it was a challenge to fit them all into the plan, but in the end all went well,” reports Ken Herkenhoff of the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Brush spot
On Sol 1475, the rover’s robotic arm is to be moved out of the way to allow Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) and Mastcam multispectral observations of the “Jwaneng” brush spot and an outcrop target named “Munhango.”
The Right Mastcam is slated to acquire mosaics of targets dubbed “Luremo,” “Nata,” and “Maun” before the rover drives away, Herkenhoff adds.
Auto-software
“In addition to the usual post-drive imaging, ChemCam will autonomously acquire chemical data on a target selected by the AEGIS software,” Herkenhoff notes. AEGIS software stands for Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science.
Furthermore, the rover’s Chemistry & Mineralogy X-Ray Diffraction/X-Ray Fluorescence Instrument (CheMin) is set to analyze the latest drill sample overnight.
Clouds, dust, sky observations
While the new data are being read out the next morning, Mastcam will measure the dust in the atmosphere. Additionally, Navcam will search for clouds, and ChemCam will acquire passive spectra of the sky.
“These atmospheric observations will be repeated at noon to look for short-term changes,” Herkenhoff explains. “Finally, the rover will get some sleep in preparation for what will likely be a busy weekend.”
As always, dates of planned rover activities are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status.