Curiosity Front Hazard Avoidance Camera Left B image taken on Sol 2783, June 4, 2020.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

 

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now performing Sol 2784 tasks.

Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera image acquired on Sol 2783, June 4, 2020.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The rover has been investigating an interesting pebble/nodular patch reports Mark Salvatore, a planetary geologist at the University of Michigan.

After a drive of longer than 164 feet (50 meters), Curiosity parked in front of an interesting patch of bedrock and sand well within the previously identified clay-bearing unit, Salvatore notes.

Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera image acquired on Sol 2783, June 4, 2020.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

 

 

Local bedrock

“Scattered within the sediment was a plethora of small pebbles or nodules that seem to be eroding out of the local bedrock,” Salvatore explains.

“Upon this observation, the team was particularly excited about studying these pebbles or nodules and their host bedrock as a means of understanding any chemical differences and the role of physical erosion in the liberation of these materials,” Salvatore adds.

Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera image acquired on Sol 2783, June 4, 2020.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

 

 

March up Mount Sharp

A recently scripted science plan involved two Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectrometer (LIBS) chemical analyses of this nodular/pebbly bedrock material. This was done in addition to a large Mastcam mosaic of the nearby pediment and cliff face from this unique vantage point and before the robot drives away.

Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera image acquired on Sol 2783, June 4, 2020.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

“After another planned drive, we have a series of additional Mastcam mosaics planned to continue improving our understanding of this landscape as we march further uphill in our climb of Mount Sharp,” Salvatore concludes.

Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera image acquired on Sol 2783, June 4, 2020.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera photo taken on Sol 2783, June 4, 2020.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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