NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater is now performing Sol 3090 tasks.
The robot’s drive on Sol 3088 went well, “and there is lots of bedrock in the arm workspace,” reports Ken Herkenhoff, a planetary geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona.
The strategic plan included full contact science to support selection of the next drill target, but unfortunately the Sol 3088 Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) activities did not complete as expected, so no MAHLI imaging was included in a recent plan while the team evaluates MAHLI telemetry.
“But we’re still planning to brush a bedrock target named ‘Bardou’ and observe the brushed spot and a nearby unbrushed spot with [the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer] APXS, to help understand the compositions of the bedrock, dust, and sand in the area,” Herkenhoff adds.
Distant targets
Before deploying the rover’s arm, a passive Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) observation of Bardou is planned, along with Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) mosaics of distant targets on the flank of “Mt. Sharp” and what appears to be a windblown drift deposit near the top of “Mont Mercou.”
“Later in the afternoon of Sol 3090, the Left Mastcam will acquire a full 360-degree mosaic, which is likely to provide a spectacular view,” Herkenhoff explains.
“After the arm is moved out of the way late in the morning of Sol 3091,” Herkenhoff reports, “Navcam and Mastcam will measure the amount of dust suspended in the atmosphere, then Mastcam will acquire a multispectral observation of the brushed spot and stereo mosaics of “Mini Mont Mercou” and a ridge in the distance toward the southwest. Finally, the Left Mastcam will survey the sky for clouds during twilight.”