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January 28th, 2020
Curiosity Right Navigation Camera Right B image taken on Sol 2658, January 28, 2020.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Curiosity Chemistry & Camera Remote Micro Imager (RMI) photo taken on Sol 2658, January 28, 2020.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL
Curiosity Front Hazard Avoidance Camera Left B image acquired on Sol 2658, January 28, 2020.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Curiosity Navigation Camera Left B photo taken on Sol 2658, January 28, 2020.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Curiosity Navigation Camera Left B photo taken on Sol 2658, January 28, 2020.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Curiosity Navigation Camera Left B photo taken on Sol 2658, January 28, 2020.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Curiosity Navigation Camera Left B photo taken on Sol 2658, January 28, 2020.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has just begun Sol 2659 operations.
Reports Ken Herkenhoff, a planetary geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, a Sol 2657 drive by the rover went well, “so we have new bedrock exposures to explore on Sol 2658.”
The goal is to get good chemical and remote sensing data in this location before proceeding uphill toward the south.
A “touch-and-go” sol is planned, starting with a short Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) integration on a bedrock slab named “Marchmont.”
The rover’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) is slated to take some images of Marchmont, and then the arm will be moved out of the way for Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) observations of Marchmont and “Inverness Shire,” a darker block sitting on the bedrock surface.
Curiosity’s Right Mastcam is scheduled to then take images of the ChemCam targets and “Whitelaw Moss,” another slab of bedrock.
Mastcam will also acquire a 13×3 stereo mosaic of the west side of Tower Butte to examine its sedimentary structures.
Herkenhoff explains that after a rover drive of 75 feet (23-meters) and the usual post-drive activities, ChemCam will use Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science (AEGIS) to automatically select a bedrock target in the rover’s new location.
Finally, the robot’s Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) is scheduled to take an image during twilight.
Posted in Space News
