Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Curiosity Navcam Right B image from Sol 1807, September 5, 2017.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Now in Sol 1908, NASA’s Curiosity rover is on a steep roll up Vera Rubin Ridge.

In a report by Roger Wiens of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, he calls it a “Thread of Life Ledge” at elevation -4,202 meters.”

“Curiosity is on the steepest part of Vera Rubin Ridge that it will encounter along its climb,” Wiens says. “The machine is performing superbly,” he adds, having recently driven over 90 feet (28 meters) and having climbed nearly 60 feet (18 meters) vertical elevation in four planning sols.

The rover’s current elevation is -4202 meters.

Curiosity Mastcam Left image acquired on Sol 1807, September 5, 2017.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Extreme elevations

Wiens notes that Mars has far more extreme elevations than the continents on Earth, and it is reflected in the elevations of the landing sites to date.

For example, Curiosity landed at almost the same elevation as Viking 2 which landed in 1976 at -4.5 kilometers. Curiosity could pass the elevation of Phoenix, which landed in 2008 at -4.14 kilometers. The highest-elevation successful landing site to date was Opportunity, in Meridiani Planum, at -1.44 km. All elevations are measured relative to the mean planet radius, Wiens observes.

Unobstructed viewing

“Curiosity now has great, unobstructed views across the lowlands of Gale crater to the rear of the rover. The view is improving as the air becomes clearer heading into the colder seasons,” Wiens explains.

As scripted, rover instrument activities for Sol 1809 called for a Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) passive observation, as well as a Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) and Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) “get data” observations.

Also on tap is a short Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) observation of “Chamberly,” and four Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) images with stereo.

Curiosity Navcam Right B image from Sol 1807, September 5, 2017.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Linescans

Wiens notes that Curiosity’s Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) is shooting a 10-point linescan of “Chamberly” at 1.5 milliradian spacing, as well as 5-point linescans of “Locust Island Ledge” and, of all names, “Thread of Life Ledge.”

The robot’s Mastcam is providing documentation of these targets as well as imaging “Scrag Island,” “Wohoa Bay,” and “Shutdown Mountain.”

Curiosity Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) of nodules on the Red Planet. MAHLI is located on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm. Image acquired on Sol 1807, September 5, 2017.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Going to take you higher!

A planned drive of Curiosity is anticipated to be around 32 feet (10 meters), taking the rover higher on the ridge.

A second sol of activity for the robot is to include a 360 degree dust devil survey with Navcam, Mastcam monitoring of the rover deck, and a new ChemCam target that will be self-selected by onboard autonomous software.

The rover is slated to also image the work space around its new location, Wiens concludes.