By 
August 18th, 2022
Image traces a small segment of Curiosity’s path traversing obstacles that guard the pass – over one of the large ripples, around several large boulders – leading the robot to a point where it is nearly through the pass.
This image was taken by Left Navigation Camera on Sol 3564 August 16, 2022
Credit: NASA-JPL/Caltech
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater is now performing Sol 3566 duties.
Michelle Minitti, a planetary geologist at Framework in Silver Spring, Maryland, reports that the robot is imaging “the wonders around and ahead of us as we pick our way through ‘Paraitepuy Pass.’”
The towering buttes, geologic relationships, and layers at that location have drawn research attention for a literal decade.
Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera photo taken on Sol 3565, August 17, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
“But it is also fun to look back on how we got to where we are,” Minitti adds, as Curiosity traverses the obstacles that guard the pass – over one of the large ripples, around several large boulders, “leading us to a point where we are nearly through the pass.”
Curiosity Front Hazard Avoidance Camera Left B image acquired on Sol 3566, August 18, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Ripple crossing
“I particularly enjoy seeing the choice of diverting the drive oh-so-close to the towering ‘Bolivar’ butte to our starboard side so our wheels could cross the (presumably!) shallowest part of the large ripple. It is great to see yet another successful ripple crossing, hearkening back to the first big one way back on Sol 535 at ‘Dingo Gap.’”
Before the rover crosses yet one more ripple, researchers planned imaging from the scale of vistas to small bedrock blocks.
Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera photo taken on Sol 3566, August 18, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Rubbly ridge
On tap, the robot’s Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) is to image the spectacular “Kukenan” butte, and team up with Mastcam to image an intriguing rubbly ridge extending from the north side of Bolivar.
Curiosity Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) photo produced on Sol 3566, August 18, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Curiosity’s Mastcam will add to the coverage of the “Orinoco” butte, and Bolivar butte with mosaics along its base including the “Karia Island” and “Ayanganna” targets.
“The interesting texture and color of the former target also made it a target for Mastcam multispectral analysis,” Minitti reports. “We will acquire one Mastcam image of ‘Antonio,’ the lone rock poking out of the ripple in front of the rover which has a lumpy texture.”
On the plan is use of the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) to make passive runs in parallel with all these geologic observations and punctuated by a DAN active post-drive.
Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera photo taken on Sol 3565, August 17, 2022.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) and the Rover Environmental are slated to keep their regular tabs on our environment throughout the sol (Sol 3565), Minitti concludes.
Posted in Space News
