Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Image from Curiosity’s Front Hazcam Left B November 30, 2015, Sol 1179
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has entered Sol 1180, reconnoitering sand dunes and studying ripples.

Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) has evaluated the rover’s wheels for damage. An initial assessment showed no broken grousers, explains Ken Herkenhoff of the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Taking a look at wheel damage using the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm, on November 30, 2015, Sol 1179
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

“The rover is now poised to begin testing mobility in the dark sand in front of the vehicle, but first a table used onboard to determine when heating is needed must be updated,” Herkenhoff adds. “No heating is allowed this sol after the update, which limits the activities that can be planned.”

Recently, making use of Curiosity’s Navcam, a search for clouds was made. Also, there were Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam)/Mastcam observations of a sandy ripple named “Khumib” and an outcrop dubbed “Abenab,” Herkenhoff notes.

Laser zapping of Mars sand dune via ChemCam. Taken by Curiosity Mastcam Right on November 28, 2015, Sol 1177.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

ChemCam looks at rocks and soils from a distance, firing a laser that allows analysis of the elemental composition of vaporized materials from tiny areas on the surface of Martian rocks and soils. An on-board spectrograph provides detail about minerals and microstructures in rocks by measuring the composition of the resulting plasma — an extremely hot gas made of free-floating ions and electrons.

CuriosityNavcam Left B image taken on November 30, 2015, Sol 1179
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech