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August 5th, 2016
Curiosity Mastcam Left image taken on Sol 1420, August 4, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars is wrapping up duties and soon departing Sol 1421 work on the Red Planet.
Ken Herkenhoff from the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona reports that Sol 1419 activities were completed successfully, including cleaning the remaining Oudam sample out of Curiosity’s Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA) device.
The focus of Sol 1420 plans was the drilling into the Marimba bedrock target.
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Mars Hand Lens Imager, located on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm, on August 4, 2016, Sol 1420.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Prior to this activity, the plan calls for the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) to image the “noseprint” of the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) contact sensor in the Oudam dump pile and the drill target from various distances, Herkenhoff adds.
After the drilling has completed, the drill bit and the new drill hole was imaged by many of the MSL cameras.
Curiosity Mastcam Right image taken on Sol 1420, August 4, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Changes in sand deposits
“And once again, we were able to fit some additional Mastcam observations into the plan,” Herkenhoff explains, such as measurements of dust in the atmosphere, a stereo mosaic extending coverage of the arm workspace, images of targets “Cota 1” and “Cota 2” to serve as a baseline for detecting changes in sand deposits this weekend, and two stereo pairs to improve coverage of one of the Murray Buttes.
Curiosity Navcam Left B image taken on Sol 1421 August 5, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
As always, dates of planned rover activities are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status.
Curiosity Front Hazcam Left B image taken on Sol 1420, August 4, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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