Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Curiosity Navcam Left B image taken on Sol 1574, January 9, 2017.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is currently performing Sol 1575 duties.

Following a drive of over 80 feet (25-meters) on Sol 1574, the robot is again studying exposed bedrock in its robot arm workspace.

“To balance desires to sample the composition of the rocks along the traverse and to make good progress toward the south, contact science and another drive are both planned for Sol 1575,” reports Ken Herkenhoff of the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Knobbly bedrock

On the plan is use of rover’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) to acquire a full suite of images of a knobbly bedrock target named “Dorr Mountain.”

Curiosity Front Hazcam Left B image taken on Sol 1575, January 10, 2017.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Then the arm will be stowed to allow Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) to observe the same target, Herkenhoff notes, and for the Right Mastcam to acquire a 5×2 mosaic of the Dorr Mountain area.

Curiosity’s Navcam is also to search for dust devils before the drive begins.

Curiosity Navcam Left B image acquired on Sol 1575, January 10, 2017.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

After the drive, the arm will be unstowed to allow Navcam stereo imaging of the arm workspace, in anticipation of another “touch and go” plan in the works.