By 
May 10th, 2018
Curiosity Navcam Left B photo acquired on Sol 2047, May 10, 2018.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is carrying out Sol 2047 duties.
Reports Scott Guzewich, an atmospheric scientist at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland: “In Curiosity-speak, a ‘bump’ is a short drive the rover performs to better position itself for a particular science investigation…often contact science with the rover’s arm.” A recent plan included such a bump to reach a suitable target for contact science, but unfortunately the drive did not execute.
A new plan is aimed to recover this drive and reach a target for contact science in the next plan.
Curiosity Front Hazcam Right B image taken on Sol 2047, May 10, 2018.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Bedrock plates, tilted rocks
Curiosity is at a spot where the ground is full of bedrock plates and tilted rocks, one of which Curiosity is standing on, Guzewich adds, which prevented contact science at the current location.
“Curiosity will continue to head northward away from the ridge to find a target suitable for drilling,” Guzewich notes.
Curiosity Mastcam Right image acquired on Sol 2046, May 9, 2018.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
The science plan now being carried was necessarily limited and will include post-drive imaging, a dust devil movie, and routine Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) and Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) environmental monitoring, Guzewich reports.
Posted in Space News
