Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Curiosity Front Hazcam Left B image acquired on Sol 2112, July 16, 2018.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is carrying out Sol 2113 science tasks after being thwarted in performing new drilling in a selected target.

“Hard as a rock,” reports Lauren Edgar, planetary geologist at the USGS in Flagstaff, Arizona. “Unfortunately, we found out this morning that the ‘Voyageurs’ drill target was a much harder rock than expected. While our drill plan executed perfectly, our bit stopped short of the full depth we need for sampling. The engineers are still evaluating the data to better understand the target,” Edgar adds.

Longer-term strategy

The Curiosity science team is coming up with a new plan, and also thinking about a longer-term strategy. “Ultimately, we decided to focus on contact science and documenting the mini drill hole in today’s plan,” Edgar notes.

New drill hole captured in this Curiosity Mastcam Left image acquired on Sol 2112, July 16, 2018.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

The new plan involves several Navcam observations to monitor atmospheric opacity during the ongoing dust storm. Also on tap is use of the rover’s Mastcam in change detection observations mode to characterize the movement of sand.

These observations will be followed by several Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) scans to assess the diversity of color and composition in nearby bedrock.

Additionally, ChemCam Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) imagery of the “Voyageurs” target will be taken to help with targeting the drill hole with ChemCam in a follow-on plan.

Drill hole inspection

A few more environmental monitoring activities are part of the plan, including a Navcam line-of-sight image, Mastcam tau, and crater rim extinction observation, Edgar adds. “Then Curiosity will image the drill chuck, drill bit, and turret, to monitor our tools.”

Drill hole in view in this photo taken by Curiosity Mastcam Right camera on Sol 2112, July 16, 2018.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

An evening Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) integration on the drill tailings is scheduled, and overnight a longer APXS integration on the drill hole is slated.

Summing up, Edgar concludes: “Today is a reminder that it’s hard to operate a rover and drill on another planet, but I’m hopeful that we’ll find a way to sample this part of the ridge!”