Curiosity Front Hazard Avoidance Camera Left B image taken on Sol 3721, January 24, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater is now performing Sol 3722 duties.

Despite giving it the “old college try,” Curiosity’s attempt to drill into the Marker Band at the “Encanto” site did not reach sampling depth, reports Sharon Wilson, a planetary geologist at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

“Because other rocks around the rover look similar to ‘Encanto’ and are likely also too hard to drill,” Wilson adds, “the Science Team decided to convert the plan to a ‘Touch and Go.’”

Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera photo taken on Sol 3721, January 24, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Up Mt. Sharp!

While the Science Team is disappointed to leave the Marker Band location without a sample, Curiosity will use the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS), and the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) device to analyze the chemistry and texture of the shallow “Encanto” drill hole and tailings, targeting the intriguing light-toned material exposed in the wall of the drill hole, Wilson explains.

Curiosity Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) photo produced on Sol 3721, January 24, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

“We may see another location in the Marker Band worth sampling in the near future, but even if we don’t,” Wilson notes, “there will certainly be many more exciting drilling opportunities to look forward to as Curiosity continues her climb up Mt. Sharp!”

Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera photo taken on Sol 3721, January 24, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera photo taken on Sol 3721, January 24, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Document the terrain

Wilson reports that, in addition to a drive of roughly 82 feet (25 meters) to the south on Sol 3721, Mastcam will take an image of the “Cacao” target to document the terrain in the direction that the rover is driving as well as a multispectral image of “Cana Dulce,” a dark-toned rock that is perched on the surface of the Marker Band.

Curiosity will round out the sol by observing the sky and looking for dust devils, Wilson concludes.

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