Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Curiosity’s Location as of Sol 3277. Distance driven since landing, 16.41 miles/26.42 kilometers.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater is now carrying out Sol 3278 tasks.

Looking at the rocks currently near the rover’s workspace, they look like “piles of tortilla chips,” notes Scott Guzewich, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Black and white image of large surfaced rocks embedded in smooth sand. There are smaller rocks present as well. The surface of these rocks is rough with lots of cracks.
This image taken by Left Navigation Camera onboard Curiosity on Sol 3277. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

From a geological perspective, however, the “incredibly thin and fragile layers indicate that the rocks were laid down in a sedimentary environment,” reports Guzewich. Those “tortilla chip-like” fins indicate later water flowed through fractures in the rocks.

“Both the thin layers and fins can be seen along the bottom edge of the nearby Siccar Point, and it’s likely that the dark overlying material that’s still present on Siccar Point was eroded away at the location we’re parked, leaving the “tortilla chip terrain” (my term, not an official MSL feature term) exposed on the surface,” Guzewich adds.

Curiosity Front Hazard Avoidance Camera Right B photo taken on Sol 3278, October 26, 2021.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Workplace science

The rover recently was scheduled to carry out a standard touch-and-go plan, with contact science on a large block (tortilla chip pile) in the workspace termed “Wardie.”

Curiosity Front Hazard Avoidance Camera Left B image acquired on Sol 3278, October 26, 2021.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Also on tap was using the Chemistry and Camera Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) device on another such block off to the rover’s right and take a series of Mastcam images of the various surface textures around the rover.

Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera image taken on Sol 3278, October 26, 2021.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

“Farther afield, we’ll take a large Mastcam mosaic of Rafael Navarro mountain and search for dust devils with Navcam,” Guzewich concludes.

Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera image taken on Sol 3278, October 26, 2021.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech