Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Rim of the second largest crater within the crater cluster (bottom right) and the Gediz Vallis ridge in the background (towards the top of the image). Curiosity image taken by Left Navigation Camera on Sol 3898, July 25, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater is now performing Sol 3904 duties.

Lucy Thompson, a planetary geologist at the University of New Brunswick; Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, reports that rover engineers have navigated Curiosity through tricky terrain of fractured blocks and sand.

Image acquired by Curiosity’s Left Navigation Camera on Sol 3894, July 21, 2023. While the craters are very easy to see in orbital images, the view from the ground is a bit harder to assess. This image shows broken up blocks of bedrock in the foreground, and small depressions and ridges in the distance. Mars researchers hope to gain more insight into the origin of these features, before getting back on the road to continue climbing up Mount Sharp.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

“Our parking spot is on the rim of one of the larger craters within a cluster of craters that we have been driving towards for the last few weeks,” Thompson adds. “A number of people on our science team advocated for visiting these craters to learn more about the cratering process on Mars.”

Curiosity Mast Camera Left image taken on Sol 3902, July 29, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Crater morphology

Thompson explains that researchers are interested in variations in shape and morphology of the craters, the amount of degredation and erosion, and the composition of any impactor material (if present).

“Sadly, there were no obvious meteorites in our workspace and this plan focused on capturing the view of the craters and surrounding terrain. We are taking a 360° Mastcam mosaic, as well as smaller, higher resolution mosaics of the two largest craters within the cluster,” Thompson notes.

Mast Camera Right photo acquired on Sol 3902, July 29, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Laminated bedrock

Despite the significant time and power resources required to accomplish rover imaging, Mars investigators were still able to squeeze in some chemical analyses and close-up imaging of the rocks within the crater rim.

Curiosity’s Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) is to analyze the laminated bedrock target, “Aire de Repos,” which will also be documented with Mastcam.

Curiosity Front Hazard Avoidance Camera Right B photo taken on Sol 3902, July 29, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) was scheduled to acquire compositional data on the dark, vertical face of an upturned block (“Guainia”), and the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) is to take close-up images of this target and a differentially eroded, laminated bedrock fragment, “Mocambo.”

Mast Camera Right photo acquired on Sol 3902, July 29, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Gediz Vallis ridge

To continue monitoring changes in the atmosphere, also on tap is acquiring a Navcam large dust devil survey and line of sight, single frame image.

“Once we have completed all our targeted science observations, Curiosity will hopefully execute another successful drive to take us towards our next area of interest at the base of the Gediz Vallis ridge (stay tuned to hear more about this interesting feature as we get closer),” Thompson reports.

Once that drive has been executed, the robot is to acquire images of the new terrain beneath the rover with its Mars Descent Imager (MARDI).

Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera image taken on Sol 3901, July 28, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Standard Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS), Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) and Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) activities round out this plan, Thompson concludes.

Eroded craters

In an earlier report by Lauren Edgar, a planetary geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, Curiosity worked her way through the “Jau” crater cluster, “with the goal of trying to understand how all of these small craters formed and have since been eroded.”

To do that, Edgar adds, the team is hoping to assess the target rocks, any evidence for the impactor, and the morphology of the craters. “While the craters are very easy to see in orbital images, the view from the ground is a bit harder to assess.”

“Through a detailed imaging campaign and contact science, the team hopes to gain more insight into the origin of these features, before getting back on the road to continue climbing up Mount Sharp,” Edgar adds.