Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera image taken on Sol 3797, April 12, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale crater is now performing Sol 3798 tasks.

The terrain the rover drivers are now navigating is challenging – “slippery sand surrounding big, wheel-unfriendly rocks,” reports Michelle Minitti, a planetary geologist at Framework in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera image acquired on Sol 3797, April 12, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

“These contrasting regimes contributed to us not-quite-arriving at our planned workspace with all six wheels confidently on known terrain,” Minitti adds. “Thus, we had to pivot from a combined contact and remote science day, to one with remote science and a drive.”

Interesting textures

Minitti points out that there are interesting textures in the workspace and the surrounding terrain motivated the science team to not want to stray too far from the robot’s current area.

Curiosity Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) photo taken on Sol 3797, April 12, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL

“So the rover drivers planned a short bump toward another intriguing rock that gives us a bit more confidence that we can arrive at it to enable arm work in the next plan,” Minitti explains.

With no arm work in the plan, geology and environmental planning groups ably filled up their pre-drive science time with Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam), Navcam, and Mastcam observations.

Curiosity Rear Hazard Avoidance Camera Left B image taken on Sol 3797, April 12, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Dust devil survey

“Navcam will start things off with a dust devil survey. Mastcam planned a series of stereo images and mosaics at targets that all shared regularly-spaced, resistant features paralleling the layering of this area,” Minitti reports, “despite being geographically dispersed, their similarities earned them the same name, ‘Teotonio.’ Layering patterns on another target, ‘La Macarena’ (pause to sing it to yourself…), earned another Mastcam mosaic, as did one of the blocks in the area (‘La Vueltosa’) exhibiting a scalloped fracture pattern that we have not seen for quite awhile. This pattern is also present on the block we are bumping toward, ‘Regina.’”

Curiosity Left B Navigation Camera image taken on Sol 3797, April 12, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Mastcam images planned on Regina should be returned to Earth in time to help researchers carry out an analysis of the target.

Channel structure

ChemCam targeted yet another scalloped fracture block, “Chiles,” with its lone Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) analysis in the plan. Farther afield, Mastcam will capture the west side of “Owenteik” butte, and ChemCam will collect a Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) mosaic of a hypothesized inverted channel structure on Gediz Vallis Ridge, Minitti notes.

Curiosity Front Hazard Avoidance Camera Left B photo taken on Sol 3797, April 12, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

In parallel with all the pre-drive science and the drive, the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) passive will run for four hours, adding an active measurement post-drive, as well.

Post-drive, Navcam will acquire a cloud altitude observation, and the Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) will provide a view of the ground beneath Curiosity’s left front wheel.

The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) and Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) will keep their regular watch on the weather and radiation conditions in Gale crater, Minitti concludes.