By 
June 27th, 2016
Curiosity Navcam Left B image taken on Sol 1383, June 27, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now in Sol 1383 operations. Since landing in August 2012, the robot has snagged a total of 333,808 Images.
Last Sol, Curiosity was slated to take a Mastcam video of Phobos – a moon of Mars – crossing in front of the Sun, reports Ryan Anderson a planetary scientist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Also on tap was a multispectral observation of the brushed target “Koes”. The rover’s Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) was scheduled to analyze the targets “Koes,” “Kongola,” and “Rundu” and Mastcam was slated to document those observations. After that the robot was to drop off some of the “Oudam” sample to the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Suite for analysis.
Curiosity Navcam Right B image taken on Sol 1383, June 27, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Studying changing textures
“On Sol 1383 the rover will drive and then collect the usual post-drive images, including an 8×1 mosaic along the side of the rover to study changing textures as we drive,” Anderson said. “We’ll also take some extra Navcam images of a crater in the distance.”
The plan calls for an early morning science block for Sol 1384 to collect some atmospheric observations with Navcam and Mastcam.
Image taken by Curiosity’s ChemCam: Remote Micro-Imager on Sol 1383, June 27, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL
Good viewing
Sol 1384 activities also include the robot collecting some atmospheric observations with Navcam and Mastcam.
On the schedule is a drive for about 230 feet (70 meters) and then collect standard post-drive images.
“Since the drive is expected to put us in a location with a good view of the surrounding geology, we will also do a 360 degree Mastcam mosaic at the end of the sol,” Anderson adds.
New map
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Meanwhile, a new map has been issued showing the Curiosity rover’s location for Sol 1383.
The map shows the route driven by the Mars machinery through the 1383 Martian day, or sol, of the rover’s mission on Mars (June, 27, 2016).
Numbering of the dots along the line in the map (click for larger image) indicate the sol number of each drive. North is up.
From Sol 1378 to Sol 1383, Curiosity had driven a straight line distance of about 100.29 feet (30.57 meters).
Since touching down in Bradbury Landing in August 2012, Curiosity has driven 8.13 miles (13.09 kilometers).
The base image from the map is from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment Camera (HiRISE) aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Posted in Space News
