By 
November 7th, 2023
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater is now performing Sol 4,001 duties.
The Mars machinery reached a milestone on the Red Planet with the planning of a 4,000th sol of exploration – a span of time covering almost 11 years and 3 months.
Lauren Edgar, a planetary geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, reports that Curiosity has had a very busy and productive work load last week wrapping up a drill campaign at Sequoia and to prepare for the upcoming solar conjunction.
Curiosity views “Sequoia” drill hole using its Mastcam. The robot used the drill on the end of its robotic arm to collect a sample from Sequoia on Oct. 17, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Safe state
“During solar conjunction, Mars will be on the opposite side of the Sun from the Earth, meaning that after Monday we won’t be able to communicate with the rover for the next few weeks,” Edgar points out.
A recent 3-sol plan (Sols 3998-4000), along with ensuring everything is in a safe state on the robot for conjunction, made use of power available for science activities in this plan.
“So the team planned a jam-packed weekend of observations, including nearly 6 hours of remote sensing,” Edgar adds.
Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera photo acquired on Sol 3999, November 6, 2023. Image looks back towards the northern crater rim, across the plains of Aeolis Palus that the robot traversed many years ago.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Chemical diversity
On the first sol, Curiosity was to acquire a Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) observation on a target named “Ionian Basin” and a ChemCam passive observation on “Inconsolable Range” to investigate the chemical diversity of rocks near the drill hole.
“Mastcam will also take a large mosaic to provide additional context and to document the layering and diagenetic features in the area,” Edgar reports. The plan also included multiple Mastcam change detection activities to monitor the movement of fines near the drill hole and in the surrounding sand.
Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera photo acquired on Sol 3999, November 6, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The environmental theme group planned several Navcam activities to search for dust devils and monitor dust in the atmosphere.
Distant stratigraphy
On the second sol, Edgar continues, Curiosity will acquire another ChemCam LIBS observation on a target named “Sphinx Crest” to assess the chemistry of a dark block among the lighter toned bedrock.
Two long distance ChemCam Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) mosaics were planned to assess a dark resistant bed in the Kukenan butte, Edgar says, and to look back in the direction of Peace Vallis to assess the distant stratigraphy and geomorphology.
Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera photo acquired on Sol 3999, November 6, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Atmospheric opacity
“The third sol includes a Navcam cloud altitude observation, Navcam zenith movie to monitor clouds, and Mastcam tau to assess atmospheric opacity,” Edgar adds. Throughout the plan there were numerous twilight cloud observations also scheduled.
“It makes me smile to think of Curiosity sitting there on sol 4,000, peacefully watching the clouds roll by in Gale crater, and reflecting on an impressive record of exploration,” Edgar concludes. “From our vantage point on Mount Sharp, we have quite a lot to look back on, and a lot of exciting discoveries that lie ahead. Happy sol 4000!”
Curiosity Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) RMI photo acquired on Sol 3999, November 6, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL
Curiosity Mast Camera Right photo taken on Sol 3999, November 6, 2023.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
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