Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Curiosity’s Navcam Left B took this image on Sol 1216 January 7, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Just entering Sol 2017, the NASA Curiosity Mars rover took another spin of the wheels, traveling over 140 feet (43 meters) toward the Namib Dune sampling location.

“That meant that today we had to decide on our final sampling spot, and there were many different factors to consider,” advised Lauren Edgar, a research geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona.

It has been busy trying to figure out our top science priorities, Edgar adds.

Curiosity’s Navcam Right B camera image taken on Sol 1215 January 6, 2016.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

“We eventually settled on a location that met all of our science objectives,” Edgar notes, “a sharp-crested ripple that would provide access to sample both coarse and fine-grained material, that was relatively dust free, implying more activity, and would allow a favorable rover orientation.  Now we just have to hope that the drive and wheel scuff go smoothly!”

Curiosity is slated to drive toward the sampling location, and will turn the right front wheel to create a scuff in the sand.

“After the drive we’ll take more imaging to prepare for targeting in the weekend plan,” Edgar said. “In the afternoon, we’ll also use Mastcam for a change-detection observation of a nearby ripple…so I’m excited to see how the plan works out!”

Curiosity Rover’s Location for Sol 1215.
This map shows the route driven by NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity through the 1215 Martian day, or sol, of the rover’s mission on Mars as of January, 06, 2016.
Numbering of the dots along the line indicate the sol number of each drive. North is up. From Sol 1204 to Sol 1215, Curiosity had driven a straight line distance of about 172.01 feet (52.43 meters).
The base image from the map is from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment Camera (HiRISE) in NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

Planned rover activities are just that, subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status.