MARS: CURIOSITY u krateru GALE

Sols 1198-1199: Dune imaging and dumping the “Greenhorn” sample

18 December 2015


On Sol 1196 Curiosity drove an additional 33 m closer to the lee side of “Namib Dune.”  The Mastcam images that we took earlier this week are coming down now, and they reveal a lot of great details about the dune morphology.
Although today is a weekend plan, we’re only planning 2 sols because Sunday is a soliday (a day without planning to allow Earth and Mars schedules to sync back up).  The main activity on the first sol is dumping the “Greenhorn” post-sieve sample and then analyzing it with both MAHLI and APXS.  But we managed to squeeze in a lot of additional science observations into the plan, including some ChemCam RMIs of targets named “Duineveld” and “Spitzkop” to study the grain size and morphology of different parts of the slipface, and Mastcam imaging of several targets for change detection.  We’re also testing out some software for autonomous target selection, and using Mastcam and Navcam to monitor the atmosphere.  We’ll be in the same location for a little while, so hopefully we’ll have the chance to observe some sand movement!
By Lauren Edgar
--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of MSL science team.

sol 1199
Dijelovi panoramskog kompozita, koje je  Joe automatizirano posložio, a vrijedni forumaši UMSF-a to naštrikaju
u jedinstvenu panoramsku snimku. Velik i naporan posao, kakogod...

Evo jednog manjeg dijela gore spomenute  panorame...



PS: Upsss...i ne baš. Ovo je snimljeno na sol 1197.

Sol 1200-1201: The Best Laid Plans

21 December 2015
Unfortunately, over the weekend there was an issue with the rover’s arm while the “Greenhorn” sample was being dumped, which caused the rover to stop what it was doing. Because the arm ended up in an unexpected position, it prevented the APXS and MAHLI observations from occurring as planned, and it was in the way of the subsequent three ChemCam observations. The arm issues meant that today’s plan was dedicated to recovering from the problem, but we managed to include some science observations as well.
On Sol 1200, we have a bunch of Mastcam images. First, Mastcam will take two images of “Hope Mine” and “Engo”, the ChemCam targets that were automatically selected by the AEGIS software on Sol 1199. Next, Mastcam will do a mosaic of the slip face of Namib dune, and a stereo observation of the target “Nadas” to study the shape of the alcoves on the very crest of the dune. Mastcam will also watch for changes in a patch of nearby sand, as well as a couple of locations on the dune slip face. Finally, ChemCam will do something similar, taking a large RMI mosaic on the dune target “Duineveld” to look for any changes.
In the afternoon on Sol 1200, ChemCam has two observations on targets “Matchless” (a bright vein) and “Nama” (a patch of bedrock). Mastcam will provide supporting images for those observations as usual. This will be followed by Mastcam, Hazcam, and Navcam images of the location where we were expecting to dump the Greenhorn sample. We’re not sure whether the sample was dumped before the arm halted, so these images will help to understand what happened.
For sol 1201, ChemCam and Mastcam will repeat their change detection observations, and Navcam will also do some standard observations to look for dust devils and understand the amount of dust in the atmosphere.
Hopefully we will be able to recover from the arm issue quickly! In the meantime, we’re in a great location to study “Namib Dune” so there is plenty of good science to be done.
by Ryan Anderson
-Ryan is a planetary scientist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the ChemCam team on MSL.

Sol 1202-1213: Holidays on Earth, Busy Days on Mars

23 December 2015

Today’s plan is a four sol Holiday plan covering Sol 1202-1205, and it will be followed by some pre-planned activities to take us all the way until Sol 1214 and the new year here on Earth, so there’s a lot to talk about!
On Sol 1202, we will first repeat the ChemCam RMI and Mastcam change detection images that we’ve been acquiring of the nearby dunes.  Then the arm will finish its sample dumping and cleaning activities, and MAHLI will take some images of the dump pile and APXS will analyze it.
The following sol, we will repeat some of the Mastcam change detection observations. Mastcam will also re-take some of the dune images from the recent 360 degree panorama with different exposure and focus settings. ChemCam has two laser analyses of the targets “Aus” and “Aukas” and Mastcam will take some supporting images as always. After that, we’ll take one more MAHLI image of the dump pile and then stow the arm.
Around noon on Sol 1204, ChemCam will collect some atmospheric observations (with the laser turned off), plus observations of the “Greenhorn” dump pile with the laser off and then with the laser on. Mastcam will also observe the dump pile, using all of its different color filters. In the afternoon, Mastcam will measure the amount of dust in the atmosphere by looking at the sun, and will take some images of the rover’s deck to see if any sand from the dunes has blown up onto it. Navcam will search for dust devils and look at the horizon to measure the dust in the atmosphere. Next, the rover will adjust its position slightly so that REMS can get better wind measurements and Navcam, Mastcam, and MARDI will take the standard documentation images after the drive.
Sol 1205 will be a light day. The rover will take some measurements to update our knowledge of its tilt and orientation, and REMS will collect atmospheric measurements.  Sols 1206-1213 have been pre-planned and will be pretty similar to Sol 1205, with REMS, DAN, and Mastcam environmental monitoring measurements.
While the rover is doing all of this, most of the rover team will be taking some time off to spend the holidays with friends and family, though some of us will also be working on abstracts for the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, which are due the second week in January!
by Ryan Anderson
-Ryan is a planetary scientist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the ChemCam team on MSL.

Sol 1214: Catching up after the holidays

4 January 2016

While the science team took a break from operations over the holidays, we sent up plenty of commands to keep Curiosity busy over Sols 1205-1213.  Curiosity acquired a number of change detection and environmental monitoring observations over the holidays, and we’re just starting to assess all of the great data that was returned.
In today’s plan we’ll wrap up our investigation at this particular location (on the lee side of “Namib Dune”) with the goal of driving to a different location tomorrow.  Today’s plan is focused on Mastcam change detection imaging to finish observations that began during the holiday, and a ChemCam observation on a freshly broken rock surface named “Hunkab.”  The plan also includes some MAHLI wheel imaging.  A possible drive was considered for today’s plan, but deferred to allow for a longer drive tomorrow.  I guess the new year is a good time to get moving again!
By Lauren Edgar
--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of MSL science team.