Curiosity update: ‘Mini-drill at Mojave’

Sol 867-868, January 12, 2015, update from USGS Scientist Lauren Edgar: “Over the weekend, Curiosity did a short drive to get into position to drill at ‘Mojave.’  The previously acquired MAHLI images of this target show some really interesting crystals, and we’re excited to use CheMin to figure out what minerals are present.The main event in today’s two-sol plan is to do a mini-drill at Mojave.  Before we do a full drill deep enough to collect rock powder, we do a mini-drill in preparation. We’ll also collect a number of MAHLI images before and after the mini-drill to characterize the drilling location.  The plan also includes some DAN observations to characterize the subsurface near this site.  Then we’ll acquire APXS of the mini-drill hole to assess the composition of the freshly exposed material…” [More at link]