Curiosity update: ‘Contact science at Marias Pass’

Sol 998, May 27, 2015, update from USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: A short bump on Sol 997 put Curiosity in a great position to investigate a few different rock units in Marias Pass, using the instruments on the rover’s arm. The 2.5 m drive brings our total odometry to 10,599 m. With the upcoming solar conjunction (Mars will be on the opposite side of the sun from the Earth, so we can’t communicate with the rover for most of the month of June), Curiosity is now parked for the next few weeks. But we are parked in front of a beautiful outcrop that shows the contact between the underlying Pahrump unit and the overlying Stimson unit… [More at link]