Curiosity update: ‘Analyzing bedrock and sand’

Sol 1187-88, December 7, 2015, update from USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: After successfully completing a mobility test last week (as seen by our wheel tracks through this sand patch), Curiosity drove ~35 m toward a dune that is now named “Namib.”  We’ve accomplished a lot of reconnaissance imaging of the dunes, and we’re looking ahead to monitoring the dune slipface and sampling the chemistry and mineralogy of an active dune.  We’ve also acquired some beautiful close-up images of the sand grains, as seen in the above MAHLI image that just came down… [More at link]