Curiosity update: Preparing to drill

Sol 1317, April 19, 2016, update from USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: On Sol 1316, Curiosity drove ~15 m back toward the “Lubango” target, which we first observed on Sol 1310.  “Lubango” is a high silica target that sits along a fracture in the Stimson formation.  The team decided to drill near this fracture to better understand both the altered and unaltered Stimson bedrock.  “Lubango” is the flat block on the right side of the above Navcam image.  The fracture is still slightly out of reach, so today’s plan involves a short… [More at link]