Curiosity update: Feeling the power of Sol 1800

Sol 1800-01, August 28, 2017, update by MSL scientist Abigail Fraeman: Curiosity drove 23.3 meters over the weekend, bringing us even closer to the area we will ascend Vera Rubin Ridge. We have reached the point in the traverse where we are no longer headed east along the ridge, but instead are turning to the south where orbital data show the ridge has slopes shallow enough for Curiosity to climb. We were also able to acquire some spectacular Mastcam and ChemCam RMI images of the ridge in the weekend plan, including our last “official” approach imaging mosaic! These images continue to show very interesting, fine scale sedimentary structures that hold the secrets of how the… [More at link]