Curiosity update: Under Durness

NLB_574432040EDR_F0682090NCAM00346M_-br2Sol 1995-97, March 16, 2018, update by MSL scientist Michelle Minitti: The science team gave Curiosity a workout in this plan, using just about every watt of power available to carry out a full slate of activities. Sol 1995 starts off with a bang – three ChemCam rasters and a Mastcam 360 mosaic! ChemCam will first shoot “Durness,” a flat, gray, apparently wind sculpted slab of bedrock in the workspace. Next up for ChemCam is “Paisley,” a faceted cobble of bedrock cut by sulfate veins, and last is “Fingals Cave,” a bright white exposure of sulfate vein.

The arm instruments get to work next. MAHLI will image Durness, which will show the ChemCam shots across the target, followed by DRT brushing of the target. APXS will analyze Durness and Paisley overnight, and then early in the morning of Sol 1996, MAHLI will return to Durness for more imaging on its now dust-cleared surface. MAHLI imaging of Paisley ends the arm work, and will capture the ChemCam raster spots and the areas cleared of dust by the ChemCam laser. [More at link]

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