Sol 1242, February 2, 2016, update from USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: Today was the last day for science activities at Namib Dune, as we’re planning to drive away on Sol 1243. It’s fun looking at the disturbed sand in the workspace, and realizing how much we’ve done here (is it just me, or does it look like a big sandbox full of scoops, dumps and wheel scuffs?). While it might look like Curiosity has just been playing in the sand, we’ve managed to accomplish a lot of really great science here.
Today’s plan includes additional CHIMRA diagnostics, and a number of MAHLI and APXS observations of the dump piles. It’s impressive how close we’re able to get MAHLI to the sand, which should enable some really high-resolution studies of the grain properties. [More at link]