Curiosity update: How far we’ve come

Sol 1848-49, October 17, 2017, update by MSL scientist Lauren Edgar: Today felt like any other planning day: a straightforward plan involving remote sensing, a drive, post-drive imaging, and some untargeted observations on the second sol. Just a typical day in the office. Maybe even an easy one. It wasn’t until I sat down to write this blog that I fully processed how far we’ve come and just how awesome Curiosity’s “office” is. I was looking through the drive imagery and came across this Navcam frame (posted above), which looks down on the Murray Buttes and Bagnold Dune Field, across Aeolis Palus and the northern rim of Gale crater. It’s pretty spectacular to see just how much we’ve explored in 5 years. But that was just a quick glance over Curiosity’s shoulder (or the RTG, which hangs off the back of the rover), because our sights were mostly set on the terrain ahead of us to choose where to go next… [More at link]