Tag Archives: Aeolis Mons

Curiosity: Zapping Ailsa Craig

Posted on July 30, 2018 by rburnham

Sol 2125, July 29, 2018. Penetrating the rock at Ailsa Craig, like that at Voyageurs, proved to be too difficult for Curiosity’s drill. So mission scientists turned the ChemCam’s laser zapper onto the shallow hole and loose tailings, as the … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: It’s a hard rock life

Posted on July 28, 2018 by rburnham

Sols 2124-26, July 27, 2018, update by MSL scientist Ryan Anderson: Our attempt at drilling the target “Ailsa Craig” was partly successful: the drill behaved exactly as it was supposed to, but unfortunately we weren’t able to drill very deep. … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Shallow drill hole at Ailsa Craig

Posted on July 27, 2018 by rburnham

Sol 2123, July 27, 2018. Curiosity put its drill to work on the brushed surface of the target dubbed Ailsa Craig — and got just a shallow hole. As at the Voyageurs site, the drill dug only a very short … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Preparing to drill at ‘Ailsa Craig’

Posted on July 26, 2018 by rburnham

Sols 2122-23, July 25, 2018, update by MSL scientist Rachel Kronyak: Yesterday, the science team chose a new drill target, “Ailsa Craig,” and we spent the day triaging the target with our contact science instruments, DRT, MAHLI, and APXS. The … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Giving Ailsa Craig the brushoff

Posted on July 25, 2018 by rburnham

Sol 2120-21, July 24-25, 2018. With Curiosity positioned to drill at Ailsa Craig (circled in the Sol 2120 Mastcam composite above), mission scientists first brushed off the target rock. The brushed area is seen as a darker oval area in … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Blackjack!

Posted on July 25, 2018 by rburnham

Sol 2121, July 24, 2018, update by MSL scientist Michelle Minitti: Mars dealt us a winning hand today, yielding a sufficiently flat parking space after yesterday’s short bump to allow us to proceed with our plan to drill in this … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Checking the dust at Sgurr of Eigg

Posted on July 24, 2018 by rburnham

Sols 2119-20, July 23-24, 2018. Above is a Sol 2119 Mastcam view of the ridge’s rolling terrain to the rear of the rover. Below is a Sol 2119 Mastcam composite showing the workspace and the Sgurr of Eigg site, with … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: A little bump

Posted on July 24, 2018 by rburnham

Sol 2120, July 23, 2018, update by MSL scientist Abigail Fraeman: Our weekend drive completed successfully and we have our next intended drill target attempt in the rover workspace. Unfortunately, the combination of the rover’s pitch and roll would make … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: ‘Ben’ there

Posted on July 21, 2018 by rburnham

Sols 2117-19, July 20, 2018, update by MSL scientist Michelle Minitti: Curiosity made great progress yesterday across the “Vera Rubin Ridge” toward the site of our next drilling attempt at “Sgurr of Eigg”. In this weekend plan, we will collect … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Driving back to Sgurr of Eigg

Posted on July 20, 2018 by rburnham

Sol 2116, July 19, 2018, update by MSL scientist Ken Herkenhoff: The Sol 2115 wheel imaging went well, and we received the images needed to plan a drive back to “Sgurr of Eigg,” near the Sol 1999 rover position. The … Continue reading →

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