Tag Archives: Bagnold Dunes

Curiosity: Surroundings, near and far

Posted on March 14, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1636, March 14, 2017. On a sol with a short (15-foot) drive to the west-southwest, the rover’s Navcam took composite pans to the northwest (above) and southeast (below). Just before the drive, the Remote Micro-Imager profiled part of Mt. … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Another early morning

Posted on March 14, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1636, March 13, 2017, update by USGS scientist Ryan Anderson: Thankfully I wasn’t actually on duty today, because with daylight savings time Arizona is now on West-coast time, and planning started at 6:30am! In any case, the weekend plan … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Narrow path through the sands

Posted on March 13, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1635, March 13, 2017. Another 27-meter (88-foot) drive to the south has placed Curiosity adjacent to a large stretch of sand (right). But ahead lies a route where it can get across the Bagnold sands by rolling over rocks … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Back to nominal MAHLI planning

Posted on March 10, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1634-35, March 10, 2017, update by USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: MSL drove about 29 meters toward the south on Sol 1632, and is in a good position for weekend activities.  The MAHLI images taken on Sol 1632 look good, … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Swirling sands

Posted on March 10, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1632, March 10, 2017. Following a 27-meter (88-foot) drive, Curiosity paused amid the sea of rocks and sand. The nearby sand surface has been shaped by wind-blown particles into complex patterns as they swirl around the rocks. In places, … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Contact science on ‘Spring Point’

Posted on March 9, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1632-33, March 7, 2017, update by USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: The MSL rover drove a little over 40 meters on Sol 1630, to a place with bedrock blocks surrounded by dark sand.  There’s a bright block with parallel linear … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Early morning planning

Posted on March 7, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1630-31, March 7, 2017, update by USGS scientist Ryan Anderson: We had an early-morning (6 AM on the west coast!) start to planning today, which was a bit painful but with the help of lots of caffeine we put … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Sculptured layers

Posted on March 7, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1628, March 6, 2017. The wide-angle Mastcam took a three-frame look at the rock under the rover wheel seen here. Click image to enlarge it. Sol 1628 raw images (from all cameras), and Curiosity’s latest location.

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Curiosity: Skirting the sands

Posted on March 6, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1628, March 6, 2017. The Navcam shows the way toward Mt. Sharp, but many sand patches line the path and Curiosity will need to drive carefully among them. The ripples in the sand patch in the central part of … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Driving again

Posted on March 4, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1627-29, March 3, 2017, update by USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: Good news: the MAHLI cover was successfully opened and the instrument is marked healthy again. That means it’s time to close the cover, and if that’s successful, drive away … Continue reading →

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