Tag Archives: Stimson Formation

Curiosity update: Preparing to drill

Posted on June 3, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1360, June 2, 2016, update from USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Arm work continues to go well, so preparation for drilling and sample analysis is the focus of the Sol 1360 plan.  First, CheMin will dump the Lubango and Okoruso … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Coordinating with MRO

Posted on May 28, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1355-57, May 27, 2016, update from USGS scientist Ryan Anderson: Our drive went well and Curiosity is now sitting on a nice patch of the Murray formation, putting us in a good position for a very busy holiday weekend! On … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Clear sailing

Posted on May 27, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1353-54, May 26, 2016, update from USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: The Sol 1352 post-drive imaging shows that, while there are sandy ripples ahead, there are enough rocky patches that the rover should not have any problem driving toward the … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: The way west

Posted on May 26, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1352, May 26, 2016. Three Navcam frames composited look ahead toward Fracture Town, the rover’s probable course to the west and southwest. (Click image to enlarge.) Sol 1352 raw images (from all cameras), and Curiosity’s latest location.

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Curiosity update: Scouting a path

Posted on May 26, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1352, May 25, 2016, update from USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: We’d like to keep driving toward the southwest, but can’t see all of the terrain ahead from our current location.  So the Sol 1352 plan includes a short drive … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Ridge chemistry

Posted on May 25, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1351, May 24, 2016, update from USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: MSL is in a good position for contact science on the small ridge in front of the rover, so the Sol 1351 operations team decided to stay here and … Continue reading →

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Curiosity zaps a thin sheet of rock

Posted on May 25, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1350, May 24, 2016. The ChemCam’s laser took aim at the upper surface of a thin sheet of rock, and stitched five zap pits across its surface. Note how the laser triggered bursts of gas from the target rock … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Data processing delay

Posted on May 24, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1350, May 23, 2016, update from USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: I’m SOWG Chair again today, and started browsing the latest data from MSL early this morning.  To my dismay, the post-drive images that we expected to receive in time for … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: A smoother route

Posted on May 23, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1348-49, May 20, 2016, update from USGS scientist Ryan Anderson: Our drive on Sol 1346 was successful and brought us to a location with a view of the rugged ridges of the area we’ve been calling “Fracture Town”. In … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Onward to Fracture Town

Posted on May 19, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1346-47, May 19, 2016, update from USGS scientist Ryan Anderson: We are coming up on the edge of Naukluft plateau (again!). The plan for Sol 1346 starts off with ChemCam observations of the targets “Etusis” and “Etiro”, to continue … Continue reading →

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