Tag Archives: Stimson Formation

Curiosity update: ‘Recharging batteries’

Sol 1141, October 21, 2015, update from USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: There was a problem processing the latest data from MSL at the Deep Space Network station that received it, but the data are now available and confirm that the … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: ‘Zapping the drill hole wall’

Sol 1140, October 20, 2015, update from USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: The ChemCam RMI images of the drill hole planned yesterday were successfully acquired and received, and were used today to plan 2 parallel LIBS rasters down the hole.  The … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: ‘Drilling at Greenhorn’

Sol 1136-1138, October 16, 2015, update from USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: Unfortunately the Sol 1135 bundles were not uplinked due to a DSN issue, so the activities that we planned yesterday never made it onboard.  However, that meant that Curiosity … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: ‘Sniffing the Martian air’

Sol 1135, October 15, 2015, update from USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: The Sol 1134 mini-start hole on “Pilgrim” went well, as seen in the MAHLI image [at right].  Side note: if that doesn’t look like a hole to you, try rotating … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: ‘Mini-start hole at Pilgrim’

Sol 1134, October 14, 2015, update from USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: Curiosity is currently investigating an alteration zone around a fracture, and the plan today is focused on what we call a “mini-start hole.”  Before we do a full drill … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: ‘Dump and thwack’

Sol 1133, October 13, 2015, update from USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: Sol 1133 activities are dominated by dumping the “Big Sky” sample and “thwacking” CHIMRA (the Collection and Handling for in-Situ Martian Rock Analysis) to clean out any remnants of … Continue reading

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Free access to Gale Crater lakes Science papers

Two of the papers published in Science (October 9, 2015) relating to the discovery of ancient lakes in Gale Crater have been posted online, with the full texts available without charge. The papers are titled: “Deposition, exhumation, and paleoclimate of … Continue reading

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New Curiosity selfie at Big Sky drilling site

This self-portrait of NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover shows the vehicle at the “Big Sky” site, where its drill collected the mission’s fifth taste of Mount Sharp. The scene combines dozens of images taken during the 1,126th Martian day, or sol, … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: ‘Dumping Big Sky sample’

Sol 1132, October 12, 2015, update from USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Columbus Day [October 12] is a federal holiday, but I’m scheduled as SOWG Chair tomorrow so I’m following Sol 1132 tactical planning and discussions of our goals for Sol … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: ‘Full wheel imaging & bump’

Sol 1127, October 7, 2015, update from USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Planning is no longer restricted, but to ensure that Sol 1127 commands are ready to be sent to the rover on time, we had to start planning 1.5 hours … Continue reading

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