Earth planning date: Monday Aug. 11, 2025
Written by Lucy Lim, Planetary Scientist at NASA’s Goddard House Flight Heart
On the Curiosity group, we’re persevering with our exploration of the boxwork-forming area in Gale Crater. A profitable 25-meter drive (about 82 toes) introduced the rover from the “peace signal” ridge intersection to a brand new ridge website. A number of imaging investigations have been pursued in at present’s plan, together with Mastcam observations of a possible incipient hole (“Laguna Miniques”), and of quite a few troughs to look at how fractures transition from bedrock to regolith.
With six wheels on the bottom, Curiosity was additionally able to deploy the rover arm for some contact science. APXS and MAHLI measurements have been deliberate to discover the native bedrock at two factors with a brushed (DRT) measurement (“Santa Catalina”) and a non-DRT measurement (“Puerto Teresa”). A 3rd MAHLI statement might be co-targeted with one of many LIBS geochemical measurements on a light-toned block, “Palma Seca.” As a result of we’re in nominal sols for this plan, we have been capable of plan a second focused LIBS exercise to measure the composition of a high-relief function on one other block, “Yavari” earlier than the drive.
The auto-targeted LIBS (AEGIS) that executed post-drive on sol 4626 had fallen on a bedrock goal and might be documented in excessive decision through Mastcam imaging.
Two long-distance imaging mosaics have been deliberate for the ChemCam distant imager (RMI): one on a possible scarp and lens in sediments uncovered on the “Mishe Mokwa” butte within the strata above the rover’s present place, and the second on an east-facing boxwork ridge with apparently uncovered cross-bedding that could be associated to the beforehand explored “Volcán Peña Blanca” ridge.
As ordinary, the fashionable Martian setting can even be noticed with digital camera measurements of the atmospheric opacity, a Navcam film to look at for mud lifting, and the standard REMS and DAN passive monitoring of the temperature, humidity, and neutron flux on the rover’s location.
The subsequent drive is deliberate to deliver us to a spot in a hole the place we hope to plan contact science on the erosionally recessive hole bedrock along with imaging with view of the rock layers uncovered within the wall of one other distinguished ridge.
