Happy new year everyone! As of around 3pm (Mars time) on sol 669, Curiosity will have been exploring Mars for a full martian year (687 Earth days).
Happy new year everyone! As of around 3pm (Mars time) on sol 669, Curiosity will have been exploring Mars for a full martian year (687 Earth days). And what a year it’s been! We’ve driven a long way and done a lot of great science. We’ve measured the age of martian rocks, found evidence for flowing water, and even drilled into rocks formed in an ancient habitable lakebed .
Just as we wrap up our first Mars year of operations, we’re getting tantalizingly close to the edge of the landing ellipse. Over the weekend, our drive put us in a location with a limited view in front of us, so the plan today is to do a shorter drive to the top of a small ridge to get to a better vantage point. From there, we should be able to see much farther and plan some more long drives. Before we drive in today’s plan, ChemCam will zap two targets: a wind-blown ripple called Holt’s Ledge and a rock called Calef . (Any resemblance between this rock and our Keeper of the Maps, Fred Calef , is purely coincidental.)
Dates of planned rover activities described in these reports are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status.
Written by Ryan Anderson, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center
