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Sol 705 Update On Curiosity From MSL Scientist Lauren Edgar: Hidden Valley


Today we are planning Sol 705, and Curiosity is just about to drive down from the Zabriskie Plateau into Hidden Valley, where the terrain should be much easier to traverse. The Sol 705 plan includes a bump towards targets named Resting Spring and Thimble , to prepare for contact science tomorrow. It will be a good chance to understand the hard, angular, cap rocks that create the rough terrain that we’ve been driving across. The plan also includes ChemCam LIBS of a target called Poleta, which we hope to analyze with APXS tomorrow, as well as ChemCam and Mastcam observations of the Windjana dump pile (a sample from The Kimberley, which we finally dumped yesterday). There are also a number of Mastcam and ChemCam RMI observations to document the local geology.


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 Lauren Edgar, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center