The planning daykicked off to a great start, with the SOWG Chair (Aileen Yingst) reminding usthat we do have the coolest job in the world.
The planning day
kicked off to a great start, with the SOWG Chair (Aileen Yingst) reminding us
that we do have the coolest job in the world.
I’m the Geology Theme Lead today, and it certainly feels like an
exciting job. In this plan we’ve managed
to use almost every instrument onboard the rover to characterize the most
recent drill sample and the surrounding environment. First we’ll dump the post-sieve sample, and
then we’ll “thwack” and vibrate CHIMRA (the Collection and Handling for in-Situ
Martian Rock Analysis) to clean out any remnants of the sample. Later in the plan we’ll use MAHLI and APXS to
characterize the grain size and composition of the dump pile, and Mastcam to document
the pile with all of the camera filters.
We’ll also use ChemCam to assess a nearby vein, and MAHLI will carry out
some nighttime imaging of the drill hole and CheMin inlet. We don’t often mention it in our blogs, but
every sol we’re also collecting RAD, REMS and DAN data for radiation
assessment, environmental monitoring, and neutron detection. Meanwhile the SAM instrument is patiently
waiting to analyze the samples that we “doggie bagged” a few sols ago. I like this Front Hazcam image that came down over the weekend – I feel like Curiosity’s shadow is striking a
strong pose, having conquered the “Pink Cliffs” outcrop and ready to move on to
the next location! By Lauren Edgar
–Lauren is a
Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of MSL
science team.
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