2 min read

Sols 4253-4254: Pit Stop for Contact Science

A grayscale photograph of the Martian surface, in a wide-angle, nearly fisheye view, shows a large, flat, medium gray area in front of the rover, where pebbles and soil are interspersed with large, lighter-colored slabs, which are peeking up from underground. Shadows of parts of the rover form a U around the bottom perimeter of the frame. Two other instruments are just visible, poking into the upper left and right corners of the frame.
This image was taken by Front Hazard Avoidance Camera (Front Hazcam) onboard NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 4251 (2024-07-22 00:02:59 UTC
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Earth planning date: Monday, July 22, 2024

Last week we wrapped up activities at Fairview Dome and started heading south towards our next potential drill location in the Upper Gediz Vallis ridge campaign. We had about a 29-meter (about 95 feet) drive over the weekend, which set us up nicely for contact science and remote sensing today.

Today’s two-sol plan includes APXS and MAHLI on a gray rock named “Discovery Pinnacle” to assess variations in bedrock chemistry and compare it to what we have seen recently. We also planned ChemCam LIBS on “Miguel Meadow” to evaluate the typical bedrock in our workspace, as seen in the above image from the front Hazcam. The plan also includes a Mastcam mosaic covering the large patch of light-toned rocks in front of the rover to look for variations in lithology. Two ChemCam long-distance RMIs are also planned to evaluate the stratigraphy exposed by a channel cut into the Gediz Vallis ridge deposit, and to look more closely at a well-laminated dark-toned boulder on the channel floor. Then Curiosity will drive about 16 meters (about 52 feet) farther south, and will take post-drive imaging to help us evaluate another patch of light-toned bedrock in the next plan. 

In addition to targeted remote sensing, today’s plan includes observations of atmospheric opacity, searching for dust devils, an autonomously selected ChemCam AEGIS target, and standard DAN and REMS activities.

We’re all curious to see what Wednesday’s workspace will hold as we start thinking about the next place to drill! Meanwhile, much of the science team is gathered in Pasadena, California, this week at the Tenth International Conference on Mars, sharing lots of exciting results from the mission thus far. Looking forward to what comes next!

Written by Lauren Edgar, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center

Share

Details

Last Updated
Jul 23, 2024
Editor
NASA Science Editorial Team

Related Terms

Explore More

Katie Stack Morgan and Nicole Spanovich with the NASA Here to Observe Program students and faculty from Kutztown University.
2 min read

Mars 2020 Perseverance Joins NASA’s Here to Observe Program

The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission has recently joined the NASA Here to Observe (H2O) program, where NASA planetary missions are partnered with universities to encourage undergraduate students from historically marginalized groups to pursue a career in STEM.

Article13 hours ago
A close-up color photo from the Martian surface shows an area of pale orange, fine-grained soil, resembling a sheet of sandpaper. A large trapezoid-shaped stone sits atop that, filling most of the right two-thirds of the frame. The top surface of the stone facing the viewer is uneven, with numerous lines running left to right, suggesting it’s made of many layers.
3 min read

Sols 4355-4356: Weekend Success Brings Monday Best

Article1 day ago
A close-up color photo from the Martian surface shows an area of what looks like pale orange, fine-grained soil or sand that’s reflective, as if it were moist (or just shiny). It’s terraced, creating different levels that look like a topographic map, and overlaid across the top of the entire area is a latticework that in several places looks like the cells of a layer of dried foam. Most of the area is sunlit, but about a third of the image — from the top center of the frame to the lower right corner — is in shadow, presumably cast by the Curiosity rover.
3 min read

Sols 4352-4354: Halloween Fright Night on Mars

Article2 days ago
Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

Mars

New InSight into the Red Planet Poster

All Mars Resources

The Perseverance Rover is parked among the tracks it made in the soil of Mars.

Rover Basics

NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its SHERLOC WATSON camera, located on the turret at the end of the rover's robotic arm.

Mars Exploration: Science Goals

Water carved channels and transported sediments form fans and deltas within lake basins in this image of Mars' Jezero crater.