Curiosity is at the northern end of Hidden Valley, and we are preparing for condensed drilling on the target Bonanza King .
Curiosity is at the northern end of Hidden Valley, and we are preparing for condensed drilling on the target Bonanza King . Condensed drilling means that we will attempt to acquire a drilled sample with high efficiency – including bumping to the target, characterizing the target, drilling and transferring the sample. Bonanza King is part of a light-toned, potentially fine-grained outcrop. When Curiosity drove over Bonzana King on a previous sol, we exposed a fresh rock face. The plan today includes several ChemCam observations to characterize the drill target, a bump to the drill location, and some post-drive imaging to prepare for contact science.
In celebration of the 2nd anniversary of the successful landing on Mars, Ashwin Vasavada (MSL Deputy Project Scientist) will be giving public lectures on Thursday and Friday. If you can't travel to Pasadena for either of the lectures, they will be broadcast on the web .
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
