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MISSION UPDATES | September 20, 2021

Sol 3244: Scone Today, Drill Tomorrow?

Written by Fred Calef, Planetary Geologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
This is a black and white image of the drill hole, "Maria Gordon", and the prominent hill, "Siccar Point".

A view of our latest drill hole, "Maria Gordon", and prominent hill, "Siccar Point". This image was taken by Front Hazard Avoidance Camera (Front Hazcam) onboard NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 3243. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Download image ›

After taking a second look at our "Maria Gordon" drill sample by SAM, we're still debating on whether to stay for a second drill attempt here or move along to look at some nodules in the bedrock before Conjunction (when we do not command Curiosity because Mars is on the other side of the Sun). While some targets may remind you (ok, maybe just me) of food, today's bedrock target "Scone Palace" (pronounced more like "schooner" than the tasty pastry) will give us another measurement of the nearby surface while we image "Siccar Point" for a third time from this location with Mastcam and ChemCam RMI to get different lighting angles to enhance the amazing textures and details we see there.