MISSION UPDATES | July 15, 2020

Sols 2824-2825: Drive for Science!

Written by Sean Czarnecki, Planetary Geologist at Arizona State University
Surface of Mars

This image was taken by Mast Camera (Mastcam) onboard NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 2820. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS. Download image ›​

Curiosity continues its cross-country trek today, looking for our next drill site. Today's plan includes a long drive that should put us within view of potential drill targets. It is hoped that the region we are driving to will be a good opportunity to sample the clay-rich rocks of Glen Torridon one last time.

Of course we are still filling in some science observations around the long drive. Before driving, we will have ChemCam observations of targets "Tollcross" and "Sasainn" as well as a Mastcam image mosaic of target "Thirl Moor." After the long drive, we will have untargeted ChemCam observations of two additional targets, a DAN active measurement, and Navcam will look for clouds and dust devils. DAN, REMS, and RAD will work overtime making environmental observations before, during, and after the drive.