MISSION UPDATES | April 9, 2015

Sol 951: 10k

Written by Ryan Anderson, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center

We are continuing our driving tour of Artist’s Drive, and we
should be reaching the 10k mark on Curiosity’s odometer in the sol 951 plan!
The rover will start off the day with a targeted science block full of Mastcam
observations. We are planning two Mastcam mosaics looking at the layers in the
valley walls on either side of us, plus a routine "clast survey" image to
document the soil and gravel at our feet, plus an observation of a portion of
Mt. Sharp that is visible in the distance (which we have given the name "Tip Top
Mountain", even though we can’t see the top of the mountain from where we are),
and a Mastcam image of the target "Joshua Tree." It won’t be a purely
Mastcam-filled block though: ChemCam has two long-distance Remote Micro-Imager (RMI)
observations, also of "Tip Top Mountain" and "Joshua Tree."

After the science block, the plan is to do a short drive to
a location that gives us a nice long-distance view to help with drive planning.
After the drive (and passing the 10k mark!), we will have our standard
post-drive imaging so that tomorrow we can do targeted science again. There is
also a post-drive Navcam movie to search for clouds and measure the wind
direction overhead. by Ryan Anderson -Ryan is a planetary scientist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the ChemCam team on MSL. 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.