MSL drove over 87 meters on Sol 1468, toward an outcrop named
"Karasburg." The Sol 1469 plan includes another drive toward Karasburg,
after ChemCam and Mastcam sample a local bedrock target named "Cacolo"
and a patch of brighter material
dubbed "Malembo." Mastcam will also acquire mosaics of the Karasburg
area both before and after the drive. Following the typical post-drive
activities, AEGIS will again be used to autonomously select a ChemCam
target and acquire chemical and imaging data. While the Murray Buttes
were spectacular and interesting, it's good to be back on the road
again, as there is much more of Mt. Sharp to explore!

by Ken Herkenhoff
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.

The activities planned
for Sol 1466 are going well so far--the only problem is that the
ChemCam observation of the Quela drill hole wall is slightly out of
focus.

So we'll try again on Sol 1467 with slightly modified ChemCam command
parameters. We're planning two sols today, and our top priority is to
finish up our investigation of the Quela drill hole and tailings before
driving away. There are a lot of measurements
we'd like to make here, so it was a rather busy day for me as SOWG
Chair. After retracting and stowing the arm to allow remote sensing
observations of the Quela area, the Right Mastcam will image the imprint
of the APXS contact sensor in the drill tailings,
to determine exactly where the APXS was placed. Mastcam will also
image the unsieved sample dump pile through all filters and measure the
amount of dust in the atmosphere (a "Mastcam tau") by imaging the Sun.
Then ChemCam will go to work, acquiring passive
spectra of the dump pile and active LIBS observations of the drill
hole/tailings, a vein target named "Sumbe," and Goantagab again to look
for changes. The Right Mastcam will then acquire a 5x8 mosaic of the
right side of the butte in front of the rover and
take pictures of the ChemCam targets. Another Mastcam tau is scheduled
late in the afternoon, followed by CheMin and SAM engineering
activities. Mastcam will measure dust in the atmosphere again on the
morning of Sol 1468, and Navcam will search for clouds
overhead. A ~90-meter drive is planned during the middle of the day,
followed by the usual post-drive imaging to set us up for the next
plan.

by Ken Herkenhoff 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.

The second attempt to drill into Quela was successful, but there was a timing issue during sample manipulation in
CHIMRA that resulted in premature halting of the Sol 1465 sequence. So on Sol 1466 we'll pick up where
MSL stopped and sieve the new sample, dump the unsieved fraction,
and drop some of the sieved sample into CheMin. But first, ChemCam
will acquire passive spectra of the Quela drill tailings and use its
laser to measure the chemistry of the wall of the new drill hole
and of bedrock targets "Camaxilo" and "Okakarara." Right Mastcam
images of these targets are also planned. After sunset, MAHLI will use
its LEDs to take images of the drill hole from various angles and of the
CheMin inlet to confirm that the sample was successfully
delivered. Finally, the APXS will be placed over the drill tailings
for an overnight integration.

by Ken Herkenhoff
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.

Unfortunately the Sol 1461 drilling activities did not
complete as expected, so the Sol 1462 plan was focused on trying to understand
the problem while also doing some remote sensing. The plan starts off with
Mastcam multispectral observations of the target "Ekunha" on the nearby butte.
ChemCam will analyze the targets "Cuasa" and "Cuimba", and then Mastcam will
document those targets and take an 8x3 mosaic of the butte, along with a change
detection observation at "Goantagab".

In the afternoon, Mastcam has a mosaic of the target "Karasburg"
to help with planning contact science, and then in the morning of Sol 1463
Mastcam has another mosaic of the nearby butte, under different lighting, and
Navcam has at atmospheric measurement. Throughout the whole plan, there are
also a number of joint Navcam and Mastcam photometry observations of the same
location at different times of day to help understand how sunlight scatters off
the surface. 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

It’s always an exciting day on Mars when you prepare to drill another sample – an engineering feat that we’ve become so accustomed to that I sometimes forget how impressive this really is! Today’s plan just looks like a "typical" drill sol. First we’ll image the intended drill target with MAHLI, then we’ll do a full drill of the target "Quela", followed by more documentation imaging with MAHLI. We’ll also acquire a ChemCam RMI image of the drill hole to help with upcoming targeting of the hole. Then the sample will be transferred to the scoop for inspection. Drilling is a pretty power-hungry activity, so there are no additional science observations in this plan, but we’re hoping to have more time for science tomorrow. In the meantime, we have plenty of new beautiful images to analyze.

Fingers crossed for another successful drill hole on Mars!

By Lauren Edgar

--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the MSL science team.

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.

Yesterday was sol 2 of the drill campaign at "Quela" and we did a lot of great remote sensing, contact science and wheel imaging (see the above RMI image showing fine lamination in some pebbles, and the MAHLI image of the wheels to monitor their health). Today’s plan includes a science block and cross-contamination experiment to prepare for the drill sample. Science activities include a Mastcam multispectral observation of a block of Stimson sandstone, ChemCam RMI images of the layering in the butte, and ChemCam LIBS to assess the composition of the pebbles. If all goes well we should be ready to go for the full drill hole tomorrow!

By Lauren Edgar

--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the MSL science team.

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.

Over the weekend, Curiosity completed analyses of the "Marimba" drill sample (our previous drill target), and dumped the post-sieve sample. Today’s plan is focused on MAHLI and APXS of the dump pile, and MAHLI imaging of the CheMin inlet to prepare for drill activities at our current location at "Quela." The plan also includes a number of remote sensing observations. We’ll start with several atmospheric monitoring activities, including a Navcam movie and Mastcam tau. Then we’ll acquire a Mastcam multispectral observation on the "Quela" DRT spot. After two ChemCam passive observations of the "Marimba" dump pile and "Quela" DRT spot, we’ll acquire ChemCam LIBS on the targets "Eenhana" and "Ombomboli" to characterize the Murray bedrock and pebbles. Then we’ll take several Mastcam mosaics to document the color, texture, grain size, and sedimentary structures in the nearby rocks.

By Lauren Edgar

--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the MSL science team.

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.

We had a successful drive yesterday, and Curiosity is now
parked at our next drill site, called "Quela", right at the base of one of the
Murray Buttes. The Sol 1456 plan starts with a Mastcam atmospheric observation,
followed by ChemCam and Mastcam of "Quela" and a Mastcam mosaic of the
workspace. After that, samples of "Marimba" will be dropped off in SAM for
analysis.

On Sol 1457 Mastcam has another tau, and we will dump out
the remaining Marimba sample and take some pictures of it. After that Curiosity
will brush the dust off of Quela, with MAHLI images before and after, and APXS
will do an overnight analysis.

In the morning on Sol 1458, Navcam, Mastcam, and ChemCam
have a series of atmospheric observations. These will be followed by Mastcam
multispectral observations of the Marimba dump pile, and another ChemCam
passive sky and Mastcam tau. ChemCam will also analyze a block of Stimson material
called "Uutapi". Mastcam will document Uutapi and take a mosaic of some other
blocks of rock that have fallen off the butte, collectively called "Cuimba". 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

After another successful drive of ~40 m, Curiosity is aiming to approach the south side of a butte for our next potential drill site. The area is known as "Quela," and is seen in the above Navcam image as the bright outcrop at the base of the butte.

Today’s plan includes a short science block, a drive, and post-drive imaging. The morning science block includes several Mastcam mosaics to assess the local stratigraphy, laminations in the Murray formation, and to document the butte and proposed drill site. We’ll also acquire a ChemCam observation of the bedrock at the target "Humpata," and a Mastcam tau to assess atmospheric opacity. In addition to geology observations, the team has increased the frequency of meteorological measurements with REMS and imaging in response to observations from other spacecraft at Mars of the potential start of a major dust storm. The drive in this plan may put us in position at the next drill site, so our post-drive imaging will help prepare us for that scenario. We’ll also squeeze in another autonomously selected ChemCam target in the afternoon. It’s exciting to think about drilling again already!

By Lauren Edgar

--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the MSL science team.

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.

The 4-sol plan over the holiday weekend went well, and Curiosity drove ~40 m to the south. We’re currently just to the east of a butte that we’re planning to approach as our next potential drill site.

Today’s 1-sol plan is a busy one. We’ll start with MAHLI imaging of the target "Eheke," to characterize the local bedrock. Then we’ll use Mastcam and Navcam to assess atmospheric opacity, followed by ChemCam observations of the targets "Diyogha," and "Donkerbos." We’ll also acquire a Mastcam mosaic of the "Karasburg" area to observe the contact between the Murray and Stimson formations, and another mosaic to document the stratigraphy in the buttes. Then we’ll drive to start approaching the next drill site. After the drive we’ll take post-drive imaging for context and targeting. Tomorrow is a soliday (a day without planning to allow Earth and Mars schedules to sync back up), and then we’ll resume with an early slide sol on Thursday.

By Lauren Edgar

--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the MSL science team.

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.