The drive on sol 1072 was successful, with a total distance
travelled of about 35 meters. For sol 1073, Mastcam will be very busy taking
pictures to document the geology in our new location. We are planning a 31x1
mosaic of the outcrop in Marias Pass, plus a 13x3 mosaic of "Mt. Shields" (not
to be confused with Mt. Sharp!) and a 10x3 stereo mosaic of "Gunton". Navcam
also has 8 frames of atmospheric observations of the horizon to the north. Once
we are done taking pictures, the plan is to drive for another ~40 meters.

After the drive, we will do our normal post-drive imaging so
that we can plan activities for tomorrow, plus an "active" measurement with DAN
(meaning that the instrument will produce neutrons to help detect hydrogen in
the subsurface, rather than relying on natural background neutrons). The plan
also includes some early morning Navcam and Mastcam atmospheric observations on
sol 1074.

I’m on duty as science Payload Uplink Lead (sPUL) for
ChemCam tomorrow, so I’m hoping we will have some time to zap some targets
before we continue driving! 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.

Unfortunately over the weekend there was an outage at the
Deep Space Network, which prevented the plan for the weekend from being sent to
Curiosity. So, instead of a busy weekend, Curiosity was in "runout" mode,
making routine environmental monitoring measurements and waiting patiently for
more instructions. The sol 1071 and 1072 plans are focused primarily on
recovering the observations that were lost in the weekend plan, before we drive
away.

On sol 1071, ChemCam has a passive observation of "Coombs",
and active (laser-firing) observations of three locations on "Missoula". Mastcam will take some
supporting images, and Navcam has some atmospheric observations. In the sol
1072 plan, ChemCam has active observations of the target "Stenerson" and another location on "Missoula",
and Mastcam will once again take supporting images, plus an observation of the
sun. After that, the plan is leave Marias Pass and drive about 35 meters to the
southwest. 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.

Curiosity had a successful drive of 19 m on Sol 1067, and we are currently back at Missoula for more targeted science. The goal is to perform a detailed study of the Stimson-Pahrump contact, and to determine the relative timing of some of the veins that we’ve observed here. The three-sol plan is a busy one, with a lot of ChemCam analyses. On Sol 1068 Curiosity will acquire ChemCam LIBS on four different "Missoula" targets (Missoula A, B, C, and D), to understand the chemistry across the contact. We’ll also acquire several Mastcam images to document those targets. On Sol 1070, we’ll acquire a ChemCam passive observation on the target "Coombs" ("passive" means that we don’t fire the laser, we just passively collect the spectrum of the target), and a regular ChemCam LIBS observation on the target "Stenerson." Throughout the weekend plan, Curiosity will also perform a number of environmental monitoring activities, to assess the opacity of the atmosphere and search for dust devils. After thoroughly investigating this outcrop with ChemCam, we’ll finally resume our drive through Marias Pass on Sol 1070, and take some post-drive imaging to prepare for science next week. By Lauren Edgar --Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of 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.

With a familiar blog
title, I report that in today’s plan we’re bumping towards the Missoula outcrop. On Sol 1066 Curiosity drove ~ 25 m back toward Missoula, but we still have a little further to go. However, the science team took advantage of our current position to collect some additional data on the Stimson unit (shown in the above Navcam image).

Today’s plan includes
ChemCam and Mastcam observations of the targets "Dixon" and "Doney" to assess the chemistry in different parts of the Stimson unit. We’ll also acquire a Mastcam mosaic to characterize the terrain that DAN sampled. Then Curiosity will perform several environmental monitoring activities, including a ChemCam passive sky observation, a Mastcam tau, and a Navcam cloud movie, to understand the chemistry and opacity of the atmosphere and search for clouds. Curiosity will then drive towards Missoula, and we’ll acquire post-drive imaging to prepare for targeted science over the weekend. The terrain might look the same, but I’m excited by the additional science that we can accomplish here!

By Lauren Edgar

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

Tonight marks the third anniversary of Curiosity’s landing in Gale crater. It’s been a great three years, full of a number of important science discoveries. Check out this video and webpage for a summary of some of the top science results so far.

To celebrate starting her 4 th year on Mars, Curiosity is driving away from the Lion outcrop, and back toward the Missoula outcrop. I feel like Curiosity has really grown up in these past couple of years, and she’s acting like a true field geologist – quickly interpreting key science data, and revisiting sites that will improve our understanding of the geologic history here. In today’s plan, Curiosity will make a couple of final observations at Lion before driving away. In the morning we’ll acquire ChemCam and Mastcam on the target "Moiese" to look for chemical variations across the outcrop. Just before driving away, we’ll take one last Mastcam image of the dump pile , using all of the camera filters. Then we’ll drive back towards Missoula, and take some Navcam images to prepare for ChemCam targeting in tomorrow’s plan. Ken Herkenhoff and I were both on duty today (as the SOWG Chair and GSTL), so it was fun to be part of this important milestone on Mars. Keep on roving! By Lauren Edgar

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

It’s been a great couple of weeks at the Lion outcrop, but it’s time to move on. After a successful investigation that included observations by almost every science instrument, we’re getting ready to drive away tomorrow. That means that today (and tomorrow before we drive) is the last call for science observations.

So we put together a full plan for Sol 1066. In the morning we’ll acquire ChemCam on the target "McClure" to look for chemical variations across the outcrop. We’ll also take a Mastcam image of "Calamity," as part of a change-detection experiment. Then we’ll acquire MAHLI and APXS on the pre-sieve dump pile, with some additional documentation images. "Pre-sieve" refers to the sample material that didn’t make it through the sieve, in other words, the larger size fraction. By dumping it on the ground we can see what the larger size particles look like and whether they have a composition that varies from that of the full mix of particle sizes. After contact science on the dump pile, we’ll use MAHLI to image the belly of the rover to monitor the spacecraft’s health. In the afternoon, we’ll acquire a large Mastcam mosaic to document the outcrop at higher resolution, and we’ll take several ChemCam RMIs to test the RMI autofocus. Ken Herkenhoff and I were both on duty today (as the SOWG Chair and GSTL), so it was a busy day of planning here at the USGS, trying to make sure we could acquire all of the necessary observations before leaving! By Lauren Edgar

--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of 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 activities planned for last weekend completed successfully, including sample dropoff to CheMin and analysis of the minerals present. So the Sol 1064 plan includes
dumping the portion of the drill sample that has not been sieved and
Mastcam, ChemCam, MAHLI, and APXS observations of the dump pile.
ChemCam and Mastcam will also observe nearby targets
"Martz" and "Mountain Home." MAHLI will image the drill hole, tailings
and CheMin inlet at night using its LEDs for illumination. Such
nighttime observations require extra power for heating, so I had to pay
extra attention to the power modeling as SOWG Chair
today. Fortunately, we didn't have to delete any observations to
maintain plenty of charge in the batteries, and I'm happy with the plan
we will be sending to the rover this evening.

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.

This morning, the MSL operations team was very happy to see that drilling into Buckskin was successful! The weekend plan therefore has more arm activities, including transferring the sample to the scoop for inspection. But first, the ChemCam RMI will take pictures of the new drill hole and Mastcam will image a potential location for eventually dumping the sample. The sample will be sieved and a portion of the fine-grained material dropped into CheMin for mineralogical analysis overnight on Sols 1061-1062.

In parallel, the
APXS will analyze the potential sample dump location for comparison with
future measurements of the dump pile. During the afternoon of Sol
1062, the arm will be moved out of the way so that Mastcam and ChemCam
can observe the drill hole and tailings, as well as new targets "Diamond
Point" and "Summer Hill." Later that day, SAM will perform a standard
(monthly) electrical baseline test. On Sol 1063, the Navcam and
Mastcams will observe the Sun and sky, and Mastcam will acquire a stereo
mosaic of the outcrop to the right of the rover .
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.

It's another exciting day on Mars! Curiosity is investigating some high-silica targets at an outcrop named "Lion." The team selected the "Buckskin" target to drill, and we successfully completed a mini drilling test yesterday (shown in the above MAHLI image). That means that today we're going for the FULL drill hole.

Today's plan is focused on the drilling activity, and a lot of imaging to document the hole. First we'll acquire MAHLI images of the intended drill site, then we'll drill, and then we'll acquire more MAHLI images after drilling. The plan also includes Navcam imaging of the workspace, and Mastcam imaging of the target and drill bit. In addition to drilling, we're getting CheMin ready to receive sample in an upcoming plan. Fingers crossed!

By Lauren Edgar

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.

Today the main event is a "mini-start hole", which is the
name for a new type of initial drilling test that we are trying out on the
target "Buckskin". This test will drill a small hole in the rock to help
determine whether it is safe to go ahead with the full hole.

In addition to that test, we are planning a detailed study
of the target "Ch-paa-qn" which means "shining peak" in the native Salish
language of northern Montana. This target is an isolated bright patch on the
nearby outcrop, and we want to figure out if it is calcium sulfate like the
white veins we see nearby, or if it is something else. The plan includes
ChemCam active and passive observations of Ch-paa-qn, along with Mastcam
multispectral images.

After that, we have an atmospheric observation, and then
some MAHLI and APXS measurements of the mini-start hole and the full drill
target. 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.