With our weekend contact science done, it’s time to hit the
road again. The sol 976 plan includes some final Mastcam mosaics of the
interesting outcrops that we have been studying, plus a Mastcam multispectral
observation of the target "Albert" that ChemCam zapped over the weekend. After
that, we will drive about 60 m, to a location west of "Jocko Butte". After the
drive we have Navcam imaging to allow us to choose targets near
where we stop, as well as take pictures looking back from where we just were,
to view the outcrops from a different angle. Overnight, the SAM instrument will
measure the amount of noble gases in the atmosphere. On sol 977, ChemCam will
do some "passive" (no laser) atmospheric observations, Navcam will watch for
clouds over Mt. Sharp, and Mastcam has a small 1x4 mosaic. 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.

MSL is in a good position for contact science observations on an interesting outcrop of sedimentary rock ,

so the rover will be busy this weekend! We had to change the timing of
the arm activities a bit to optimize the illumination of MAHLI targets,
so it was a busy morning for me as SOWG Chair but I'm happy with the
way the plan turned out. On Sol 973, ChemCam
and Mastcam will observe nearby targets "Albert" and "Charity," the RMI
will image a distant target named "Empire," and Navcam will search for
clouds and dust devils. Overnight, CheMin will dump the remaining drill
sample from one of its cells and measure
the cell to confirm that the dump was successful. The arm will be
deployed on Sol 974 and used to acquire a small MAHLI mosaic of
"Bigfork," then place the APXS on the same target for an overnight
integration. The rover will wake up earlier than usual to
measure the amount of dust in the atmosphere at 8 AM
on Sol 975 by imaging the sun. Later that morning, ChemCam and Mastcam
will perform more atmospheric measurements, and the 100-mm Mastcam will
be used to image some distant rock targets. In the afternoon,
the Dust Removal Tool (DRT) will be used to brush the dust off of
"Albert" and take MAHLI images of the brushed spot. The APXS will then
be placed on the DRT spot 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.

This morning the MSL science team used all of the
available data to decide whether to approach one of the nearby outcrops
or drive away. Ultimately we decided to approach the closer of the
large outcrops in front of the rover
to set up for contact science this weekend. Planning is still
"restricted," so we planned two sols of activities today. ChemCam and
Mastcam will observe a nearby rock named "Helena," and the RMI will
image a distant target dubbed "Lolo" on the morning of
Sol 971. Then MAHLI will acquire a set of images of the wheels to
track wear before the rover drives a few meters toward the selected
outcrop. Overnight, CheMin will analyze the sample cell that was
recently emptied to confirm that no material remains in
the cell. On Sol 972, ChemCam will acquire calibration data, and
Navcam will search for clouds. Finally, SAM will perform an instrument
maintenance activity overnight. 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.

Our drive on sol 967 covered almost 90 meters, putting us in
front of some interesting stratigraphy at "Mt. Shields", an outcrop along our drive down "Logan's Run". In the sol
969-970 plan, we have lots of Mastcam and ChemCam studying the outcrop. On sol
969, Mastcam has a 24x2 stereo mosaic and a 6x3 stereo mosaic of parts of Mt. Shields. Then, on sol 970, ChemCam has a bunch of standalone RMI "z-stacks" of
targets "Flathead", "Fern", "Ginsight", and "High_Park". A z-stack is when we
take a bunch of measurements at different focus positions. This allows us to
merge multiple images to make sure the entire field of view is in focus.
ChemCam also has a LIBS measurement of "Hungry_Horse", which is accompanied by
a Mastcam image of the same target. Finally, Mastcam will attempt to take some
nighttime images of an eclipse of Mars’ moon Phobos, which can be used to infer
how the amount of dust in the martian atmosphere varies with altitude. 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.

The rover drove 32 meters on Sol 964, to a position that gave us a good view of the terrain ahead and outcrops of interest.

So a longer (~90 m) drive is planned for Sol 967 after ChemCam and
Mastcam observ e nearby targets dubbed "Pablo" and "Pauline" on
Sol 966. Mastcam, Navcam and REMS will also observe the atmosphere.
I'm MAHLI/MARDI uplink lead today, and planned the
usual post-drive images. CheMin will acquire calibration data
overnight, and ChemCam will make calibration measurements on Sol 968.

In other news, the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity tactical team planned Sol 4000 today! A drive is planned this weekend for Opportunity as
well. 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.

Although we had
planned a drive of up to 48 m towards "Logan’s Run" on Sol 963, the drive ended early after only 17 m due to the detection of a nearby hazard (a large rock). This was the first time in a while that we were using autonav for driving. The good news is that the hazard was detected, and the events are understood. It just means that we have a little further to go before we can start calling this a run…

Today’s plan
includes ChemCam and Mastcam observations on the large rock, now named "Blackrock." Then we’ll continue driving towards the west. The plan also includes post-drive imaging for targeting, and some ChemCam atmospheric observations. I was supposed to be the Geology Science Theme Lead tomorrow, but we’re entering restricted sols (meaning that the data from today’s drive won’t be down in time for planning tomorrow), so we decided to plan two sols today, and will not do any planning tomorrow. Let’s hope this next run goes more smoothly! 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.

After cruising through Artist's Drive, Curiosity set her sights on the next pass, known as "Logan Pass." However, the science team realized that there's an interesting outcrop to west of "Logan Pass," which may help us to understand how these rocks relate to the section that we investigated at the Pahrump Hills. So we decided to make a run for it, and take a quick trip over to "Logan's Run" to image those rocks first.

The plan today is to drive further to the west, and to do some additional MAHLI wheel imaging to monitor wheel wear. Prior to the drive we'll acquire ChemCam and Mastcam observations on the target "Apple" - a small rock of variable tones. After the drive, we'll acquire standard post-drive imaging for context and future target selection. The plan also includes several Mastcam nighttime observations of Phobos and Deimos to investigate the opacity of the upper atmosphere and aerosol size.

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.

The Sol 960 drive went as planned, for a total of
over 102 meters! The rover has driven far enough since the last full
set of MAHLI images were acquired that it's time to take another full
set to look for more wheel wear. So my focus
today as MAHLI/MARDI uplink lead was on planning wheel images. MARDI
images are typically taken at each wheel-imaging position as well, but
all of these images were well planned strategically, so it was an easy
day for me. Wheel images will be taken at 4
spots, separated by short drives to ensure that all of the wheel
surfaces can be examined. This takes enough time that there wasn't much
room for other observations: Sol 962 begins with Mastcam mosaics of
distant outcrops
and images of the Sun and sky. After the rover stops moving, Mastcam
and Navcam will take pictures of the terrain near the new rover
position, and the Left Navcam will image the sun just before it sets to
measure the distribution of dust in the atmosphere. 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 short drive on sol 958 was a success, placing us at the
top of a small ridge, facing an outcrop dubbed "Daughter of the Sun". The plan
for sol 959 is to do some ChemCam and Mastcam of targets "Gold" and "Espinoza",
followed by several Mastcam mosaics. The biggest mosaic will be a 26x2 stereo
mosaic looking toward Logan Pass. We also have a 7x3 stereo mosaic of "Daughter
of the Sun" and a 17x1 mosaic of "West Ridge".

On sol 960 we will do a long drive after which DAN will make
some measurements and we will take our standard post-drive images. Then on sol
961 ChemCam will take some calibration measurements and then Mastcam and Navcam
will make several atmospheric observations.

Speaking of taking pictures of the sky, we’re starting to
get data down from our observation of the Mercury sunset transit. So far all we
have are thumbnails ,
but it looks like the full-resolution images are going to be spectacular! 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.

The Sol 957 drive went well, and the rover has officially
driven 10 kilometers ! (Last week I announced that we had reached 10k, but
that was 10k measured by how many times the wheels have spun, not how far
across the surface of Mars the rover has gone. Now, no matter how you measure
it, we’ve gone 10,000 meters!).

Unfortunately, we stopped with a ridge in
front of us, blocking the view. So the plan for sol 958 is to do a short drive to
get on top of the ridge so we can see farther to the south, allowing us to plan
more effectively for future drives (and enjoy the scenery). Before the drive,
we have some ChemCam passive observations of the sky to measure the composition
of the atmosphere. There is also a Mastcam mosaic of an outcrop to the east,
plus a high-resolution Mastcam observation of the target "Libby".

After the drive, we will do some standard Navcam and Mastcam
imaging so we can do targeted science in our immediate surroundings, plus a
ChemCam calibration target observation, and a routine Mastcam "clast survey"
image to measure the rocks and pebbles near the rover. 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.