Over the weekend, Curiosity drove 51 m closer to the Bagnold Dunes. I’m on duty as the Geology Science Theme Lead, and today we’re planning Sol 1173, which includes a short science block, a drive, post-drive imaging, and some untargeted science in the afternoon. The main focus of today’s plan is to monitor the dunes and document the bedrock along the way. We’ll start with several Mastcam observations to monitor two of the dunes, as well as a small sandsheet directly in front of us. Then we’ll drive and acquire post-drive imaging to prepare for targeting tomorrow. In the afternoon, we’ll take several Navcam observations to monitor the atmosphere and search for dust devils. Then we’ll take some additional Mastcam mosaics to monitor the dunes and bedrock under different lighting conditions. This late afternoon lighting can be very useful to bring out subtle textures in the dunes and rocks, and will help us figure out the best time of day to image these features during the Bagnold Dune campaign.

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.

This week Curiosity has been driving towards the Bagnold Dunes and characterizing the bedrock and sand along the way. After a successful SAM methane experiment and 36.5 m drive on Sol 1168, Curiosity spent Sol 1169 recharging and assessing some of the local bedrock and dunes.

The weekend 3-sol plan starts with a number of environmental monitoring activities to assess atmospheric opacity and composition. The second sol includes several ChemCam and Mastcam activities to study the local bedrock and prepare for the upcoming dune investigation. We’ll also use Navcam to search for dust devils and monitor clouds and wind, and to monitor the deck of the rover to look for dust and sand accumulation. On the third sol we’ll drive and take our standard post-drive imaging. The plan also includes SAM and CheMin activities for prepare for future sampling. I’ll be on duty next week, so I’ve been monitoring the weekend activities and getting ready for some exciting observations 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.

The Bagnold Dunes are tantalizingly close, and this week is mostly focused on driving to the dunes. On Sol 1167 Curiosity drove 39 m, and the dunes are starting to look pretty big, as seen in the above Navcam image . For more on our plans when we get to the dunes, check out this recent press release .

The plan today looks very similar to yesterday, with a pre-drive science block, a drive, and post-drive imaging. Science activities include Mastcam and ChemCam observations of the local bedrock at a target named "Etosha," as well as Mastcam deck monitoring to look for fine sand that might accumulate as we approach the active dunes. After the drive we’ll acquire standard imaging to prepare for future targeting and terrain assessment. We’re also planning a SAM atmospheric observation to look for methane, exactly one Mars year after the previous high detections. Meanwhile, here on Earth, the ChemCam team is meeting at the USGS in Flagstaff, which means that Ken, Ryan and I will only be able to blog intermittently this week. But I’m looking forward to being back on GSTL duty next week… especially with the exciting dune campaign coming up!

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.

Unfortunately, our plans for the weekend were thwarted by a
problem with the Deep Space Network that prevented the plans from being sent to
the rover. As someone on the team pointed out in response to the issue, this
just goes to show how many steps in the process have to go just right for us to
be able to operate a rover on Mars, and it’s pretty impressive that these sorts
of issues are as rare as they are.

Given its lack of instructions, Curiosity spent the weekend
in "runout" mode. Runout mode mostly consists of environmental monitoring.
Since the weekend plan was not uplinked, much of today’s plan contains repeats
of what we tried to do over the weekend.

In the sol 1166 plan, ChemCam has observations of the
targets "Zaris" and "Swakop", and Mastcam has a 5x4 mosaic of "Swakop" and its
surroundings. Then we have a block of arm activities to allow MAHLI to take
some images of the targets "Swartkloofberg" and "Swakop". This will be followed
by brushing the dust off of Swartkloofberg, taking some more MAHLI images, and
then placing APXS on Swartkloofberg to analyze it overnight.

Meanwhile, this week is the ChemCam team meeting here at
USGS in Flagstaff! Since much of the team will be busy with the meeting,
ChemCam activities this week will be kept to just two or three per day. The
meeting also means that Ken, Lauren, and I will be extra busy this week so we
won’t be blogging every day even though operations will be happening daily. 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 over 38 meters on Sol 1162, as expected. We are transitioning out of restricted planning, so only 2 sols are being planned for this weekend. There were so many good ideas for activities this morning that the team had to decide which to remove from the plan to leave enough charge in the rover's batteries to enable nominal planning on Monday . Still, the plan is a very full one: On Sol 1164, ChemCam and Mastcam will observe one of the Bagnold Dunes that is a near-term goal for detailed investigation, plus other more nearby targets called "Swakop" and "Zaris." After another AEGIS checkout activity, the arm will be deployed to take a MAHLI image of the REMS UV sensor and of a rock dubbed "Swartkloofberg." Then the DRT will brush the dust off Swartkloofberg and MAHLI will acquire mosaics of the brushed spot and of Swakop before the APXS is placed on the brushed spot for

an overnight integration.



On Sol 1165, the arm will be stowed and the rover will drive farther south, again orienting the vehicle for REMS wind measurements. After sunset, SAM will clean its scrubbers, an engineering activity that has been performed twice before. Finally, the rover will go to sleep and
recharge in preparation for the next sol's activities.



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.

Today is a holiday for some of us, but not the MSL tactical operations

team! The 55-meter drive planned for Sol 1160 completed as planned,

and another 41-meter drive is planned for Sol 1162. Before the next

drive, Mastcam and ChemCam will observe a small, sandy drift named

"Arris" and a bedrock target dubbed "Tsumeb." Mastcam will also

acquire two mosaics, one of nearby outcrops and one of more distant

rocks. The drive should place the rover between two of the Bagnold

Dunes, so the vehicle will turn to a heading that will maximize the

chances of acquiring good REMS measurements of wind speed and

direction. This observation is part of the dune study campaign that

has been developed over the past year, with an overall goal of better

understanding how winds on Mars form and modify dunes. Observations

of the dunes from orbit show that they are active, so many members of

the MSL science team are looking forward to detailed measurements of

the winds and their effects on the sand dunes and nearby terrain, as

winds are currently the most significant agent of erosion on Mars. On

Sol 1163, Mastcam will take pictures of the rover deck to allow

tracking of changes in the distribution of dust and sand on the top of

the vehicle, and image the sun to measure the amount of dust in the

atmosphere. Navcam will also observe the sky and search for dust

devils.



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.

Whew! It’s going to be a busy weekend on Mars! The Sol 1157
plan starts off with an activity to test out AEGIS, a software tool that will
help with choosing targets for ChemCam and Mastcam. The AEGIS activity will
take ChemCam images of two targets: "Ashley Lakes" and "Amsden". That is
followed by a ChemCam observation of the target "Augusta". Mastcam will take supporting
images of Ashley Lakes and Amsden, plus an image of "Dodd Ranch" and two
mosaics: a 3x2 and a 9x2.

Once the remote sensing is done, the arm will get a workout.
MAHLI and Mastcam have some images of the sky to help with calibration, and
then MAHLI will take some images of its own calibration target and the APXS
calibration target. After that, MAHLI will take some images of the wheels, and
then APXS will measure its calibration target. Once that is finished, we will
brush the dust off of the target Augusta, take some Mastcam and MAHLI images of
it, and then place APXS on it to make some measurements on and off the brushed
spot.

On Sol 1158 the rover will drive to a location that looks to
be a nice viewpoint, and that will be followed by standard post-drive images,
including a 27x2 360 degree panorama with Mastcam. On Sol 1159, Mastcam has a
tau observation to measure the amount of dust in the atmosphere, and Navcam has
a couple of movies to watch for clouds and dust devils. Later in the day,
Mastcam will do another tau, and ChemCam will make a measurement of its
titanium calibration 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.

Today’s planning was a bit challenging because we only got a
few Navcam images down to show us possible science targets, which limited our
choices for ChemCam observations. We are all looking forward to Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter (MRO) waking up from the intentional "safe mode" status that it has
been in this week! Still, even with limited data we were able to put together a
good plan.

On Sol 1155, ChemCam will observe the targets "Thermopolis"
and "Pinckney" to get measurements of the typical bedrock and typical soil or
sand in the area, plus a long-distance image of one of the sand dunes that we
are approaching. ChemCam will also do a focus test observation that was
originally planned for last weekend, but which did not get uplinked because of
a problem with the Deep Space Network. Mastcam will take documentation images
of the two ChemCam targets and the distant sand dune, plus a 13x3 mosaic of a
nearby outcrop. After that, the rover will drive and take standard post-drive
images.

On Sol 1156, we have a pretty light day. There are no
geology observations, but several environmental and atmospheric measurements,
including a couple Mastcam taus to measure the amount of dust in the atmosphere, some DAN observations, and a Navcam movie to
look for clouds. MARDI also has a post-drive image of the ground under the
rover.

I’ve been "Keeper of the Plan" for the Geology and
Mineralogy group today and Monday, but I’ll be switching over to ChemCam uplink
for Friday. The weekend plan looks like it will be focused on contact science,
but we should be able to fit some ChemCam in there too! 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 short drive over the weekend went well, putting us in a good position for a longer drive in today’s plan. Before we drive, ChemCam will analyze the targets "Tampico", "LaValle", and "Muddy" to determine if their apparent variations in brightness in the Navcam images correspond to a variation in chemistry. Mastcam will take documentation images of the ChemCam targets, plus a 13x3 mosaic of the resistant outcrop "East Glacier" and its surroundings. After the drive, which will take us past and around "East Glacier" and the dark material behind it, we will do our standard post-drive imaging. This week is a bit tricky because Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is in (intentional) Safe Mode for most of the week, meaning Curiosity can’t send as much data back to Earth. So, it’s possible that the post-drive imaging that we usually use to target ChemCam won’t come down in time to choose targets on Wednesday. If that happens, we’ll have to make do with the Hazcam images. On Sol 1154, we are planning a ChemCam passive sky observation, plus Navcam movies to watch for clouds and dust devils. Mastcam will do a routine "clast survey" observation, plus a 27x2 mosaic to document the geology from our new location, and a MAHLI image of the ground underneath 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.

Ap ologies for the lack of an update on Wednesday this week! Lauren and I were both in a training class, and Ken was traveling so none of us were able to post here. That means that today’s post covers five sols of planning! The sol 1148 plan started off with a Mastcam observation of the target McLeod and a 10x1 mosaic to patch a gap in the mosaic from sol 1144. After that, we drove for 32 meters, followed by standard post-drive imaging. On Sol 1149, ChemCam did a bunch of calibration observations and Navcam and Mastcam did some standard atmospheric observations. The drive on Sol 1148 put us in range of some interesting rocks, and the Sol 1150-1152 plan is focusing on analyzing our new surroundings. On Sol 1150, Mastcam has an 8x4 mosaic of some interesting layered rocks, followed by ChemCam and Mastcam observations of the targets "Dunkirk" and "Duperow". After the remote sensing is done, there are three APXS observations of the targets "Exshaw", "Ellis Canyon", and "Ennis". On Sol 1151, Mastcam has an 18x2 mosaic of the "Carlile" area and a 9x2 mosaic of the "East Glacier" target. This is followed by ChemCam observations of Ennis and Exshaw and the accompanying Mastcam documentation images. In the afternoon on Sol 1151, there will be a short drive to the southeast which should provide data to allow a longer drive in the next plan. Finally, on Sol 1152, the plan is to do Navcam, Mastcam, and ChemCam atmospheric observations, plus some ChemCam focus tests. 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.