MSL drove about 65 meters on Sol 956, then took some nice images of the path ahead . As we continue to drive each sol, acquiring images of the terrain around us is important to the science team. We don't want to miss anything! So the Sol 957 plan includes ChemCam RMI and Mastcam images of outcrops to the south and a Mastcam image of the windblown ripple right in front of the rover.
After the drive, the usual imaging to support future planning
will be acquired, but we don't expect to receive all of the data in time
for tactical planning tomorrow.
The volume of
data expected to be relayed to Earth via MRO is smaller than usual on
Sol 957, which was the only significant problem I had to deal with today
as SOWG Chair. Sometimes more data are relayed than expected, in which
case we'll get additional images of the terrain
in the vicinity 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.

With the last portion of the Telegraph Peak sample delivered
to SAM and analyzed by APXS, we are ready to keep driving. In the sol 956 plan,
there is a quick science block in the morning, to allow the rover to take a couple
of Mastcam pictures of nearby boulders called "Waucoba" and Navcam pictures to
complete the 360 degree panorama of the area. After that, we have a couple
hours of driving, which should take us into a new "quad" on our map of the
landing site. After the drive, Curiosity will take standard post-drive images
to allow us to make targeted observations in the sol 957 plan.

Later in the day there’s another science block, which will
be spent making some ChemCam observations of the onboard calibration targets.
Also in that science block, Mastcam will take a 3x2 mosaic in the direction of
sunset. The reason for these images is that we have a special observation at
sunset: Mastcam will be taking pictures of Mercury as it transits the sun,
right before the sun dips below the crater rim. This will be the last chance to
watch Mercury pass in front of the sun from Gale crater until 2024! Even
without a transit occurring, I always like rover
sunset pictures , so I’m looking forward to seeing how these observations
turn out! 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.

Our sol 952 drive went well, and we’re very close to
crossing over into a new "quad" of the map that was made before landing
(meaning we will get a whole new bunch of target names to choose from!). On
Saturday the team planned for a lengthy ChemCam focus test on sol 953, where we
collect images of the target "Eaton Canyon" at different times of day to check
the influence of temperature. We also planned a nice big 20x2 Mastcam mosaic of
"Mount Saint Mary". On sol 954, we delivered some of the "Telegraph Peak" drill
sample that we have been carrying with us to the SAM instrument, and dumped the
rest out on the ground to be analyzed by APXS overnight.

Today we are planning for sol 955. We have Mastcam and a
ChemCam RMI of the "Eaton Canyon" target again, as well as Mastcam and passive
ChemCam of the dump pile. Mastcam also has a small mosaic in the expected drive
direction and a larger 10x1 mosaic of "Tucki Mountain." Then, shortly after
sunrise on sol 956 Navcam will be taking an atmospheric measurement movie and
Mastcam will measure the amount of dust in the atmosphere by looking at the
sun. 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 drove 18 meters on Sol 951, as planned, putting
the rover in position to image the terrain ahead and plan a longer
drive on Sol 952. The total "wheel odometry" for the MSL mission is now over 10 km! But the total traverse distance is still less than 10 km, because the wheels sometimes slip while driving, and the wheel odometry does not take slippage into account. So we're not quite ready to celebrate like the Mars Exploration project did when Opportunity recently completed the first extraterrestrial marathon . The focus of scientific observation planning has been
to get good images of the terrain as we continue
driving, and before the Sol 952 drive the ChemCam RMI and Mastcam
stereo cameras will image various targets near and far. Almost 100
meters of driving is planned, with the rover initially going to the
right around the ripples shown here . After the drive, in
addition to the normal images of the terrain near the rover, the Left
Mastcam will acquire a full 360-degree panorama. It was an easy day for
me as MAHLI/MARDI uplink lead, with only the
normal post-drive images in the 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.

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.

Like most tourists who visit Artist’s Drive on Earth, Curiosity is busy taking lots of photos to document the valley walls of Artist’s Drive on Mars. We are officially on the road again, and working our way through a very scenic drive.

I’m the Geology Science Theme Lead today, and today’s plan involves a pre-drive science block, a drive for hopefully ~30-40m, and some post-drive imaging for targeting. Unfortunately we have to be on a bit of a diet in terms of the total data volume that we can acquire. Back at Garden City we acquired a lot of really great data, and now we need to trim down so that we don’t acquire more data than we can downlink in a reasonable amount of time. The plan includes several large Mastcam mosaics to look at the stratigraphy exposed on the northwest and southeast valley walls, and post-drive Navcam mosaics to help select targets in the Sol 951 plan. We’ll also acquire Mastcam imaging to monitor atmospheric opacity. Tomorrow’s plan looks fairly similar to today – we’ll continue to drive and study the valley walls, taking time to appreciate the views along the way. 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.

As we started the planning
day before sunrise, I was reminded of the first three months of the mission that we spent living on Mars time. Today is an early "slide sol," meaning that the planning timeline is shifted 1.5 hours earlier in order to compensate for our downlink and uplink times. Today is also a "tight" planning sol, meaning that the planning timeline is slightly shorter today. On top of that, we have a very complex set of activities planned for today!

Despite these restrictions, we certainly didn’t hold back on any science, and we developed a plan that uses almost the entire payload. I was the Geology Science Theme Lead today, and the goal today is to wrap up contact science on the veins at Garden City. The plan includes ChemCam observations on a dark vein and a plate that looks like it broke off from a vein, followed by Mastcam documentation. Then we’ll acquire a large MAHLI mosaic to assess the morphology of one of the prominent veins, seen in this Mastcam image from Sol 946. In the evening we’ll do a short APXS integration on the target "Amboy," and then a longer overnight integration on the target "Kern_Peak" ("Kern_Peak" is the flat plate near the middle of this
Mastcam image ). The plan also includes another CheMin analysis of the Telegraph Peak sample, as well as a SAM GC diagnostic activity, in addition to standard DAN, RAD and REMS observations. I guess Curiosity doesn’t have much time to sleep either… 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 MAHLI operations team did a lot of good work preparing for Sol 946,
so I expected that it would be an easy day for me as uplink lead.
Unfortunately, a problem on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter ( MRO) prevented some of the data we expected to receive in time for
planning from being relayed to Earth. MRO has been very reliable in the
past and we have gotten used to receiving most of the MSL data through
MRO. Fortunately, the orbiter is recovering
quickly and should be back to normal operations this weekend. But
without some key MSL data this morning, it was more difficult than usual
to plan arm activities. Despite valiant efforts by the Rover Planners
and APXS team, a safe target for APXS placement
could not be found. The focus of the weekend plan is the outcrop at
the center of this image . But first, ChemCam and Mastcam will observe nearby targets "Elsinore"
and "Bishop" early in the afternoon of Sol 946. Then a few
reconnaissance MAHLI images of potential APXS targets and a 12-position
MAHLI mosaic of the outcrop are planned. Before dawn on
Sol 947, Mastcam will image stars in order to measure the concentration
of dust and ice in the atmosphere at night. After dawn, more Mastcam
(plus Navcam and ChemCam) observations of the sky are planned for
comparison with the nighttime measurements. Later
that morning, ChemCam and Mastcam will observe a target dubbed "White
Mountain." Only two sols are being planned because Sunday is a "soliday," a sol we skip on Mars so that we’re back in sync for unrestricted planning on Monday .
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.

After receiving and analyzing the most recent
"Garden City" data, the MSL team decided that more data are needed to
better understand this interesting outcrop . Therefore, after acquiring
some ChemCam and Mastcam observations near " Kanosh ,"
the rover will drive back to Garden City on Sol 944. The
goal is to position the rover for contact science activities in a part
of the outcrop that was not previously within the arm's reach. CheMin
will perform another analysis of the Telegraph Peak drill sample
overnight, then ChemCam, REMS and Mastcam will measure
atmospheric properties on Sol 945. Tactical planning is still
"restricted" due to the difference between Pacific Daylight Time and the
local time in Gale Crater, so the next set of rover activities will not
be planned until Friday. 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.

Over the weekend, Curiosity drove further into Artist's Drive to investigate a rock named "Kanosh." This boulder appears to represent the "capping unit," so we're planning to study Kanosh in more detail to understand this resistant type of rock.

Today's two-sol plan consists of remote sensing and contact science to investigate this boulder. We'll acquire ChemCam on the targets "Piru," "Little Devil," and "Tierra Blanca." We'll also use MAHLI at several locations on the boulder to document the grain sizes and textures that are present, and then we'll place APXS for an overnight integration on the target "Little Devil" on the top of the boulder. There are also a number of Mastcam observations to characterize "Kanosh" and some nearby veins and ripples . Today the team is also trying to decide if we should continue driving down Artist's Drive, or return to "Garden City" to continue exploring the interesting veins there.

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.