We’re gearing up for our fourth drill hole on Mars! For the sol 721 plan, we have a long block of time

dedicated thoroughly analyzing the drill target Bonanza King . During this block, we will analyze 25

points on the target with ChemCam in a 5x5 grid, and follow up with Mastcam images of Bonanza King

using multiple different filters (we call images like this that use multiple different filters multispectral

images). Mastcam will also take multispectral images of targets Millers Spring and Smokey , plus a

mosaic of the south wall of Hidden Valley to cover an area that previous mosaics did not.


Sol 722 will be dedicated to contact science on the drill target, with MAHLI images and APXS

measurements. The rover will also collect data to make sure that it is in a stable location for drilling,

brush the drill target, and test placing the drill on the target and pre-loading it. Pre-loading

is another term for "pushing" and is necessary for the drill to work: If you have ever done home

improvements and had to drill into wood, you know that you have to push to get the drill bit to bite

into the wood. The same idea applies to Curiosity’s drill, and we do the pre-load test to make sure the

target doesn’t move when the rover pushes on it.

After the complicated sol 721 and 722 plans, sol 723 will be a simple sol with just some environmental

monitoring.


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 restricted sol, so we are planning a number of untargeted observations. Curiosity should have bumped on Sol 719 to put the condensed drilling target Bonanza King in the work volume, and we are waiting for those data to come down. The Sol 720 plan includes a Mastcam and Navcam photometry experiment to characterize differences in lighting over the same region at different times of day, and a ChemCam blind observation. The plan also includes a couple of ChemCam RMI mosaics to characterize the local geology, and Mastcam imaging to monitor the sand ripples in Hidden Valley. There are also several environmental monitoring activities, including standard REMS and RAD observations, Navcam imaging to look for any clouds related to Mt. Sharp, and Navcam imaging to search for dust devils.


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 is at the northern end of Hidden Valley, and we are preparing for condensed drilling on the target Bonanza King . Condensed drilling means that we will attempt to acquire a drilled sample with high efficiency – including bumping to the target, characterizing the target, drilling and transferring the sample. Bonanza King is part of a light-toned, potentially fine-grained outcrop. When Curiosity drove over Bonzana King on a previous sol, we exposed a fresh rock face. The plan today includes several ChemCam observations to characterize the drill target, a bump to the drill location, and some post-drive imaging to prepare for contact science.


In celebration of the 2nd anniversary of the successful landing on Mars, Ashwin Vasavada (MSL Deputy Project Scientist) will be giving public lectures on Thursday and Friday. If you can't travel to Pasadena for either of the lectures, they will be broadcast on the web .


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.

Planning is "restricted" this week again (Sol 717 post-drive data will not be received until late this afternoon), so only untargeted observations are planned for Sol 718. For example, Mastcam and ChemCam will observe the sky and calibration targets on the rover, and CheMin and SAM will conduct baseline tests.


In celebration of the 2nd anniversary of MSL's successful landing on Mars, Ashwin Vasavada (MSL Deputy Project Scientist) will be giving public lectures on Thursday and Friday. If you can't travel to Pasadena for either of the lectures, they will be broadcast on the web .


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 714 drive was successful and the rover traveled 37.5 meters to the vantage point we were

aiming for. For the Sol 717 plan, we’re planning to drive the rover back to the entrance of Hidden Valley

to investigate possible drilling locations. Before the drive there will also be a Mastcam observation of

the entrance to Amargosa Valley. Science-wise, the sol 717 plan has ChemCam and Mastcam images of

the target Pogonip, a ChemCam LIBS analysis of a target called Greenwater, and Mastcam stereo of the

Greenwater region. We also have a ChemCam blind observation after the drive, along with other routine

measurements.


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 713 drive got us out of the sand and onto solid (albeit rocky) ground! For Sol 714, the plan is to
drive the rest of the way out of Hidden Valley to a slight high point in the terrain so that we can take
pictures for route planning. Before the drive on sol 714, there is a ChemCam blind observation and a
Mastcam observation of a target called Harkless. During the drive, there will be a pause for some mid-
drive imaging of the rover’s tracks. And then on sols 715 and 716 the rover will be in planned runout
mode, meaning it will just make routine environmental measurements.


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 plan for Sol 713 is to do some brief ChemCam and Mastcam observations of a target called

Thorndike, and then drive. The goal of the drive is to move the rover a short distance back in the

direction we came from to get out of the sand that has been causing driving difficulties recently. Once

we’re on more stable ground, we will weigh science and engineering considerations and decide what

our driving strategy will be: do we keep trying to drive in the sand in Hidden Valley, or do we drive on

the rocky surface of Zabriskie plateau?


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 is still at the northern end of Hidden Valley, and the rover planners are trying to decide on the best approach for upcoming drives. The plan today consists of Mastcam observations to characterize the local geology, as well as some extra images to understand rover-sand interactions. This MAHLI image from Sol 711 shows the wheels interacting with sand. The plan also includes Mastcam observations of the transit of Mars’ moon Phobos. The next few sols are scheduled as rapid traverse sols.


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 is still at the northern end of Hidden Valley. The past few drives have experienced some slip, so we are collecting data to investigate how the wheels are interacting with sand, and considering a number of drive strategies. This Navcam image from Sol 710 shows some of the progress we made into the ripple field before we decided to back up.
The plan today includes a pre-drive targeted science block, MAHLI wheel imaging, a drive, post-drive imaging for targeting, and an afternoon untargeted science block. The morning science block includes ChemCam and Mastcam observations of a light-toned rock named Gold Ace, and the afternoon block includes another blind ChemCam target. The next few sols will be rapid traverse sols.


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 709 drive was not as long as planned because the minimum 2 meters of progress out of 4.5 meters commanded was not achieved. This software check may be disabled for future drives across sandy material, to allow more slippage before the rover stops driving. The Sol 710 plan includes Mastcam mosaics of the walls of the valley the rover is in, and a ChemCam observation of a target dubbed Desert Range near the right edge of the rover track seen here . Then the rover will drive a few meters back along its tracks and take the standard post-drive data. I was MARDI/MAHLI uplink lead today, and helped plan some ChemCam RMI calibration observations as well.


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.