Curiosity has just entered Hidden Valley! For a view into the valley and information about our plans for exploring the geology, check out the recent press release.

Today's 3-sol plan is a busy one, including ChemCam observations on a disturbed soil target in a wheel track (Saline Valley), an undisturbed soil (Redlands), and contact science on a rock named Stirling. We also planned a number of MAHLI images, including the rock Stirling and another disturbed soil target named Mule Spring, along with APXS on the soil. In addition, we planned a number of Mastcam mosaics on the walls of Hidden Valley, and a drive into the valley. Another great day on Mars!


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 we planned contact science (APXS and MAHLI) on a rock target named Thimble, and an extra MAHLI image of an adjacent rock named Poleta. These observations will give us good chemical and textural information for the rocks that we’ve been driving across. We also planned a ~30 m drive down into Hidden Valley, with additional ChemCam and Mastcam observations of a blind target, and standard post-drive imaging. We’re looking forward to some beautiful scenery in the coming weeks as we work our way through the valleys.

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 we are planning Sol 705, and Curiosity is just about to drive down from the Zabriskie Plateau into Hidden Valley, where the terrain should be much easier to traverse. The Sol 705 plan includes a bump towards targets named Resting Spring and Thimble , to prepare for contact science tomorrow. It will be a good chance to understand the hard, angular, cap rocks that create the rough terrain that we’ve been driving across. The plan also includes ChemCam LIBS of a target called Poleta, which we hope to analyze with APXS tomorrow, as well as ChemCam and Mastcam observations of the Windjana dump pile (a sample from The Kimberley, which we finally dumped yesterday). There are also a number of Mastcam and ChemCam RMI observations to document the local geology.


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.

I should have mentioned yesterday that the Opportunity rover recently broke the off-planet driving record that was previously held by the 1973 Lunokhod 2 lunar rover. It will be a long time before the 40-km record is broken, even at the rate MSL is moving. But Curiosity made almost 30 meters of progress on Sol 703, ending up in a location with a nice, smooth area in front of the rover, well-suited for dumping the sample from CHIMRA. But, as shown in the same Front Hazcam image, the right front wheel is again perched on a rock, so there was a lot of concern about stability during arm activities. This made planning complicated, as we had to prepare contingency activity plans while rover stability was evaluated. Ultimately, the result of the slip risk assessment process was that arm activities were approved, and we plan to dump the sample on Sol 704. As MAHLI/MARDI uplink lead again today, I focused on the plan for MAHLI imaging of the dump location before and after dumping the sample. ChemCam and Mastcam observations of nearby rock targets Thimble and Resting Spring are planned after the APXS is placed on the dump pile

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 the 13-meter drive on Sol 702, MSL is in a better position to see the terrain ahead . But the front wheels are perched on rocks , so it is not safe to deploy the arm. Therefore, I didn't have much to do as MAHLI/MARDI PUL1 today, just the normal post-drive imaging. Because the view ahead is better, a longer drive is planned for Sol 703. We planned pre-drive Mastcam and ChemCam observations of targets Andrews Mountain and Cuzcatlan and after the drive, a Mastcam mosaic of the valley in front of us.


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.

No science uplink was sent to the rover for sol 697 or 698 because the engineers are investigating an issue with the rover's backup computer. The primary computer used in day-to-day operations is healthy, but we are holding off on science operations until we are sure the backup is healthy, just to be safe. The blog will resume when we start science operations again.

We’re slowly picking our way across the rugged cap-rock of Zabriskie Plateau. Over the weekend we

drove 23.4 m while also managing to use every single instrument on the rover! For the Sol 696 plan we

will be doing two quick APXS integrations on targets Wildrose and Surprise, along with documentation

images. We’ll also be taking a Mastcam multispectral observation of Mahogany Flats and a right-eye

image of the target Jangle. Multispectral observations involve taking pictures of a target with various

filters in front of the camera. This results in a low-resolution spectrum for each pixel in the image, which

can be used to figure out (very approximately) what type of minerals are present, and to pull out detail

that would not be visible with an ordinary red-green-blue image. Once the science is done in the sol 696

plan, we will drive again.


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.

There isn't time today to plan 3 sols of activities before commands for Sol 693 must be sent to the rover, so no activities are being planned for Sol 693. The plan for Sols 694 includes MAHLI and APXS observations of South Park, ChemCam of Johnnie and Mastcam images of both targets. Another drive is then planned for Sol 695, followed by the standard post-drive imaging. The target rocks are part of the resistant unit that caps other rock units in this area.


Today was the last day of the International Mars Conference. After summaries of Mars missions that are being planned for launch in the next few years, five Mars experts led discussion of the scientific results reported during the conference and plans for the future. Everyone agreed that this is a very exciting time, with lots of new data to analyze and more being acquired every day!


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.

Another good day at the International Mars Conference, with back-to-back talks by USGS Astrogeologists: First, Colin Dundas showed evidence in Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE images for the ongoing formation of gullies, involving seasonal carbon dioxide frost (dry ice) but not necessarily water. Then Hugh Kieffer gave a very unconventional talk about the uniquely Martian geysers in the south polar seasonal cap, taking the audience along with him on an imaginary visit to this bizarre environment. His use of props (including breaking a pencil and other sound effects) engaged the audience and earned him the longest applause of the entire conference. There were many other excellent presentations (including another 100 posters), but I'm especially proud of my USGS colleagues. We are learning so much about Mars, but of course many unanswered questions remain.


Meanwhile, MSL's Sol 691 drive was successful (almost 24 meters), and the Sol 692 plan included ChemCam and Mastcam observations of the target Pyramid Hills before another drive.


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.

Some of the MAHLI images taken during the Sol 687 ChemCam LIBS measurements of Nova captured the plasma generated by the laser ! The Sol 690 drive completed as planned, totaling nearly 30 meters over relatively rough terrain. Another rapid-traverse sol was planned today, with ChemCam and Mastcam observations of a bright rock dubbed "Limekiln" before the drive. Meanwhile the presentations at the 8th International Mars Conference continued to impress: This morning, the SAM team reported that analyses of the Cumberland drill sample show evidence for organic carbon compounds on Mars, probably benzocarboxylic acids . As exciting as those results are, I was even more interested in the afternoon presentations on the Martian polar deposits, which have long been thought to record global climate changes like Earth's ice ages. As usual, the oral presentations were followed by 2 hours of poster presentations (a fresh set of 100 each day). These poster sessions give all of us a chance to discuss new results in detail and plan future observations and analysis.


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.