Curiosity is currently located within “Maria Gordon notch,” which is a rather tight canyon surrounded by high rock walls located at the transition onto the Greenheugh Pediment. Her views are currently magnificent - steep walls surround Curiosity and cast some rather dramatic shadows onto the workspace.

However, despite the beautiful views, today was a sobering lesson in the complexities of planning and executing martian surface science investigations. On some days, planning the scientific activities for the Curiosity rover to perform on Mars seems easy - observe cool features, plan cool observations, and let Curiosity execute the plan as proposed. Today, unfortunately, was not one of those days. A series of events (including a drive that was cut short on the previous day and a delay in getting all of our data processed, mosaicked, and ready for scientists to use) prevented our original plan from being submitted and executed. First, because Curiosity’s drive ended early yesterday, we did not have the full imaging data available to us to ensure that we could use the rover arm and APXS instrument safely. Therefore, we scrubbed our original plan to perform an APXS observation of “typical” bedrock in front of the rover in exchange for using the MAHLI instrument to image the rover wheels and to determine whether Curiosity is in a stable position to use the arm in the next planning cycle. Next, we modified our original plan to target local bedrock with a ChemCam LIBS observation in exchange for a ChemCam AEGIS activity, which is designed to automatically identify targets of interest in the landscape and autonomously target them with ChemCam’s laser instrument. Lastly, the team planned a handful of Mastcam imaging mosaics with the limited pointing and localization information available to the team.

Even though today came with a lot of complexity and a lot of “back-and-forth” between the science team and the rover planners, the uplink team managed to develop and uplink a really strong plan to characterize our current workspace with Mastcam and ChemCam observations. Even though we’re still doing great science today, here’s to hoping that the next few planning cycles are smoother and more straightforward than today’s planning cycle!

Curiosity is preparing to “shoot the gap”and dash through the Maria Gordon notch (the cliff-lined valley seen in the image above) in the sols ahead. Already we have a spectacular view of the 12 m (39 feet) tall cliff on the right/west side of the Notch and today’s plan included additional imaging of the cliff face. DAN is planning a mini-campaign to study the composition of the cliff face and we began preparing for that today with two DAN “active”sequences (when DAN generates neutrons to bombard the ground below the rover and help determine its hydration and composition) and a long DAN “passive”sequence (when we let the Universe provide the neutrons). We additionally scheduled brief contact science with APXS and MAHLI on a large block in the workspace, a drive, and a late afternoon Mastcam sky survey to study airborne dust particles.

Today’s drive will bring us into the edge of the valley seen in the image, where we can identify an ideal location for DAN’s planned campaign later this week.

Curiosity is continuing to investigate a juicy workspace full of a variety of boulders, and one team member described these as "gifts from above" which sounds like the perfect description for these beautiful rocks! These boulders have tumbled downslope from the pediment capping unit above us, providing a great opportunity to investigate the chemistry of the different textures that we see here. Today’s 3-sol plan is focused on wrapping up contact science at these boulders and then getting back on the road to the south.

I was on shift as SOWG Chair today and we did our best to pack this plan full of science. Normally we would only plan one contact science target in a weekend, but we managed to get two targets for MAHLI and APXS observations (named "Whaligoe Steps" and "Laurentia") and an additional MAHLI mosaic across the boulder which includes “Whaligoe Steps" to assess different textures. We also planned ChemCam observations on "Small Seal Islands," “Dura Den," and "Sarclet" to investigate variability in the chemistry of these boulders, and Mastcam mosaics to document their sedimentary textures and spectral characteristics. In addition to all of the geology observations, Curiosity will have a busy weekend monitoring the sky and searching for dust devils and clouds at different times of day. On the third sol we planned a drive to the south, heading towards "Maria Gordon notch." Stay tuned for some beautiful views ahead!

The engineers at JPL responsible for driving Curiosity yet again delivered a perfect drive to some boulders that the science team have been interested in investigating. The large boulders are thought to represent the darker, resistant rocks exposed just above us that cap the underlying less resistant, lighter coloured rocks we have been driving over. The caprocks and boulders both show two different textures; 1) layered and 2) more massive and irregular with cavities. The team want to examine these different textures in more detail and determine whether there are differences in composition between the two. We will also be able to compare the chemistry of these boulders with the pediment capping sandstones we analyzed when we first ascended the pediment. Does the more massive texture represent alteration of the layered caprock? This contact is an important one within Gale crater and represents an unconformity (a gap in time) between the underlying Mount Sharp group (laid down in lakes and rivers) and the overlying Siccar Point group (primarily wind-blown sedimentary rocks).

We are able to place the APXS and MAHLI instruments in contact with the “Yarrow Stone” target, which will allow us to examine the chemistry and close-up texture of the more massive rock. We can compare the composition with the small, layered float, APXS target, “Camusnagaul,” acquired in yesterday’s plan. ChemCam will use passive spectroscopy to examine the same “Yarrow Stone” target, and LIBS to look at another spot on the same boulder (“Avochie”), also with the massive texture. We will examine the layered, “Borve” target on the same block with ChemCam LIBS. Mastcam will acquire complementary imaging of these targets and the surrounding area. MAHLI will also image two of the layered targets (“Whaligoe Steps” and “Arainn”), which we may try to place APXS on over the weekend. To investigate the probable source area for these boulders, we plan to take Mastcam and ChemCam RMI imaging of the pediment.

Environmental monitoring activities will include a Navcam dust devil movie and line of site observation, a Mastcam tau, and SAM atmospheric observation. Standard DAN, RAD and REMS activities round out the plan.

The rover rarely drives in a straight line, and our recent drive took the "road less traveled" to investigate a bunch of boulders shed down from a cliff face off to the side of our expected traverse to the south. Why? Beneath the Greenheugh Pediment, the flat-lying, high-standing escarpment to the west, the scientists could see a unique layer with a convoluted texture. In our drive today, we're headed to blocks from this layer that have rolled down close to the cliff base. First, the rover will do some contact science with MAHLI on target "Camusnagaul," which is likely a fragment from the top of the pediment. We'll take ChemCam and Mastcam observations on target "Dutch Village" to create a higher resolution mosaic of the pediment. Another Mastcam mosaic will be created on "Old Scatness" to document some partially exposed bedrock near the rover as well as one on the nearby boulder field. Well do some atmospheric science as well with an APXS atmospheric overnight integration, dust devil survey, suprahorizon movie, and line-of-sight observation.

Ten years ago, this past weekend, on the 26^th of November 2011, Saturday of the Thanksgiving weekend in the US, I burnt a T-shirt. Wait, … what? Well, waiting for the launch of a spacecraft is never easy, but it also takes time, weather checks, count down holds…. I sat in my flat… changing from the sofa to the table and back. Staring at my laptop screen at the static image of the rocket, just a puff of white vapour here and there, getting nervous, and more nervous, and when I couldn’t sit still anymore, I thought I’d do my ironing. Standing up, something for my hands to do… and then … T-15 seconds, … 10, 9, … Main engine start...Zero... 'And liftoff of the Atlas V with Curiosity — seeking clues to the planetary puzzle about life on Mars' … at 10:02 am EST the rocket soared into the slightly cloudy skies, leaving a beautiful white trail. I cheered her on, watched her as the cameras followed her way up and into space … until, well, Curiosity was safely on her way, and the rest is history! If you want to relive the moment, have a look here (but switch that iron off before!).

Now, ten years later, Curiosity keeps herself busy exploring Gale crater, and today this means having one last look at the Zechstein drill hole and its surroundings. MAHLI is looking at Zechstein and so is ChemCam with a LIBS observation, which Mastcam will document. Mastcam will investigate the target "Ardsheal," a name which you may have heard before because it is change detection target that we have looked at several times while we were stationary at Zechstein for the drilling. Mastcam will also look at the rover deck, which we are monitoring in regular intervals. Another regular activity, the atmospheric monitoring, is in the plan again. ChemCam plans a long distance RMI to look at all the highly interesting and variable structures in the landscape. We have been seeing many interesting features lately, including ones such as on the ChemCam RMI pictured at the top of this blog. Let’s see what the new ones will reveal!

There is a drive in the plan, and after the drive Curiosity will look at an area with many boulders to give some context on future investigations. Last but not least, MARDI will get a new picture too.

As we head into a long weekend for the Thanksgiving holiday in the US, Curiosity will take advantage of some extra time at the Zechstein drill location to conduct even more science. The team has been busy these past two days planning 6 sols (plus a soliday) on Mars, which will give the rover plenty of work to do while the team takes a break from planning later this week.

While most of us would shy away from leftovers from THREE years ago, Curiosity is diving into a sample from the “Rock Hall” drill target which we’ve been carrying since our time on Vera Rubin ridge (Sol 2261). It turns out that the multisol plans this week are a great opportunity to do some power hungry SAM and CheMin analyses. SAM will conduct an experiment with the “Rock Hall” sample to test how organics are preserved in the presence of mixed iron oxides and clays on Mars. Speaking of leftovers, CheMin will take advantage of the “Zechstein” sample (only from three weeks ago…) which hasn’t been dumped yet. We will analyze it again to measure if it changed while it sat in the warmer temperatures within CheMin. The rest of the plan includes generous helpings of Mastcam and ChemCam to document the nearby stratigraphy and analyze the composition of bedrock, diagenetic features, and float blocks that have tumbled down from higher up on these slopes. In addition to all of the geology observations, Curiosity will also be busy with a lot of environmental monitoring to assess the dust content in the atmosphere and search for dust devils and clouds.

I’ve been on shift as LTP this week, and it’s been fun to see how eager the team is to fill the additional time for science. I’m heading into the weekend feeling thankful for all of the great work conducted by the team and the rover this week!

The plan did not fully execute over the weekend, so Curiosity is still sitting at the Zechstein drill location. We have already received data from the completed observations, which includes the most recent MAHLI selfie. In the above image, you can see the frame that includes Curiosity’s “head.” Don’t worry, Curiosity isn’t doing backflips! Instead, Curiosity appears upside down because of the direction the camera needs to be angled to take the perfect shot.

There are always more observations to take, so this extra time at Zechstein means bonus science. Our current location has great views of the pediment and several rocks that look like they tumbled down from either the pediment capping unit (known as the Stimson formation) or the layer that is directly beneath the Stimson. We already obtained observations of a few of these rocks, but with the extra time the team decided to target more of these blocks to see if they are similar or different than the previous targets. This includes “Cairngorm Stone,” a dark rock thought to be from the Stimson formation that was documented with a ChemCam LIBS observation and a Mastcam stereo mosaic in today’s plan. The “Carmyllie” target is a block that may be from the base of the pediment and it was documented with a Mastcam mosaic. Other observations include ChemCam LIBS targets at “Hessilhead” on bedrock that appears to have been diagenetically altered, and at “Cullaloe” on more standard bedrock.

The primary activity in this 3-sol plan is the first part of the SAM derivatization experiment of the Rock Hall sample. This sample has been in a doggy bag for 3 years, so it will be exciting to learn what it can tell us about the Vera Rubin ridge where it was taken. Data from this experiment will be used to better understand organic preservation in the presence of mixed iron oxides and clays.

We’re taking our last measurements at our Zechstein drill hole this weekend. This involves contact science on the drill tailings (the pile of powder surrounding the hole in the image above) with APXS and MAHLI. We’ll also shoot the wall of the drill hole with ChemCam LIBS to measure the geochemistry in the hole and how it changes with depth. Once we wrap that up, we’ll start driving toward our next science stop closer to the edge of the Greenheugh Pediment.

Overnight on Sunday, SAM will prepare to perform an experiment over the Thanksgiving holiday. We’ve been carrying a rock sample around in SAM for over 3 years! Over the long holiday weekend, SAM will finally perform a thorough analysis of this sample.

The SAM and CheMin instrument teams decided that they did not require further analyses of the “Zechstein” drill sample. It is the turn of the arm-mounted MAHLI and APXS instruments to have their taste of the drilled fines. The Zechstein sample held within the drill bit assembly will be dumped out onto the ground, imaged by MAHLI and then analyzed by APXS to determine the composition. The composition of the dumped material can be compared to the chemistry of the brushed bedrock surface (prior to drilling) and the fines surrounding the drill hole (yet to be acquired) to look for variations with depth. The compositional data can also assist in interpretation of the CheMin and SAM data.

Balancing the power requirements of all the desired observations, as well as of future activities, is always part of the planning process. Today was no exception and the team had to carefully prioritize what other science observations to include in this plan, to ensure that we have enough power to drive away from the Zechstein location in the next plan. Curiosity is parked in an area where we expect to transition from clay- to sulfate-bearing rocks, and close to the unconformable contact with the overlying, resistant, pediment-capping Siccar Point group sandstones, so there is no shortage of observations on our wish list! The science team chose to continue Mastcam imaging of Siccar Point, Maria Gordon notch and the base of the pediment, which will also be imaged with long distance ChemCam RMI. In the vicinity of the Zechstein drill hole, ChemCam will interrogate the chemistry of the nearby bedrock target, “Burrell” with its laser, and perform passive spectroscopy on the dumped Zechstein drill fines. Both will also be imaged with Mastcam.

Environmental monitoring activities will include a Navcam dust devil survey, line of site observation and cloud movie. Standard DAN, RAD and REMS activities round out the plan.