In the last blog my colleague Lucy expressed excited hope for today’s planning of close-up imagery of the rocks we tried to approach at ‘The Prow.’ But, well, sometimes Mars does not read the script. If you ever drove off-road (or in heavy snow, for that matter), you’ll know that the landscape always rules. There is no point trying to fight it, it will win. Our attempt to drive to the outcrop showed that the terrain is tricky, and that sand under the wheels caused slippage which meant we once again ended up with our left front wheel perched on a rock (you can see it in the image above). While we expected it, and factored it into the planning, approaching carefully, keeping the rover safe, hoping our six-wheel drive would give us the upper edge… it proved too difficult. Mars wins. This time. (There is a German proverb, though, that says that the smarter one back off first ...) The image above gives you a good impression why. Therefore, to keep our rover safe, we decided to back off and look out for another place where we could find similar structures in the future, and onto which we can safely deploy MAHLI and APXS. That said, we are not leaving empty handed, because our mast-mounted cameras, Mastcam and the ChemCam remote imager, will have imaged every important inch of the structure, and ChemCam will get chemistry too. Good bye to this section of ‘The Prow,’ but we’ll be looking out for your siblings in the future.

Before we move, there is a lot of science to be done. ChemCam investigates the target ‘Sorowape’ in active mode and takes high-resolution mosaics of the targets ‘Kambaouk’ and ‘Chimanta’ near the rover and of the target ‘Mirador’ in the distance. Mastcam will be busy doing documentation images of the ChemCam active target and do imaging on the targets ‘Toron’ and ‘East Cliffs’ as well as a multispectral investigation on ‘Kambaouk.’

After backing off and reaching a flat area, we will do our regular full MAHLI wheel imaging that we do to keep an eye on our hardware. There will be a Mastcam clast survey image and the post drive imaging from Navcam for planning on Friday. Of course, we also have atmospheric monitoring in the plan and DAN is measuring the water in the rocks beneath the rover, too. MARDI will continue to take an image after the drive, documenting the rocks under the rover. Curiosity will have a busy day at the office while we will very closely inspect all the images we have – and that we will get from this plan, too – to spot a sibling of ‘The Prow.’ It’s a very diverse area, and if you haven’t done so, have a look at all the images that Curiosity took in the past few days, it’s a feast for geologists, and for anyone else who likes to admire the wonderful structures that sedimentology has to offer.

The weekend plan included a short drive (or bump) to get us closer to one of the interesting, more resistant ledges that are exposed in this area (“The Prow”), as Curiosity continues her climb up Mount Sharp. These resistant ledges have caught our attention because they reveal distinct textures. Being able to get close-up, high resolution imaging accompanied by compositional data, will help the science team better understand how they were formed. Hence the reason for our weekend bump and our return to The Prow exposure. However, Curiosity ended up perched on a couple of rocks and at a tilt, such that we were not able to safely deploy the arm and use either MAHLI or APXS. This meant that the rover engineers had to figure out how to move Curiosity off the rocks, but keep the areas of interest within reach of the arm instruments.

Without the use of the arm in this plan, the science team set about planning how to utilize the remaining instruments to continue characterizing this important area. ChemCam will analyze a small area within the resistant ledge that appears to be finer grained (“La Ventana”), to see if it has the same composition as the surrounding, sand-size grains. A Mastcam mosaic will also be acquired of the La Ventana target and surrounding area. This should provide improved context for the CheCam analysis, as well as help with planning the close-up MAHLI imaging that we hope to take in the next plan. Two other areas on the resistant ledge (“Caramambatai” and “Potaru”) will be imaged with ChemCam RMI, providing even more sedimentological and textural information. Mastcam will also image an area of nearby cliffs (“East Cliffs”) to look at shed blocks.

The environmental scientists planned several observations to continue monitoring changes in the atmospheric conditions. These included: Mastcam basic tau and stereo sky column observations, and Navcam 360 sky survey, large dust devil survey and line of sight observations.

After our hopefully successful bump, we will execute a ChemCam AEGIS analysis to autonomously measure the chemistry of a rock target in the new workspace. The terrain beneath the rover wheels will be imaged with MARDI. Standard REMS, DAN and RAD activities round out this plan.

As the APXS strategic planner this week, I am excited to hopefully be able to place the APXS on this interesting outcrop in tomorrow’s plan and see what textures and information can be teased out with MAHLI close up imaging.

On Wednesday we collected our first MAHLI images of the outcrops we’ve been studying the last few sols, and then drove back to the Prow to give us another chance to investigate the fascinating sedimentary structures we see preserved in this region. This morning we were pleased to find the rover was parked within a short bump distance to the Prow outcrop, exactly where we’d hoped to start the day.

In today’s plan, we’ll collect lots of remote sensing data of the Prow from our standoff location. We’re taking two ChemCam RMI mosaics of the area on targets named “Kangurama” and “Kaietur,” as well as ChemCam LIBS observations of the upper portion of the Prow on a target named “Alegre” and a nearby rock named “Formoso.” Additionally, APXS and MAHLI will examine a layered rock at the rover’s feet named “Mazaruni,” and Mastcam will collect several mosaics of the area.

Today in planning, I served as the Surface Properties Scientist, so I put my geologist hat on and worked closely with the Rover Planners as they designed a precision bump to place Curiosity within arm’s reach of our favorite spot on the Prow. There are lots of little rocks and some sand in the area, so it was a fun challenge to pick a parking location that will allow us to place MAHLI very close to the face of the Prow while also avoiding parking the rover on unstable rocks. Never a dull day on Mars!

After a few sols of challenges that prevented us from getting close-up MAHLI imaging of this dark outcrop in front of us, today we were finally able to plan the contact science that we were hoping for. Yesterday there was a small rock under the right rear rover wheel, so we had to kick that rock to the curb to get into a stable position for using the rover arm. This morning’s downlink data confirmed that we had cleared the rock and we are good to go with a fantastic set of contact science activities (as a sedimentologist I am drooling over some of these beautiful structures throughout this area).

Today’s two-sol plan is focused on contact science on the first sol and a drive on the second sol. The plan starts with several Mastcam mosaics to document sedimentary structures and their spatial relationships, as well as the processes responsible for carving this landscape. Then we’ll get a ChemCam LIBS observation on “Kako” to investigate the chemistry of nearby nodular bedrock, followed by a long-distance RMI mosaic to investigate the stratigraphy exposed in the “Mirador” butte. After that, we’ll put the arm to work. We’ll acquire a MAHLI “dogs eye” mosaic of the target “Caroni” in which the camera will get an edge-on perspective of the exposed laminae, and a set of images that coincide with the APXS targets “Coati” and “Morok.” All of these contact science targets are intended to understand the grain size, sedimentary structures, and composition of the dark outcrop in front of us. Previously we acquired some remote sensing observations of this outcrop (including the beautiful laminae seen in the above ChemCam RMI image), but we’re excited to get this detailed information from MAHLI and APXS. After the evening APXS integrations, the rover will go to sleep, and wake up the next morning for more science. The ENV theme group planned a suite of observations to characterize atmospheric dust and search for dust devils. Then Curiosity will drive back along this dark outcrop to another interesting location to setup for more contact science in the weekend plan. Looking forward to a great set of data from this location!

Our initial plan today was to conduct a MAHLI “dog’s eye” imaging sequence on the beautiful Panari outcrop that we are parked before. During a dog’s eye sequence, the rover’s arm walks the MAHLI camera along a feature near ground level, just how your martian canine (obviously named “Rover”) would see it. But, we had to move that to tomorrow’s plan due to a couple issues that need resolving first.

Instead, we planned a bevy of remote sensing science with ChemCam, Mastcam, and Navcam. ChemCam will target “Arabopo” (near the upper right in this Mastcam image) for LIBS and Mastcam will image the entire area around it. Both ChemCam and Mastcam will also take additional images near the workspace on other bedrock blocks and also image “Mirador,” the prominent peak directly ahead of us. ENV will monitor the decay of an early season martian dust storm with a Navcam dust devil movie and Mastcam tau observation.

We continue to document rocks similar to what we saw at "The Prow," a dark appearing rock outcrop with amazing sedimentary structures and details. To do this, we need to get as close as possible to an outcrop surface but that has called for some short multi-plan drives, as we manoeuvre to a new feature called "Panari" (a length of roughly 20 metres away from The Prow). In our last plan, we edged towards the inclined rock in the front right corner of the image, ending on some flatter rock a safe distance back. This end of drive allows the Rover Planners to vet the inclined rock, finding the optimal location to place us for up close contact science after a short “bump” or drive (less than 3 metres in total) on the third sol of this plan.

First however, GEO has a lot of work to do! First we will document the flatlying rock underneath us. The target “Chimata” in front of the rover will be brushed to clear the dust and then analyzed by both APXS and Mastcam. This material is a somewhat paler colour than The Prow and the inclined rocks at Panari, so we are investigating to see if the tonal differences are reflected in the composition. ChemCam will use the LIBS instrument to target two smaller targets (“Mataui” and “Kamarang”) and the Mastcam targets “Auyan” and “Uei” look at sand movement overlying fractures and along the side of flatlying bedrock. ChemCam will also target the inclined block with LIBS (“Apparam”) and its imaging tool (RMI) (target “Karwai”), whilst Mastcam will image a similar block “Quino” a bit further in the distance.

ENV also have a busy plan, with multiple monitoring activities, looking at changing dust levels in the atmosphere, and a full day of REMS only activities on the last day of this crammed four sol plan!

The "bump" planned on Sol 3354 to move the rover closer to "The Prow" outcrop was successful, placing the front wheels very close to the base of the outcrop. From this new position, the arm can reach the top of the outcrop, so APXS will be placed on a couple of upper outcrop targets named "Angasima" and "Kamuda" on Sol 3355. Unfortunately, MAHLI had an issue reading data from their memory a couple sols ago, so MAHLI imaging is precluded while engineers take a closer look at MAHLI. Instead, the Right Mastcam will image the APXS target to allow the chemical measurement to be placed in geologic context. ChemCam will also sample the elemental chemistry of the outcrop at "Cerro la Luna" and use its RMI to acquire a high-resolution 5x2 mosaic of a bedrock exposure called "Paso de las Lagrimas." Mastcam is also planning a stereo mosaic of the outcrop and will acquire mosaics of the next drive target and the Mirador butte toward the south. Navcam and Mastcam will be used to characterize the amount of dust in the atmosphere, which has increased lately, and Navcam will search for dust devils.

Before dawn on Sol 3356, Navcam will search for clouds. Later that morning, Navcam will again look at the content of dust in the atmosphere and search for dust devils, then watch for clouds just above the horizon. Then ChemCam will fire its laser at the "Quebrada de Jaspe" target on the right side of the outcrop and acquire an RMI mosaic of another bedrock target dubbed "Vale dos Cristais." The Right Mastcam will then document both of the ChemCam targets and the APXS targets. Mastcam will then take two stereo mosaics, extending coverage of The Prow, and Navcam will again look for clouds above the horizon. The rover will then pack up and drive toward the east, stopping along the way to image interesting outcrops using Navcam and Mastcam. After the drive and the usual post-drive imaging, MARDI will take another twilight image. Overall, a busy plan, which make for an interesting and sometimes hectic day for me as SOWG Chair!

Today Curiosity is doing a little bit of everything: some contact science, some targeted science, and a little driving. When we started planning this morning, we had a beautiful view of the small ledge in front of us, named “The Prow,” which shows some amazing layering. We also can see some disturbances in the sand that may be sliding caused by our approach.

We, the rover planners, were busy today despite the plan looking deceptively simple. The face of “the Prow” itself is just a bit out of reach, so instead we are doing some APXS integrations on a small loose rock target called, “Ilu,” which is also visible in the sand in the bottom of the image. Rocks this small can be a little tricky because there is some uncertainty when we place the arm, though we have developed a lot of techniques that help us to get it right.

The science team was also busy today. Once the APXS is complete and the arm is safely stowed again, we have a long set of targeted science observations with Mastcam, ChemCam, and Navcam. We are taking a large mosaic (including extensive stereo) of The Prow as well as imaging Ilu. We are using ChemCam LIBS to examine “Tramen,” and RMI to image “Contigo,” which are both on The Prow near our expected next contact science area. ChemCam is also doing RMI imaging of “Mirador,” which is a butte about 15m south. We are also continuing to monitor the increasing dust in the atmosphere with Navcam observations of the horizon and a Mastcam solar tau.

The drive today is going to move us closer to The Prow so that we can do contact science on it in the next plan. While the drive is only a little over a meter, it is also a bit tricky. The Rover Planners needed to test out different potential parking spots to find the best place from which to place the arm, which took some iteration. We will have to get very close to the ledge to be in the best spot to place the arm, but we also need to be careful to not get too close and let the wheels start climbing over the ledge. We are creeping up on it in small steps, each time the rover will check how far away it is in order to choose the next step.

On the second sol of the weekend plan, Curiosity took an unexpected break, stopping arm motion on the way to deploying MAHLI to image the wheels for their regular check up. As such, her arm is jutted up in the air, a bit of which you can see in the above image, and it (and the rest of the rover) stayed there the rest of the weekend. The science and engineering teams very much care that Curiosity is waving her hand in the air, and quickly set about recovering the arm so we could complete wheel imaging and our drive to "The Prow."

Before take two of wheel imaging and the drive, we took the opportunity to gather more data from the interesting bedrock and structures on this area. ChemCam will shoot "Sucre," a horizon filled with resistant nodules, to see if the nodules belie a chemistry change. ChemCam will then acquire RMI mosaics of two different parts of The Prow, "Ptari" and "Panari," to give us more insight into the structure we are heading toward. Mastcam will support ChemCam by imaging Sucre and another target from the weekend, a dark, flat resistant feature, that was targeted by ChemCam autonomously. Mastcam will keep additionally busy with stereo mosaics of "Indio" and "Mutum," both areas with prominent layering that might help reveal the orientation of the bedrock, and a single image of "Maverick Rock," which earned its name from the complex mix of bedrock that appears present within.

Throughout the plan, we monitor the environment below and above us with DAN passive and active, regular REMS and RAD, a Mastcam image to keep tabs on the amount of dust in the atmosphere, and a Navcam images to look for dust devils and clouds.

We expect that when we return for planning tomorrow that we will have all these science goodies in the bag, as well as new wheel images and a new parking spot by The Prow. Stay tuned!

We are back into our planning routine after the Christmas break. In fact, today was the third plan in the new year, and the third plan that Curiosity executes within the Roraima quadrant my colleague introduced a few days ago. While we are getting used to new sounds of our names, we are marvelling at the landscape in front of us, which is very diverse, both in the rover workspace and in the walls around us. It’s a feast for our stratigraphers (those who research the succession in which rocks were deposited and deduce the geologic history of the area from this). We are all looking forward to the story they will piece together when they’ve had a bit of time to think!

Planning is all about getting the data, and here are three new sols to do so. Unfortunately, the diversity of the landscape means one of the rover wheels is parked right on top of a rock, and that’s not a safe situation for the use of the arm. This is because the rover could shift if the rock suddenly moved or broke under the wheel while the arm is out and close to a target. The engineers are working diligently to keep all our instruments safe, so they called a weekend with no contact science. It happens occasionally, and except for that little rock squeezed under the rover wheel, all is happy and safe on Mars and on Earth. The team quickly turned to the instruments that do not need arm use to add a few more of those observations. It’s all about getting all the data we can at this interesting location.

So, here is what’s in the plan: True to the fact that the walls around us have a lot of interesting layers and features, we have two large Mastcam mosaics, target ‘Maringama’ and ‘Prow,’ to get higher resolution colour images for assessment by our stratigraphers (and all others, too, of course). ChemCam also looks at the sedimentological structures in the walls at even higher resolution doing two long distance imaging investigations on target ‘Mirador’ and ‘Ptari.’ But, of course, there also is a desire for understanding the chemistry, and therefore ChemCam has two LIBS investigations on the targets ‘Araopan’ and ‘Arai,’ which Mastcam will also document with an image each, and an AEGIS observation after the drive. Mineralogy will be investigated through a Mastcam multispectral observation on the target ‘Indio.’

Curiosity has a few other items on her to-do list over the weekend. CheMin is investigating a sample we drilled a while back and that has been kept in the sample cell since: Zechstein. If you now wonder when and where Zechstein was, look here. There is a drive and a routine MARDI image afterwards. DAN looks for water and chlorite in the subsurface, and it’s time for MAHLI wheel imaging, for which the rover will bump slightly to get off the rock and then start its cadence to look at all the wheels. Of course, the weather will be observed through temperature, pressure and atmospheric imaging observations, which include a dust devil movie. Looks like Curiosity has a busy weekend ahead, while I get to put my feet up on my sofa and stare out the window watching the rain that’s in the weather forecast here in England.