MISSION UPDATES | September 25, 2014

Sol 761 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Software patch

Written by Ken Herkenhoff, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center

The Sol 759 drill hole looks good,
but
there was a problem with one of the rover's gyroscopes that halted the
transfer of drill sample to the scoop. This did not significantly
affect Sol 761 planning, which is dominated by patching flight software
and SAM preconditioning. Completion
of the sample handling will be planned later. As MAHLI/MARDI uplink lead today I
therefore concentrated on planning the images we would like to take of
the drill tailings and perhaps other targets.

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.