MISSION UPDATES | September 26, 2014

Sol 762-764 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Sample Handling

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

Arm activities will resume on Sol 762, starting where they left off on
Sol 759, with transfer of the drill sample to the scoop and Mastcam imaging of
it. Then the APXS will be placed on the drill tailings (target dubbed "Paradox") for an overnight integration. In addition,
ChemCam will observe targets "Panum" and "Stovepipe Wells" and Mastcam
will image the drill tailings through all filters. Finally, SAM will
heat a sample from the previous
drill target "Windjana" ( still held in a sample cup )
and measure evolved noble gases overnight on Sols 763 and 764. As
MAHLI/MARDI PUL1 again today, I focused on planning MAHLI observations
of the drill
tailings, but they were deleted because of concerns about the overall
complexity of the weekend plan. We hope to take these MAHLI images on
Sol 765.
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.