{"id":781273,"date":"2024-04-23T15:49:53","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T20:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=781273"},"modified":"2024-04-23T15:49:53","modified_gmt":"2024-04-23T20:49:53","slug":"sols-4164-4165-whats-around-the-ridge-bend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=781273","title":{"rendered":"Sols 4164-4165:\u00a0What\u2019s Around the Ridge-bend?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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2 min read<\/p>\n

Sols 4164-4165:\u00a0What\u2019s Around the Ridge-bend?<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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This image was taken by the Left Navigation Camera and looks towards the deposits that make up the bend in Gediz Vallis ridge between \u201cPinnacle Ridge\u201d and \u201cFascination Turret\u201d. In the background is the layered stratigraphy that makes up the butte \u201cTexoli\u201d. <\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Earth planning date: Monday, April 22, 2024 \u00a0<\/p>\n

Curiosity succeeded on a ~14 m drive along a bend in upper Gediz Vallis ridge (uGVR) to park next to \u201cPinnacle Ridge,\u201d an outcrop of uGVR to the north. Benefitting from a surplus in power, Curiosity\u2019s already substantial targeted science block was extended to 2 hours. This allowed for the perfect imaging opportunity to look back and investigate the ridge deposits between \u201cPinnacle Ridge\u201d and \u201cFascination Turret,\u201d an outcrop of uGVR to the south. In other words, most of the imaging opportunities in this two-sol plan will be spent documenting what\u2019s just around the ridge-bend with a detailed Mastcam stereo-mosaic and two ChemCam Long Distance RMI mosaics.<\/p>\n

Today I served as Keeper of the Plan for the Geology and Mineralogy Theme Group, where I was kept busy recording all of the geology related requests from the instrument teams. The first sol involved planning contact science on a nearby dark-toned float block, \u201cSluggo Pass,\u201d possibly originating from Gediz Vallis ridge. The composition and sedimentary textures of \u201cSluggo Pass\u201d will be investigated with the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS), a ChemCam passive raster, and the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI). While constraints prevented brushing \u201cSluggo Pass\u201d with the Dust Removal Tool (DRT), the target appeared to be relatively dust-free. The rest of the science plan on the first sol includes a\u00a0ChemCam Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) targeting a dark-toned coating on light-toned bedrock, dubbed \u2018South Lake,\u2019 and two small Mastcam mosaics on blocks possibly associated with \u201cPinnacle Ridge.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a planned ~31 m drive from our current location, the focus of the second sol of the plan will be on untargeted remote science. This includes one of ChemCam\u2019s automated AEGIS (Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science) activities where geological targets are automatically selected from the rover\u2019s navigation cameras for analysis with ChemCam. Additionally, environmental activities were also planned, including tau observations to assess the amount of dust in the atmosphere and Mastcam deck monitoring activities to assess the amount of dust accumulated on the rover deck.<\/p>\n

Written by Amelie Roberts, Graduate Student at Imperial College London<\/p>\n

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