Curiosity Mars Rover Prepares for Soliday: Scheduled to Drop Off Part of the Buckskin Drill Sample for Analysis

Stimson Shines in Sols 1089-1090

On Sol 1089, Curiosity on Mars will have a 2-sol plan in place with Sunday set aside as a “soliday” to allow Earth and Mars schedules to sync back up. One of the main activities planned is to drop off part of the Buckskin drill sample to SAM for analysis. After that, the team will dump the Buckskin post-sieve sample and analyze it with APXS. The team will also conduct Mastcam and MAHLI imaging to document the dump pile.

On Sol 1090, several ChemCam observations are planned for targets like “Fox Hills,” “OBriens Creek,” and “Bearpaw” in order to investigate the bedrock and local alteration features. A large Mastcam mosaic will be acquired to document the stratigraphy of the area, along with a Navcam deck pan for dust monitoring. The region being explored boasts some stunning views, so the team is excited to see the new mosaics that will be generated from the imaging data.

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