As we approach the winter solstice and the days begin to lengthen on Earth, the Vera Rubin Ridge campaign on Mars is nearing its conclusion, filled with fascinating scientific discoveries. On sol 2276, the plan includes conducting a CheMin analysis on the drill sample “Rock Hall” to shed light on its composition using X-ray technology. The ChemCam instrument will also be used to analyze bedrock targets “Auchenheath,” “Firth of Forth,” and “Port Charlotte” across various spectrums from ultra violet to near infrared, providing valuable data for researchers.
Additionally, a panchromatic RMI mosaic of the large white vein “Hopetoun” will be created and Mastcam will capture images in red-green-blue to study the colors of the targets. Change detection images of targets “Fishertown” and “Luskentyre” will be taken to observe how the soil moves in the Martian atmosphere. Navcam will capture a ‘movie’ of dust devils dancing on the plains, while Mastcam will focus on the crater rim to study dust and aerosol scattering properties in the air.
Moving into the new year, on sol 2277, Navcam will take pragmatic sky flats to monitor camera lens cleanliness and the CheMin data of Rock Hall will be sent back to Earth as a farewell gift for 2018. On New Year’s Eve, a ChemCam Passive observation will be conducted and another will take place in the early hours of sol 2278 to mark the first observation of the New Year.
On the second day of the new Earth year, Curiosity will turn its gaze towards the clay flats to the south, with a range of observations planned including Navcam line-of-sight, suprahorizon, and cloud-watching movies, as well as Mastcam solar tau, crater rim extinction, and sky survey observations. Here’s to a Happy New Year filled with exciting Mars science discoveries in 2019!