No, Silly Place hasn’t become a new place name, but I totally agree with Ryan, who was yesterday’s blogger, that this is not our usual terrain. Would I want to go for a hike there, if I could? Sure, but very carefully, because this isn’t a place to risk a fall. Too many pointy rocks, so, silly place certainly fits. The MAHLI image above is probably somewhere in the pile of rocks you saw under the turret in yesterday’s image. From up close, you can admire the nature of those rocks: broken up with sharp edges.
The eagle-eyed geologists amongst you might think they look like ventifacts, my fellow blogger Mark had mentioned those already in his sol 3419-3420 blog. Ventifacts are rocks, shaped by wind coming from the same direction(s) for a very long time. The wind carries fine particles that cause the abrasion to shape those rocks. But, as we all know, looks can always deceive at first glance. So, to get behind what actually happened here, and especially why it happened in some ridges that give the gator-back impression, Curiosity is taking many more images today and of course adding some chemistry to the mix, too!
APXS investigates the target “Breakyneck,” which is one of those sharp and angular rocks, and “Redscarhead,” which is a smoother looking and more flat rock that looks different, more like the bedrock we saw earlier. ChemCam has two chemistry investigations, pointing LIBS at “Breakyneck” and at another pointy, sharp-edged rock called “Swinton.”
Mastcam takes a record seeking 132 frames divided into four observations. Of course, always faithful to ChemCam, there are two images to document each of the LIBS targets. And then there is a large 69 frame mosaic on what was dubbed a gator back – more geologically speaking it is a ridge made of ventifacted rocks.
The remaining 61 frames are looking at the landscape behind the ridge in front of us to find out how the washboard impression we have from orbit links to the ground observations. ChemCam has two imaging observations, too, both of them looking into the distance at the big outcrop on the other side of the plateau to find out more about the many sedimentary structures visible in this area. Finally, Mastcam also pleases the mineralogists and takes a multispectral image on the target “Calder,” which is yesterday’s APXS target.
The next drive is short to an area we have seen more rock textures, and where we hope to find out a lot more about this interesting area. Stand by for more images of sharp, pointy, laminated, and otherwise interesting rocks.
Sol 3422: On Second Thought, Let’s Not Drive Over There. It Is a Silly Place
by Ryan Anderson, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center
Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 25, 2022
The original plan for today was to do a short drive to get within reach of some interesting new rocks. But after studying all of the images from our current location, the team realized that we can already reach some very similar rocks. By staying in one place, we were able to get a lot more science out of the day’s plan while reducing the risk of driving and ending up tilted in a position where we would not be able to use the arm.
The plan begins with a ChemCam observation of the bedrock target “Dollar” followed by a couple of long-distance ChemCam image mosaics of Gediz Vallis ridge. Then we have a Mastcam stereo mosaic of some of the interesting ridges in the middle distance plus some additional images of the “gatorback” terrain and a documentation image of Dollar. The morning science block then concludes with a Navcam movie to watch for dust devils.
The afternoon and evening are all about using the rover’s arm, with a whopping 4 contact science targets in the plan! After brushing the target “Calder,” we’ll take MAHLI pictures of it and of the other targets: “Scandal Beck,” which was yesterday’s ChemCam target, “Ashkirk,” and “Breakyneck.” In the evening, APXS will measure the chemistry of Ashkirk and Calder. Finally, in the morning of Sol 3423, Mastcam will take a 360-degree left-eye mosaic of our surroundings.
Not bad for a day’s work! Sometimes it’s better to take a closer look at what’s around you, rather than rushing to somewhere new.
Related Links
Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more
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Sol 3421: Close Encounter with a “Gator”
Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 23, 2022
Curiosity is investigating the different surface expressions of the Greenheugh pediment, and the weekend drive put the rover right next to some “gator-back terrain” – some evenly spaced ridges with a blocky expression, as seen in the above Navcam image. Today’s one sol plan is focused on a close encounter with one of these ridges through contact science and remote sensing.
The plans starts with a ChemCam LIBS observation of “Scandal Beck” to assess the chemistry of the blocky outcrop. Then we’ll a … read more