NASA's Curiosity rover has climbed atop a large-scale feature in Gale Crater's sedimentary record, believed to be an 'erosional supersurface'—a boundary marking a shift from deposition to erosion and back. This week's operations brought the rover within detailed imaging range of the 'Cerro Paine Grande' vertical exposure, allowing scientists to examine clues about past environmental changes preserved in the layers.
The rover's ascent took full advantage of its climbing abilities, ending at a 24-degree tilt, close to the mission's contact science tilt record of 27 degrees. Despite the steep angle, rover planners managed to position the vehicle for contact science, a notable achievement.
During the planning cycle for Sol 4968, the Geology and Mineralogy Theme Lead focused on the target 'Puyehue' in the light-toned bedrock, co-targeted with APXS, MAHLI, and ChemCam LIBS. Additional LIBS observations targeted 'Lago Palena' and 'Piedras Juntas,' while an APXS measurement on the sand target 'Cormudesi' aimed to assess sand composition consistency along the traverse.
In the Sol 4972 workspace atop the slope, the bedrock showed a sharp division between a smooth, bedding-parallel surface and a darker, rougher, angled exposure. The light-toned top was measured at 'Sierra de Sangre,' while the darker face was targeted at 'Laguna del Laja.' A MAHLI mosaic called 'Longquimay' documented fine-scale sedimentary structures, supported by Mastcam M100 imaging.
Other observations included long-distance ChemCam RMI mosaics of sedimentary structures above the rover's current position and routine measurements of the Martian environment, such as atmospheric opacity and a passive-sky survey to monitor minor atmospheric gases.
Source: NASA
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