We attempt this experiment every Martian winter by taking ChemCam measurements of the soil at dawn when the ground is coldest, then taking measurements of the same spot later in the day to see any spectral differences. The hope is that we could detect any water vapor in the atmosphere that deposited overnight under the cold winter conditions.

Besides power conservation, our goal for this sol's plan was to make as much driving progress as possible. Our expected drive distance is under 15 meters which is reasonable for us in this very rocky terrain, but our power constraints also contribute to not making it a longer drive.

Recent images give a good perspective on the up-close of what Curiosity has to deal with on Mars. Those poor wheels are taking a lot of damage from all the rocks and sharp edges they have to come into contact with! That's why rover drivers spend so much time carefully navigating the terrain, minimizing the amount of wear on the wheels.

Besides the drive, we also are planning a contact event on our "Kefalonia" representative target with some DRT brushing and Mastcam inspection. We will also take some Mastcam imaging for stereo documentation of different fractured stones and rocks, in addition to Jau crater inspection. Mastcam will additionally perform some atmospheric observations to measure optical depth and study aerosol scattering properties.

After our drive (the part of our plan which we call the "mobility backbone"), we will take some Navcam cloud altitude observations to search for clouds and determine wind direction near the zenith (directly overhead above the rover). We will also use Mastcam to take "PDI" ("post drive imaging") which will be a systematic observation of clasts and soils along our traverse path. Stay tuned in future mission updates to see if we were successful for our next attempt at the yearly frost campaign experiments!

Sol 3905: Roving in a Winter Wonderland
by Abigail Knight | Graduate Student - WUSL
Earth planning date: Monday, July 31, 2023 - It's currently wintertime at Gale Crater and temperatures are cold this time of the year. Power is therefore more limited for Curiosity, so science activities and drives are more constrained as we head into planning this week.

The ChemCam frost experiment from the previous plan did not execute as hoped due to an issue with heating the rover's mast. Fortunately, a second opportunity for these experiments may come later this week! Today, we have planned a single sol with contact science, remote sensing, and a drive.

Curiosity will start off the morning on Sol 3905 with an APXS touch-and-go observation of target "Novo Paraiso" (a junction of polygonal fractures on a flat block of bedrock in the rover's workspace) along with MAHLI imaging of the same target. Often, the Dust Removal Tool (DRT) is used to clear the bedrock before an APXS observation, but due to limited power during the Martian winter, utilization of the DRT was not an option in this plan.

Our remote sensing activities include a Mastcam multispectral observation of a dark-toned piece of float rock named "Pico Phelps," followed by a ChemCam LIBS raster to investigate bedrock target "Peruano." ChemCam will then take a long-distance RMI of Gediz Vallis Ridge and Mastcam will document the LIBS target "Peruano."

Curiosity will then drive on towards Gediz Vallis Ridge, acquire standard imagery of the surrounding terrain, and execute a Navcam sky observation upon reaching its new location. Over the coming weeks, Curiosity will be journeying to upper Gediz Vallis Ridge to investigate new surface materials there.

Related Links
Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more