http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html en-us
Investigation of a small, bright object thought to have come from the rover may resume between the first and second scoop. Over the past two sols, with rover arm activities on hold, the team has assessed the object as likely to be some type of plastic wrapper material, such as a tube used around a wire, possibly having fallen onto the rover from the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft's descent stage during the landing in August.

Sol 63 activities included extended weather measurements by the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station, or REMS. The Sol 63 planning also called for panoramic imaging by the Mast Camera, or Mastcam, in the early morning light of Sol 64, before uplink of Sol 64 commands.

A Sol 61 raw image from the right Mast Camera, at http://1.usa.gov/VSwTN7 , shows the location from which Curiosity's first scoop of soil was collected.

Sol 63, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 1:03 a.m. Oct. 10, PDT (4:03 a.m., EDT)]]> Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:18:14 GMT
The rover team's assessment is that the bright object is something from the rover, not Martian material. It appears to be a shred of plastic material, likely benign, but it has not been definitively identified.

To proceed cautiously, the team is continuing the investigation for another day before deciding whether to resume processing of the sample in the scoop. Plans include imaging of surroundings with the Mastcam.

A sample of sand and dust scooped up on Sol 61 remains in the scoop. Plans to transfer it from the scoop into other chambers of the sample-processing device were postponed as a precaution during planning for Sol 62 after the small, bright object was detected in an image from the Mast Camera (Mastcam).

A Sol 62 raw image from ChemCam, at http://1.usa.gov/R1fZHt, shows the object in question just to left of center of the image.

Sol 62, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, will end at 12:23 a.m. Oct. 9, PDT (3:23 a.m., EDT).]]> Tue, 09 Oct 2012 18:49:45 GMT
Sol 62, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, will end at 12:23 a.m. Oct. 9, PDT (3:23 a.m., EDT)

A related image is at: http://1.usa.gov/RrqFjs .

A related video is at: http://1.usa.gov/RaFPcm .]]> Mon, 08 Oct 2012 22:57:51 GMT
A Sol 61 raw image from Curiosity's left navigation camera, at http://1.usa.gov/OMDbxy , shows where the soil collected by the scoop was removed from the ground. The scoop leaves a hole 1.8 inches (4.5 centimeters) wide.

The rover's ability to put scooped and sieved samples of soil into onboard laboratory instruments is an important part of the mission. Those instruments -- Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) and Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) -- will play crucial roles in evaluating whether the study area has ever had a favorable environment for microbial life. Still to be used for the first time is the rover's capability to take powdered samples from rocks, using a percussive drill, for delivery to those same instruments.

Sol 61, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at11:44 p.m. Oct. 7, PDT (2:44 a.m. Oct. 8, EDT).]]> Mon, 08 Oct 2012 14:52:13 GMT
A Sol 58 raw image at http://1.usa.gov/UHIyL6 from Curiosity's front Hazard Avoidance Camera after the Sol 56 drive, shows the arm extended toward the scuff in the ripple.

Sol 58, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 9:45 p.m. Oct. 4, PDT (12:45 a.m. Oct. 5, EDT).]]> Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:38:07 GMT
Activities on Sol 56 also included monitoring the environment around Curiosity with the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD), the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument, and the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS). A raw image from Curiosity's front Hazard Avoidance Camera (Hazcam) after the Sol 56 drive, showing a ripple at Rocknest, is at http://1.usa.gov/PstZsE .

Sol 56, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 8:26 p.m. Oct. 2, PDT (11:26 p.m. EDT).]]> Wed, 03 Oct 2012 22:03:08 GMT
Sol 55 activities prior to the drive included use of the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on Bathurst Inlet.

A Sol 55 raw image at http://1.usa.gov/P7LZ0V from Curiosity's right Navigation Camera shows the calibration targets for the Mast Camera (Mastcam) and ChemCam, and the rover's UHF antenna, in the foreground, and the lower slope of Mount Sharp in the distance.

Sol 55, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 7:46 p.m. Oct. 1, PDT (10:46 p.m. EDT).]]> Tue, 02 Oct 2012 20:38:03 GMT
Curiosity took close-up images of Bathurst Inlet with its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), and took readings with the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) to identify chemical elements in the target. MAHLI also inspected another location within reach, "Cowles."

A Sol 54 raw image from Curiosity's left Navigation Camera showing the arm at work at Bathurst Inlet is at http://1.usa.gov/NYUbz3 .

Sol 54, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 7:07 p.m. Sept. 30, PDT (10:07 p.m. EDT).]]> Mon, 01 Oct 2012 17:26:19 GMT
Another priority in coming sols is to reach a location for first use of the rover's capability to scoop up soil material and deliver a sample of it into laboratory instruments.

Activities on Sol 52 included the usual monitoring of the environment around Curiosity with the Radiation Assessment Detector, the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons instrument, and the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station. A raw image from Curiosity's left Navigation Camera, showing the ground near the rover after the Sol 52 drive, is at http://1.usa.gov/SifbNW.

Curiosity continues to work in good health. Sol 52, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ends at 5:48 p.m. Sept. 28, PDT (8:48 p.m. EDT).]]> Fri, 28 Sep 2012 20:54:40 GMT
Activities on Sol 50 included pre-drive imaging of a target near the morning location and post-drive imaging of the new surroundings and the sky. A raw image from Curiosity's left Navigation Camera, with tracks from the drive in view, is at http://1.usa.gov/SzZmHE.

Curiosity continues to work in good health. Sol 50, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ends at 4:29 p.m. Sept. 25, PDT (7:29 p.m. EDT).]]> Wed, 26 Sep 2012 19:30:47 GMT
Activities on Sol 49 before the drive included observation of a wheel track. After the drive, cameras on the mast observed the sky, as well as terrain at the rover's new location. A post-drive raw image from Curiosity's right Navigation Camera is at http://1.usa.gov/Pk6naH .

Curiosity continues to work in good health. Sol 49, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ends at 3:49 p.m. Sept. 25, PDT.]]> Tue, 25 Sep 2012 20:28:40 GMT
The rover team has decided to edge Curiosity closer to a nearby rock called Jake Matijevic, which is likely to become the first that the rover will touch with instruments on its robotic arm. Jacob Matijevic (1947-2012) was a leading engineer for all three generations of NASA Mars rovers.

The arm was deployed on Sol 44 to take some images of rover hardware and to assess the extended arm's sag. A raw image from the Navigation Camera shows the arm's shadow on the ground near the Jake Matijevic rock. The image is at http://1.usa.gov/PDAjzm . The arm was subsequently re-stowed in preparation for a short drive to approach the rock.

Curiosity continues to work in good health. Sol 44, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ends at 12:31 p.m. Sept. 20, PDT.]]> Thu, 20 Sep 2012 18:15:37 GMT Wed, 19 Sep 2012 17:57:35 GMT
During this sol, the rover used its Mast Camera to observe Mars' two moons, Phobos and Deimos, as each passed in front of the sun.

Curiosity continues to work in good health. Sol 42, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ends at 11:12 a.m. Sept. 18, PDT.]]> Tue, 18 Sep 2012 16:12:20 GMT
Total distance racked up by Curiosity since landing on Mars on Aug. 5 is 745 feet (227 meters).

An image of the surface of Gale Crater, taken on Sol 41 by the rover's left navigation camera, is available at: http://1.usa.gov/OAG8Rv .

Curiosity continues to be in good health. Sol 41, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 10:33 a.m. Sept. 17, PDT.]]> Mon, 17 Sep 2012 20:34:13 GMT
The sol's activities also included pre- and post-drive imaging of the road ahead by both Mastcam and Hazcam, and science measurements from the DAN and REMS instruments.

The Sol 38 Navcam image of the surface in front of the rover can be found at: (raw image at: http://1.usa.gov/QLCB15 ).

In addition, Curiosity's science instruments performed observations and measurements, including Mastcam observations of the Martian moon Phobos passing in front of the sun.

Curiosity continues to work in good health. Sol 38, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 8:34 a.m. on Sept. 14, PDT.]]> Fri, 14 Sep 2012 16:36:52 GMT
The Sol 37 characterization activities also included imaging of the rover's observation tray by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (raw image at http://1.usa.gov/SeDdsY).

In addition, Curiosity's science instruments performed observations and measurements, including Mast Camera observations of the Martian moon Phobos passing in front of the sun.

Curiosity continues to work in good health. Sol 37, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 7:54 a.m. Sept. 13, PDT.]]> Thu, 13 Sep 2012 16:44:44 GMT Wed, 12 Sep 2012 17:56:16 GMT
Curiosity continues to work in good health. Sol 35, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 6:35 a.m. Sept. 11, PDT.]]> Tue, 11 Sep 2012 14:48:36 GMT
The downlink during Sol 31 returned a Navigation Camera image of the turret taken during testing on Sol 30. It can be seen among the raw images from the rover at: http://1.usa.gov/NPGnIp .

Curiosity continues to work in good health. Sol 31, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 3:56 a.m. Sept. 7, PDT.]]> Fri, 07 Sep 2012 14:36:24 GMT
A Navigation Camera image with a wheel track from the Sol 29 drive is in the mission's collection of raw images, at http://1.usa.gov/OWxGIT .

Curiosity continues to work in good health. Sol 29, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 2:37 a.m. Sept. 5, PDT.]]> Wed, 05 Sep 2012 16:00:51 GMT
The Sample Analysis at Mars instrument (SAM) analyzed a sample of Martian atmosphere as an overnight activity from Sol 27 to Sol 28 (Sept. 2 to Sept. 3).

Planned activities for Sol 29 (Sept. 4) include another drive.

Sol 28, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 1:58 a.m. Sept. 4, PDT.]]> Tue, 04 Sep 2012 14:57:46 GMT
Imaging tasks for the sol included Navigation Camera sky observations to check for clouds, and Mast Camera imaging of the terrain eastward where the rover will be driving during the next few sols. In addition, the Mast Camera was used for taking a 360-degree panorama from the location that Curiosity reached by its Sol 24 drive.

Sol 25, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ends at 11:59 p.m. Aug. 31, PDT.]]> Sat, 01 Sep 2012 00:10:11 GMT
The rover is healthy. Besides the drive, Curiosity's activities during the mission's Sol 24 included imaging of the sky by the rover's Navigation Camera and data collection by environmental monitoring instruments.

Sol 24, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ends at 11:19 p.m. Aug. 30, PDT.]]> Fri, 31 Aug 2012 00:29:39 GMT


The flight team elected to defer further science activities until after the flight software transition is completed. Several Mastcam color images were downlinked. The mission's science team is busy analyzing images Curiosity has taken of its surroundings, and is discussing features of interest that they will investigate in a few weeks once initial checkouts of the rover and the landing site are completed.]]> Fri, 10 Aug 2012 23:34:28 GMT


Curiosity's day began with a "beep" from its low-gain antenna, telling the flight team that their master sequence of activities for that sol was successfully activated from the ground. The flight team then uploaded files to the rover's remote electronics unit memory in preparation for the upcoming Sol 5 upgrade of Curiosity's software to optimize Curiosity for surface operations. Curiosity's backup computer was then powered on and successfully checked out. The Radiation Assessment Detector instrument is operating as planned and collected additional data on surface radiation. The Mastcam is operating as planned and successfully executed its 360-degree and calibration target observations. In addition, early checkouts of the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS), Chemistry & Mineralogy Analyzer (CheMin), Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM), and Dynamic Albedo Neutrons (DAN) instruments were all successful. The mission's science team began creating a geological map of about 150 square miles (about 390 square kilometers) within Gale Crater, including the landing area.



Curiosity is "go" for its planned Sol 4 activities.]]> Fri, 10 Aug 2012 00:48:00 GMT


The rover's high-gain antenna was successfully pointed toward Earth. Its 3.6-foot-tall (1.1-meter) remote sensing mast was deployed, and range of motion was successfully tested. Surface radiation data were acquired from the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) instrument but have not yet been downlinked. Curiosity's temperatures are running a bit warmer than expected; however, the flight team believes this is because Gale Crater is simply a bit warmer than originally predicted.

Plans for Sol 3 include assessing the performance of the high-gain antenna; uplinking files for the upcoming transition of Curiosity's flight software to the surface-optimized version R10 on Sol 5; Radiation Assessment Detector instrument observations; and Mastcam calibration target and 360-degree color panorama images. In addition, the rover's Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS), Chemistry & Mineralogy Analyzer (CheMin), Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM), and Dynamic Albedo Neutrons (DAN) instruments will be checked out.]]> Thu, 09 Aug 2012 00:23:52 GMT Wed, 08 Aug 2012 02:47:37 GMT


On its first Martian day, designated Sol 0, the rover is checking its health and measuring its tilt. All Sol 0 spacecraft activities appear to have been completely nominal. These include firing all of Curiosity's pyrotechnic devices for releasing post-landing deployments. Spring-loaded deployments, such as removal of dust covers from the Hazard-Avoidance cameras (Hazcams) occur immediately when pyros are fired. Curiosity also took images with its front and rear Hazcams both before and after removal of the dust covers, checked out its UHF telecommunications system and rover motor controller assembly, and completed all activities required to proceed with its planned activities on Sol 1. Approximately five megabytes of data were successfully relayed back to Earth from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft during its overpass today.



Curiosity landed facing east-southeast within Gale Crater, with a heading of 112.7 degrees (plus or minus five degrees), and a few degrees of tilt. A Sol 1 overpass by Mars Odyssey will provide additional information on Curiosity's position and additional imagery. A first look at some color images taken just before landing by MSL's Mars Descent Imager also provided additonal information on the rover's precise location.



Activities planned for Sol 1 during the mission's approximately one-month characterization activity phase include deploying Curiosity's high-gain antenna, collecting science data from Curiosity's Radiation Assessment Detector and Rover Environmental Monitoring Station instruments, and obtaining additional imagery. The mission's characterization activity phase is design to learn how all Curiosity's subsystems and instruments are functioning after landing and within the environment and gravitational field of Mars.]]> Tue, 07 Aug 2012 01:40:48 GMT Mon, 06 Aug 2012 05:32:54 GMT Mon, 06 Aug 2012 05:29:23 GMT Mon, 06 Aug 2012 05:25:10 GMT Mon, 06 Aug 2012 05:15:09 GMT Mon, 06 Aug 2012 02:10:02 GMT Sat, 04 Aug 2012 23:20:24 GMT Fri, 03 Aug 2012 20:43:25 GMT Thu, 02 Aug 2012 22:22:02 GMT Wed, 01 Aug 2012 21:27:55 GMT Tue, 31 Jul 2012 22:55:42 GMT Mon, 30 Jul 2012 20:15:41 GMT Sun, 29 Jul 2012 06:02:20 GMT Sat, 28 Jul 2012 14:55:09 GMT Fri, 27 Jul 2012 17:32:43 GMT Thu, 26 Jul 2012 20:29:10 GMT Wed, 25 Jul 2012 23:04:18 GMT Tue, 24 Jul 2012 20:16:28 GMT Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:21:41 GMT Sun, 22 Jul 2012 16:20:40 GMT Sat, 21 Jul 2012 17:20:01 GMT Fri, 20 Jul 2012 21:00:53 GMT Thu, 19 Jul 2012 21:43:27 GMT Wed, 18 Jul 2012 21:48:58 GMT Tue, 17 Jul 2012 22:24:08 GMT Tue, 17 Jul 2012 22:09:19 GMT Mon, 16 Jul 2012 22:29:40 GMT Fri, 13 Jul 2012 15:36:28 GMT Thu, 12 Jul 2012 17:03:12 GMT Wed, 11 Jul 2012 20:52:19 GMT