We begin the first sol of our plan with a lot of remote science. ChemCam is taking LIBS mosaics of “May Lake,” a small block that is tilted, and “Pavilion Dome,” another large dark block in the workspace. ChemCam also is taking a 3×3 RMI mosaic of a distant cluster of dark pyramidal blocks. Mastcam then takes large mosaics of two different targets on Pinnacle Ridge and a target called “Sharktooth Peak,” which is a cluster of blocks that we will be approaching in the future. After a nap, Curiosity will wake up and begin contact science on the Bilko Pinnacle target. This target was very challenging because it is quite tall and the sides are steep, making placing the arm on the block difficult without colliding the turret either with the ground or other parts of the rock. It is also a very rough surface with bumps and pits, making it (unfortunately) impossible to brush. We are taking MAHLI images 25cm above the Bilko Pinnacle target from 3 different orientations, which allows us to make high-quality 3D images of the rock. We also did a standard 5cm stereo pair and a 2cm close approach. The lumpy surface made it unsafe to get to 1cm. We then have a second contact science target named “Pipsqueak Spire,” which is a small light-toned rock, on which we did a 20cm and 5cm stereo pair. This target was also a challenge because it is close the rover; as a result, we could not reach a normal 25cm standoff. We then did nighttime APXS observations on both targets and stow the arm. After putting the arm to bed, we are planning a CheMin activity analyzing an internal calibration standard to track performance.
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