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By NASA
Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home 1 min read
Sols 4539-4540: Back After a Productive Weekend Plan
NASA’’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Left Navigation Camera on May 11, 2025 — Sol 4537, or Martian day 4,537 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 22:26:23 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Written by Scott VanBommel, Planetary Scientist at Washington University
Earth planning date: Monday, May 12, 2025
Curiosity was back to work Monday, picking up where it left off from Friday’s plan. Tosol’s plan started with an APXS analysis on the target “Jeffrey Pine,” though the DRT was kept on the sidelines this time. Curiosity then proceeded to image Jeffrey Pine and “Canyon Oak” with MAHLI while simultaneously executing a DAN passive analysis. Mastcam documented “Santiago Peak” as well as Canyon Oak, prior to a ChemCam 5-spot analysis on the latter. Following a drive of about 30 meters (about 98 feet), Curiosity rounded out the two-sol plan with untargeted and environmental monitoring activities, including Navcam dust-devil and cloud-shadow movies.
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Last Updated May 13, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home 2 min read
Sols 4536-4538: Dusty Martian Magnets
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image, used to inspect the magnet on its MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager), a camera on the turret of tools at the end of the rover’s robotic arm. The main purpose of Curiosity’s MAHLI camera is to acquire close-up, high-resolution views of rocks and regolith in the field; it can focus on any target from about 0.8 inches (2.1 centimeters) to infinity. Curiosity used its Mast Camera (Mastcam) on Sept. 1, 2024 — Sol 4291, or Martian day 4,291 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 05:48:14 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Written by Remington Free, Operations Systems Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Earth planning date: Friday, May 9, 2025
I was on downlink today for SA-SPaH, our robotic arm team. We successfully completed a number of fun arm activities, including a DRT brushing and APXS observations of a bedrock target, and also completed a traverse of about 25 meters (about 82 feet). Exciting!
Today, our uplink team planned three sols of activities. On Sol 4536, we are using the arm to do some inspection imaging of the MAHLI magnet using Mastcam. This magnet allows us to determine whether or not the MAHLI cover has successfully opened or closed. These magnets accumulate a lot of Martian dust particles, so we periodically take imaging to inspect the quantity of dust and get a better understanding of the state of the hardware. I’ve included above an image of the MAHLI instrument, from our last inspection on Sol 4291. After the magnet inspection, we’ll do some more typical arm activities, which include some APXS placements, DRT brushing, and MAHLI imaging on targets of interest.
In this workspace, we are interested in targets characterizing the pale layered sulfate unit we’ve been driving on, as well as a target in the new ridge-forming unit. Beyond our arm activities, we’ll do additional science observations of the surface using Mastcam and ChemCam.
On Sol 4537, we’ll focus on driving! Prior to our drive, we’ll take some more scientific observations, including a Navcam cloud movie, Mastcam documentation of some geological units, and ChemCam LIBS on a ridge-forming unit. We have then planned a 21-meter drive (about 69 feet) to take us to a bedrock area of scientific interest. We’re excited because the terrain looks pretty benign, so we’re hoping it all goes smoothly!
Post-drive, we’ll take some Mastcam survey imaging of clasts and soils along the traverse. Finally on Sol 4538, we’ll aim our focus upwards and take a number of observations of the sky. We’ll start with a Navcam large dust-devil survey, a Mastcam tau measurement of the atmospheric optical depth, and a ChemCam passive sky observation to study atmospheric composition. Early the following morning, we’ll take some additional Navcam observations of clouds, and complete another Mastcam tau measurement of optical depth.
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Last Updated May 13, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland provides ground test facilities to industry, government, and academia specializing in the following:
Acoustics Engine Components Testing Full-Scale Engine Testing Flight Research Icing Research Materials and Structures Microgravity Space Power and Propulsion Wind Tunnels Electromagnetic Interference Laboratory Our unique facilities offer superior customer service, flexible scheduling, and state-of-the-art testing capabilities.
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Customer contacts the facility manager and/or submits a test request form. See below for the Facility Request Form. The facility manager will contact the customer to discuss the request and obtain detailed test requirements. After test requirements and schedule are finalized, the facility manager will provide a high-fidelity cost estimate for review and prepare a formal agreement for signature. Once the agreement is signed by both NASA Glenn and the customer, and the work is funded, the test execution may begin per the agreement. If you need further information about our facility capabilities or the general testing process, please complete the form below to have your inquiry answered or contact Michael McVetta at 216-433-2832.
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By NASA
Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home 2 min read
Sols 4532-4533: Polygon Heaven
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image, showing an example of the polygonally fractured terrain that it has been driving over, using its Right Navigation Camera. The rover captured the image on May 4, 2025 — Sol 4530, or Martian day 4,530 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 18:07:04 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Written by Catherine O’Connell-Cooper, Planetary Geologist at University of New Brunswick
Earth planning date: Monday, May 5, 2025
Our 29-meter weekend drive (about 95 feet) was successful, and we are still in the band of polygon-rich bedrock.
The origin of these cracks is not clear — could they have formed as desiccation cracks as Mars began to get drier, billions of years ago? Or during later periods when groundwater moved through the bedrock? Spending time in this area will help us to tease out their origin by sampling as much of the diversity as we can, from regular bedrock to the stranger textured targets. Touch and Go plans allow only a few hours of science at a given workspace — in this plan, the rover turns on around 9 a.m. local time, and by 2 p.m. we have picked up and moved on to the next stop. So planning on a day like today is quite the balancing act, trying to cram in as much science, as efficiently as possible, in a small amount of time.
On Friday, I helped plan APXS on some of the polygon features, so today we were able to concentrate on more typical bedrock without polygonal features, to compare with our last targets. We wiIl acquire a short APXS integration on the brushed target “Encinitas,” and image the target with MAHLI. In contrast, ChemCam will use LIBS to analyze “Jack Creek,” an elongated vein feature about 30 centimeters long (about 12 inches), which may be related to the polygon features. Both Mastcam and MAHLI will image this vein.
Beyond the workspace, but relatively closer to the rover, Mastcam will image “Loma Verde” on a small, overturned block and “Temescal Canyon,” looking at a larger expanse of bedrock with polygonal structures. Further afield, ChemCam will acquire a long-distance image at “Agua Tibia,” which is close to “Torote Bowl,” a circular feature that we have been imaging periodically since sol 4486.
Once all the science has been gathered here in our very busy morning, we move on in a 26-meter drive (about 85 feet). We are edging closer to the “boxwork structures” — it feels like we have been saying this in every blog for a long time, but we will have “wheels on” for the first time within the next few drives.
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By European Space Agency
The activities to assemble the European Space Agency’s Plato mission are progressing well now that 24 of the spacecraft’s 26 cameras have been installed. Once in space, Plato will use its many eyes to survey a very large area of the sky and hunt for terrestrial planets. The spacecraft’s supporting element is also coming together in parallel.
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