MAHLI camera - standoff ~25 cm (~10 inches) NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/fredk

the drive to the South continues

NASA/JPL-Caltech, assembled in MS-ICE

Overlapping R-MastCam images

10 overlapping L-MastCam images (Bayer-reconstructed)

12 overlapping R-MastCams

15 overlapping L-MastCams (Bayer reconstructed)

15 Bayer reconstructed L-MastCam's assembled in MS-ICE NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/fredk

15 L-MastCams

Current workspace - 15 L-MastCam de-Bayered frames assembled in MS-ICE

NASA/JP-Caltech/MSSS/fredk

Cropped from the original panorama....

Source: https://science.nasa.gov/resource/sol-4176-right-navigation-camera-cylindrical-projection-2/

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity took 31 images in Gale Crater using its mast-mounted Right Navigation Camera (Navcam) to create this mosaic. The seam-corrected mosaic provides a 360-degree cylindrical projection panorama of the Martian surface centered at 174 degrees azimuth (measured clockwise from north). Curiosity took the images on May 06, 2024, Sol 4176 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission at drive 384, site number 107. The local mean solar time for the image exposures was 1 PM. Each Navcam image has a 45 degree field of view.

Don’t Blink We’re Taking a Picture - Curiosity Rover blog for Sols 4175-4177.

Earth planning date: Friday, May 3, 2024

Curiosity loves to drive so it’s pretty rare we stay at a location longer than one planning cycle without the intention of drilling. But since we found ourselves at this unique and beautiful rubbly ridge with dark-toned clasts all around, the science team decided to skip driving last plan and stay through most of the weekend in favor of more contact science. My job this week was operating the Mastcams, and we decided to take full advantage of this opportunity! Why not take an afternoon 360-degree panorama while we’re here? It’s understandably hard to argue against a full panorama, so we went for it and planned 331 Mastcam Left images that should cover most of the terrain around us (including a custom arm pose to get the ridge in better view). Since our left filter wheel got stuck last fall, occluding over half of our lens, we’ve had to subframe our images quite a bit to avoid any filter wheel hardware showing up and thus — our Mastcam Left frame size covers less than half what it use to. It’s extremely lucky we’re still able to use the camera at all, and we’re very happy to keep planning 360 panos after all these years even if it takes about 2.5x more images to acquire.

Now for the reason we stayed: a full evening of contact science on the first sol! APXS and MAHLI are planning to investigate a light-toned, layered but somehow still crunchy, rock named "Liberty Cap" and another similar rock named "Wilma Lake." Liberty Cap imaging will also include a different type of MAHLI stereo where the turret rotates instead of moves laterally, called “rotational” stereo (or: “Herkenhoff” stereo after Ken Herkenhoff, a long-time MAHLI Co-Investigator among many other titles). Without any APXS support, MAHLI will also take a look at a pointy, dark-toned target named "Lookout Peak." I sit right next to the MAHLI operations team and was trying my best to keep up with all they have going on today.

On the second sol, we drive! To be honest, there’s a ton more we planned today (including mid-drive and post-drive Mastcam imaging!) but this blog could go on and on with how packed this plan is. It’s always a little nerve-wracking sending a plan like this up to Mars before checking out for the weekend, but I’ll try my best and come back fresh for more Mastcam imaging on Monday.

Written by Natalie Moore, Mission Operations Specialist at Malin Space Science Systems

Source (with all the links and original raw image): https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/sols-4175-4177-dont-blink-were-taking-a-picture/

These blog updates are provided by self-selected Mars Science Laboratory mission team members who love to share what Curiosity is doing with the public.

Dates of planned rover activities described in these reports are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status.

Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/fredk