(ORDO NEWS) ā After spending the last few weeks exploring the top of the nearby gable surface, Curiosity is now descending and heading an alternative route to the Gediz Vallis Ridge.
At the start of the latest ride, Curiosity was successfully āpulled out of the rockā that brought the ride to a halt last Wednesday due to contact with the rock.
The second half of the ride was hectic as well, as the Curiosity wheels were noticed to slip a bit when going down the sandy section.
While this does not raise concerns about the health or activity of the rover, the descent took a little longer than expected.
No worries ā we will have plenty of time for additional scientific observations as we return through the same landscapes that we explored at the end of February this year!
Our current plan is to run an APXS analysis on a small flat area of āālocal rock called āRunnā and also analyze some of the local rocks to the right of the rover using the LIBS capabilities of ChemCam .
Finally, weāll also get some high-resolution mosaics of the surrounding landscape taken by both Mastcam and ChemCam.
Curiosity will then continue its descent from the gable, receiving post-descent images and science data from ENV.
Over the next few days, Curiosity will continue back on the path that the team has determined is the best way to continue climbing Mount Sharp.
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