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Curiosity moves up Valle Grande and examines bedrock
- Curiosity completed a drive of about 60 meters while traversing subtly banded terrain in Valle Grande.
- APXS and MAHLI examined brushed nodular bedrock at Cerro Armazones and Monte Melimoyu.
- ChemCam acquired LIBS at Tuta Huallpas and Acllahuasi, and Mastcam and ChemCam took mosaics at Mishe Mokwa and Cordillera.
- Milestones include Curiosity's 14th Landiversary, the 5000th sol, a 1-kilometer elevation mark, and the 15th anniversary of launch.
- Planned work includes MAHLI at Yungay and Chiu Chiu, APXS at Chiu Chiu, and ChemCam LIBS at Puya Raimondii and Liolaemus Tacnae.
What happened
Curiosity is moving up Valle Grande and traversing a subtly banded area. Work includes bedrock examinations, LIBS acquisitions, mosaics, and planned monitoring.
What we know
Curiosity is moving up Valle Grande while traversing a subtly banded area. The bands are described as 25-200 meters in diameter, and the terrain includes sparse outcrops with rough texture. Curiosity completed a drive of about 60 meters, with one small rough-textured outcrop near enough for contact science and LIBS.
APXS and MAHLI examined brushed nodular bedrock at Cerro Armazones. The same instruments also examined brushed nodular bedrock at Monte Melimoyu.
ChemCam acquired LIBS at Tuta Huallpas and on Acllahuasi. Mastcam and ChemCam also acquired mosaics on Mishe Mokwa and Cordillera, plus mosaics looking back to La Linea.
Mastcam took mosaics documenting the Chocolatal scuff and a mosaic of Sullivan Field. Sullivan Field includes sand ripples, mega ripples, and transverse aeolian ridges, and it is named in honor of Robert Sullivan.
The Earth planning date is 2026-09-11, and the Curiosity team has two planning days. The environmental team planned monitoring activities, and Navcam acquired images of the path ahead.
Milestones listed include the MSL team's 14th Landiversary anniversary, Curiosity's 14th Landiversary on 2026-08-06, a 1-kilometer elevation mark, the 5000th sol, and the 15th anniversary of launch on 2026-11-26.
Why it matters
For readers tracking the lunar industry, the facts provide a detailed operational record: drives, target investigations, imaging, environmental monitoring, and milestone tracking.
What's next
MAHLI will investigate Yungay and Chiu Chiu, and APXS will investigate Chiu Chiu. ChemCam LIBS will investigate Puya Raimondii and Liolaemus Tacnae.
Sources
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