Curiosity's 3-sol plan moves Nazca drill campaign toward wrap-up
- Curiosity's sols 5060-5062 plan, dated 2026-10-30 on Earth, moves the Nazca drilling campaign toward wrap-up.
- The plan schedules imaging of the completed Nazca drill hole and tailings, plus RAGE sample expulsion.
- Curiosity's sol 5061 includes a brand-new parallelism engineering activity as power output slowly decreases.
- Remote science on sols 5060-5062 targets Titicaca, Pampas and Salta with ChemCam and Remote Micro-Imager mosaics.
What happened
A 3-sol plan covers sols 5060, 5061 and 5062, with an Earth planning date of 2026-10-30. The plan centers on closing out the Nazca drilling campaign while Curiosity recharges and carries out remote science.
What we know
The plan covers 3 sols, numbered 5060, 5061 and 5062, with an Earth planning date of 2026-10-30.
Curiosity is recharging, and the plan uses low activity for power positive sols, a standard morning science block and twilight imaging.
The Nazca drilling campaign has a completed drill hole, tailings characterized by ChemCam, several sample dropoffs to SAM and CheMin, and remaining activities.
The campaign is awaiting wrap-up, and imaging is planned for the Nazca drill hole and tailings.
RAGE means Rotate to Agitate for Granule Expulsion, and it shakes the drill to expel remaining sample.
Remote science targets are Titicaca, Pampas and Salta, with ChemCam active and Remote Micro-Imager mosaics.
Mastcam work includes imaging the calibration target and drill target, while Navcam dust devil studies and Mastcam tau observations are also listed.
Sol 5061 includes a brand-new parallelism engineering activity; Curiosity's power output slowly decreases, and parallelism is a power-saving strategy. A CheMin Get Data test ran in parallel with an orbiter downlink and seems to have gone well.
Why it matters
For readers tracking the lunar industry, the update offers a concrete record of surface drilling and sample handling: a completed hole, tailings characterization, and sample dropoffs to SAM and CheMin.
It also shows science being scheduled around power management, with low-activity sols, slowly decreasing power output and a parallelism test that seems to have gone well.
Background
This site reported on 2026-10-28 that Curiosity had moved near Chiu Chiu for the next drill campaign, that Nazca had received a science go-ahead, and that preload-test preparations were advancing.
The new plan continues that work, with the Nazca drill hole now completed and the campaign awaiting wrap-up.
What's next
Imaging is planned for the Nazca drill hole and tailings.
RAGE is listed as the method to shake the drill and expel remaining sample.
Sol 5061 includes a brand-new parallelism engineering activity.
Sources
Written by AI systems from the sources above and checked automatically; no personal byline. How this site works