Jump to content
  • Sign Up
×
×
  • Create New...
1 Vote = 0.10€ for server Owner!

[NASA] Curiosity Blog, Sols 4573-4574: Welcome to the Uyuni Quad

SpaceMan

By SpaceMan,
in World News

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Diamond Member
SpaceMan Hunter

SpaceMan 0

Posted
  • Diamond Member
Posted
Curiosity Navigation

3 min read

Curiosity Blog, Sols 4573-4574: Welcome to the Uyuni Quad

This is the hidden content, please
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image, looking southwest toward the distant large boxwork structures in the Uyuni quad, using its Left Navigation Camera on June 15, 2025 — Sol 4571, or Martian day 4,571 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 21:27:38 UTC.
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Written by Lauren Edgar, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center

Earth planning date: Monday, June 16, 2025

Over the weekend Curiosity successfully wrapped up activities at the “Altadena” drill site and got back on the road. The approximately 48-meter drive (about 157 feet) was successful, and placed the rover in the next mapping quadrangle (informally referred to as a quad). 

As a reminder, the rover’s exploration area has been divided into 1.5 kilometer by 1.5 kilometer square quads, and each quad is named after a town of less than 100,000 people. As Curiosity explores features within a quad, we assign informal target names that correspond to geologic formations and features from that town on Earth.

Uyuni, Bolivia, is the gateway city near the world’s largest salt flats (salars), and it seems like an appropriate name as Curiosity explores drier depositional environments higher in the Mount Sharp stratigraphy. The team is excited to use some new target names that will draw from Uyuni and surrounding areas, including the Atacama Desert in Chile, which hosts many Mars analog sites including eolian features, studies of life in extreme environments, and some of the world’s great observatories. A fitting theme for this next phase of exploration!

As for today’s two-sol plan, we have a good balance of contact science, remote sensing, and another long drive. The team planned APXS and MAHLI on a nodular bedrock target named “Flamingo” to assess its chemistry and texture. In the targeted remote sensing block, the science team planned a Mastcam mosaic of “Los Patos” to characterize a depression which may be related to a small impact crater or boxwork structures, along with a Mastcam image of “La Lava” to investigate an interesting dark block. There are also several Mastcam mosaics of nearby troughs to assess active surface processes, and documentation images for ChemCam observations. The plan includes a ChemCam LIBS observation on a target named “Tacos” to assess the local bedrock, and a long-distance RMI mosaic to evaluate sedimentary structures at “Mishe Mokwa” butte. Then the rover will drive about 56 meters (about 184 feet) to the southwest, and take post-drive imaging to prepare for the next plan. On the second sol, Curiosity will complete a ChemCam calibration target activity, a Mastcam data management activity, and a few Navcam activities to monitor clouds and dust in the atmosphere.

We’re looking forward to exploring more of Uyuni as we work our way toward the larger exposure of boxwork structures that lie ahead, and the clues they hold to ancient Mars conditions.

Share

Details

Last Updated
Jun 18, 2025

Related Terms

Explore More

This is the hidden content, please
/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">
This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please
/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">
This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please
/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">
This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

Mars

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please
/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

This is the hidden content, please


All Mars Resources

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please
/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

This is the hidden content, please


Rover Basics

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please
/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

This is the hidden content, please


Mars Exploration: Science Goals

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please
/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

0

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Vote for the server

    To vote for this server you must login.

    Jim Carrey Flirting GIF

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

Important Information

Privacy Notice: We utilize cookies to optimize your browsing experience and analyze website traffic. By consenting, you acknowledge and agree to our Cookie Policy, ensuring your privacy preferences are respected.

  I accept