[meteorite-list] Curiosity Update: Near Target Rock 'Matijevic'

[Ron Baalke]

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1354

Near Target Rock 'Matijevic'
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
September 20, 2012

In a day of abbreviated activities due to timing of downlink relays,
Curiosity used cameras on Sol 44 (Sept. 20) to observe early-morning
atmospheric conditions, inspect a nearby rock, and image rover hardware.

The rover team has decided to edge Curiosity closer to a nearby rock
called Jake Matijevic, which is likely to become the first that the
rover will touch with instruments on its robotic arm. Jacob Matijevic
(1947-2012) was a leading engineer for all three generations of NASA
Mars rovers.

The arm was deployed on Sol 44 to take some images of rover hardware and
to assess the extended arm's sag. A raw image from the Navigation Camera
shows the arm's shadow on the ground near the Jake Matijevic rock. The
image is at http://1.usa.gov/PDAjzm . The arm was subsequently re-stowed
in preparation for a short drive to approach the rock.

Curiosity continues to work in good health. Sol 44, in Mars local mean
solar time at Gale Crater, ends at 12:31 p.m. Sept. 20, PDT.