Curiosity added another 7+m on sol 3960.
I think I can now reasonably position the 31km flag, between 1 and 2 meters before sol's 3955 drive end. I may move it, if another drive enables a better localization.


Fernando
____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

A longer drive (28+ m) on sol 3958 to finish the drive planned for sol 3955.
The alternating dark/zone bands are finally at arm's reach and new sampling hole could be dug soon.



Fernando
____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

KML file update to sol 3955.

 The_Martian_Way_MSL_Curiosity_Sol_3955_2023SEP25.kmz ( 1.5MB ) Number of downloads: 52

Fernando
____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

Curiosity drove again on sol 3955. The previous planned drive did not go as planned (see the Mission Updates) and with this approximately 6m drive the rover is less than 5m away from the the 31km mark. As I cant tell if it stands just before or past the mark, I'll plant the flag when I'm more certain.



Fernando
____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

Curiosity drove 25+ meters on sol 3951 and is just this close to finishing its 31st km on Mars!



Fernando
____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

Update of the KML file to sol 3948.

 The_Martian_Way_MSL_Curiosity_Sol_3948_2023SEP18.kmz ( 1.5MB ) Number of downloads: 57


Fernando
____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

Curiosity is moving forward at an approximate rate of 25m per drive and sol 3948 was no exception.



Fernando
____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

Sol 3946. A new quadrangle.



Fernando
____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

Curiosity drove almost 25m on sol 3944 and is very close to a new quadrangle.



Fernando
____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

Curiosity is less than 20m away from a new quadrangle, but it will probably take a much longer drive to cross the line.
Here is the update to sol 3941, a bit earlier than usual, as I'll be traveling this weekend.

 The_Martian_Way_MSL_Curiosity_Sol_3941_2023SEP08.kmz ( 1.5MB ) Number of downloads: 62

Fernando
____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

Curiosity drove nearly 25m on sol 3941.



Fernando
____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

Every once in a while... The long, arduous and winding road up Gediz Vallis (with some vertical exaggeration).

In white: the original notional route
In blue: mount Sharp ascent route #10
In red: Curiosity's path



Fernando
_____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

Another drive of about 25m on sol 3940 and more target names.



Fernando
_____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

Curiosity drove about 30m on sol 3938. No new targets, though. A new quadrangle is less than 60m away.



Fernando
_____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

ISRO has Xed (twitted) again:

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
The Rover completed its assignments.

It is now safely parked and set into Sleep mode.
APXS and LIBS payloads are turned off.
Data from these payloads is transmitted to the Earth via the Lander.

Currently, the battery is fully charged.
The solar panel is oriented to receive the light at the next sunrise expected on September 22, 2023.
The receiver is kept on.

Hoping for a successful awakening for another set of assignments!
Else, it will forever stay there as India's lunar ambassador.

Fernando

Thanks for pointing it out Phil.
Fernando

KML file update to sol 3935.

 The_Martian_Way_MSL_Curiosity_Sol_3935_2023SEP02.kmz ( 1.49MB ) Number of downloads: 73

Fernando
_____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

It is unusual to get a Mission Update on a Saturday, but here it goes. A communications problem prevented Curiosity from receiving the plan. A few sols later all was fine and Curiosity drove about 25m on sol 3935.



Fernando
_____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

As of a few minutes ago LROC had not released an image of Chandrayaan's landing site.
LROC's resolution is 0.5 m/pixel and Pragyan is under 1m in length/width. Its wheels are very narrow, so I think it will be quite difficult to identify any tracks.

Pragyan's full traverse route has not been publicly shared, to my knowledge. But looking at the image of backtracking due to a large (4m) crater, a boulder on a further away crater's rim set me wondering.

So here is a wild guess, a total speculation, just for the fun of it. Any comments are very welcome!



Fernando

Another drive on sol 3931. Curiosity resumed its route along the Gediz Vallis Ridge.



Fernando
_____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

KML file update to sol 3928.

 The_Martian_Way_MSL_Curiosity_Sol_3928_2023AUG28.kmz ( 1.49MB ) Number of downloads: 55

Fernando
_____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

Update to the KML file with the lander image. I think the impact of the descent engines can be seen.

 Chandrayaan_3_2023AUG25.kmz ( 1.59MB ) Number of downloads: 115

Fernando

Curiosity drove again on sol 3928, and continues to study the Gediz Vallis Ridge.



Fernando
_____________________________________________________________________
The Martian Way files can also be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OJH...BbQ?usp=sharing
Included are "The Martian Way" KMZ file, User's Guide, and MSL Orbital map of Gale crater

Congratulations to ISRO and the whole Chandrayaan 3 team!

My thanks to all members posting information today. Using information from several posts I updated the KMZ file. Please see post #64 for information on how to use it.

 Chandrayaan_3_2023AUG23.kmz ( 1.59MB ) Number of downloads: 138

I adjusted the LROC image to GE's imagery, than adjusted the LROC cutouts to the LROC large image. It is not a perfect job, but it is difficult and time consuming.
You will notice the large distance (greater than 1km) between the announced intended location - as marked by GE - and the actual area as marked by Phil, which he estimates is 250m to 300m away. I had the same problem with Chang'e 4, more than 1km between the actual location and where GE shows a marker with the given coordinates. So please do not trust the coordinates measured on GE.

Fernando

A Google Moon rendition of Chandrayaan-3 landing area

In order to follow the Chandrayaan-3 lunar surface mission I created a small KMZ suitable for the Google Earth (GE) desktop version. Google Earth also has "Google Moon" and, upon opening the file, you will be prompted to switch to the moon, if it is not already open.
The ground overlay images are based on the LROC image M1421908349LE, with all credits fully given.This is a large image (~70M) so it cannot be attached here, but it can be downloaded from the following link:

https
://drive.google.com/file/d/1CDiBZ5BDHh...usp=drive_link

The attached KMZ file contains a small cutout of just the landing area.

To install the attached file, download it to your hard drive. I suggest the creation of a dedicated directory to contain the file. Optionally, download and place in the same directory the image linked to above.

Double click on the KMZ to open it. Click on the features (GE's left panel) to see the comments, and double click them to "fly" to that location.

 Chandrayaan_3.kmz ( 156K ) Number of downloads: 94


I ask you to kindly let me know of any problems you may encounter. Thank you.
Fernando