Traversing the Clay-Bearing Unit Along the Base of VRR, Site 73-79, sol 2297-2695, 22 Jan 2019-3 Mar 2020 Options

[Sean]

Sol 2362 transit

[PaulH51]

A very short drive, straight ahead to a nice looking outcrop during sol 2365:

[PaulH51]

Excuse me but I'm not seeing where as the laser help in the melting of this here glass.

I have annotated the three rows and three columns of the small pits created by the ChemCam laser. The before and after images are included in the animated GIF

[jvandriel]

The Navcam L view on Sol 2364.

Jan van Driel

[Phil Stooke]

Here are circular views of Jan's recent panoramas to help show our progress through the clay-rich Glen Torridon.

sol 2359:

sol 2361:

sol 2364:

Phil

[atomoid]

Actionman @ Apr 2 2019, 02:41 AM) Excuse me but I'm not seeing where as the laser help in the melting of this here glass.

I have annotated the three rows and three columns of the small pits created by the ChemCam laser. The before and after images are included in the animated GIF

I like that question, would the tiny spot of glassy weathering polish re-qualify as a 'glass' after treated to an RMS hit?
As much fun as it would be to say Curiosity is busy giving Martian rocks a stoneware reduction glaze fired to cone ten, I couldn't find much on RMS target point temp other than its 10 MW/mm (million lightbulbs), so doesn't seem much chance to anything that can be described as a melt as ablates straight to plasma, though seems there ought to remain a trace residue that condenses back onto the rock that may perhaps be a glass, more adding to my backlog of interesting stuff to read up on..

[Guest_Actionman_*]

, so doesn't seem much chance to anything that can be described as a melt as ablates straight to plasma, though seems there ought to remain a trace residue that condenses back onto the rock that may perhaps be a glass, more adding to my backlog of interesting stuff to read up on..

Using the term "glass" very loosely, it's sure looks shiny! and the laser virtually destroyed the shininess in the area,, I'm going to say with it's residual heat. So it's not a pottery like glaze.

[jvandriel]

The Navcam L view on Sol 2365.

Jan van Driel

[PaulH51]

Sol 2365 L-MastCam: Arm workspace, assembled in MS ICE, else unprocessed.

[PaulH51]

I'm guessing that this could be "Lumphanan", which according the the mission update may be a fragment of an iron meteorite.
Apologies for the terribly de-bayered R-MastCam from sol 2365

[Sean]

Sol 2365 Mastcam Left, 9 frame DeBayered composite, extended sky


Here is a link to DeBayered files of Mastcams Left & Right, available for 7 days

[jvandriel]

MASTcam R view on Sol 2365.

Jan van Driel

[jvandriel]

and my take on the Sol 2365 MASTcam L view.

Jan van Driel

[PaulH51]

And another sample hole drilled into Mars Sol 2370 at Aberlady

[serpens]

Looks like full depth achieved in just over an hour. It seems that drilling has become something of a routine event. All credit to the engineering team.