The pre-load tests leave small marks on the surface where the posts flanking the drill press into the rock. Here are the locations of those marks relative to the DRT.

The mini drill hole as an anaglyph.

Success! Our drill at “Big Sky” went perfectly! On Sol 1121, the rover will transfer some of the powder from Big Sky to CheMin so that it can begin analyzing the mineralogy of the sample. Also on Sol 1121, ChemCam has an observation of the target “Minnekahta”. Mastcam will document the ChemCam location and also take a picture of the location on the ground where Big Sky material will be dumped. On Sol 1122, ChemCam has observations of targets “Kippen,” “Kalispell,” and “Big Snowies.” Mastcam will document these targets and take a 4x1 mosaic of the lower portion of Mt. Sharp. Navcam will be used to take a movie about the northern rim of Gale crater to search for any clouds.

The weekend plan includes lots of arm activities and science. First, on Sol 1123, ChemCam and Mastcam will observe the drill hole and tailings, plus targets named "Frontier," "Floweree," "Bozeman," and "Billings." Then the portion of the sample that has not been sieved will be dumped on the ground and examined by Mastcam. After dusk, MAHLI will use its LEDs to look inside of the drill hole and image the drill tailings and CheMin inlet, then APXS will be placed over the tailings for an overnight measurement. Late in the afternoon of Sol 1124, MAHLI will image the pre-sieve dump pile and APXS placed over it for another overnight integration.

A SAM atmospheric methane measurement was added early on Sol 1125 because Mars is expected to encounter some cometary debris, a possible source of the elevated methane concentration that has occasionally been observed. After all those activities, the rover will sleep through most of Sol 1125 to recharge its batteries in preparation for Sol 1126.

MSL did well last weekend, but the Sol 1124 MAHLI images of the unsieved part of the drill sample showed that the APXS was not perfectly centered on the dump pile. Therefore, the Sol 1126 plan includes new MAHLI images and APXS measurements, better centered on the dump pile. Before the arm activities, ChemCam will acquire passive spectra of part of Mt Sharp, a 5x1 LIBS raster on "Canadian Creek," and an RMI image of the ChemCam calibration target. Then MAHLI will be used to take another self-portrait of the rover, and the APXS will be placed on the dump pile for an overnight integration. Later in the afternoon, Mastcam will acquire some mosaics and an image of Canadian Creek to provide context for the ChemCam observations. In parallel with the overnight APXS measurements, CheMin will analyze the material from the latest drill hole.

Here our version

Planning is no longer restricted, but to ensure that Sol 1127 commands are ready to be sent to the rover on time, we had to start planning 1.5 hours earlier than usual this morning. The Sol 1126 images show that the APXS was well centered over the pre-sieve dump pile, so we are ready to move on. It's time for a full set of MAHLI wheel images, which dominate the Sol 1127 plan. After the wheel imaging, there's just enough time for a short drive to another potential drill target and post-drive imaging. The volume of data expected to be received in time for planning tomorrow is smaller than usual, so we had to carefully consider data priorities. With luck, we'll receive enough of the post-drive images to select targets for remote sensing tomorrow morning. Planning will start at 6:30 PDT again tomorrow, so many of us will be getting up before dawn, but it's well worth it to keep the rover going!

......because I like it to feel as if Curiosity were rumbling across the surface at a rapid pace.

Curiosity is currently investigating an alteration zone around a fracture. After a successful drilling investigation at “Big Sky,” Curiosity is now ready to evaluate the alteration zone at “Greenhorn” for comparison. The weekend plan is a busy one. The first sol is focused on SAM activities, to prepare a cup to receive the “Big Sky” drill sample, and then to drop off the sample. On the second sol Curiosity will use the DRT to clear off a fresh surface on "Greenhorn,” which we’ll image with MAHLI. Overnight, we’ll acquire APXS on “Greenhorn.” The main activity on the third sol will be CheMin analysis of the “Big Sky” sample. Throughout the weekend Curiosity will also take standard DAN, RAD and REMS measurements. Meanwhile, I’ve been busy on the other side of the planet working MER operations, but I’ll be back on MSL next week so it’s good to keep an eye on all of the action!

You can use Emily's identification of features as a start.

Over three days since our last Curi images. Already got withdrawal symptoms...

Hope all is well on Mars...

...a substantial amount of imagery from Sols 1129-1131 in there. Some examples:

Curiosity is currently investigating an alteration zone around a fracture, and the plan today is focused on what we call a “mini-start hole.” Before we do a full drill hole, we do a small test hole to make sure its safe. The target “Pilgrim” was selected for drilling, located in the middle of this Mastcam image. Today’s plan also includes MAHLI imaging of “Pilgrim,” both before and after drilling. Then we’ll place APXS over the target for analysis overnight. The plan also includes DAN, RAD and REMS measurements. Data volume and power were issues today, but the team put together a very full plan despite these limitations. I’ll be on duty as GSTL tomorrow, and it looks like we should have a science block that will allow us to characterize this target with both Mastcam and ChemCam as well.