Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
The Curiosity Science Team has begun a drill campaign at the Atacama site to study Mount Sharp's layered-sulfate bedrock for the first time since leaving the boxwork terrain. The initial three-sol plan included a pre-load test on the drill target and triage contact science, with repeated APXS observations and coordinated MAHLI images under different lighting to detect potential changes in the data.
Mastcam captured stereo mosaics documenting the drill site and bedrock variations at locations called Kimsa Chata and Paniri butte, highlighting layered structures. The following three-sol plan involved full drilling and portion characterization, with further stereo mosaics of various rocks in the workspace such as Queen of the Andes, Curaco, and El Almendrillo.
Meanwhile, the Environmental theme group monitored atmospheric dust, cloud movement, and dust devils. The rover also autonomously selected two targets for the ChemCam instrument. Next steps include delivering a portion of the Atacama drill sample to the ChemMin instrument for mineralogical analysis. The science team aims to compare the mineralogy of this layered sulfate unit with that from the Mineral King site, about 160 meters below the current location.