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Hi, I am Jeff Biesiadecki, a rover planner
and flight software developer and this is

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your Curiosity rover report.

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After busily exploring the Glenelg region
of Gale Crater,

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Curiosity is moving on.

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The rover is starting a 5 mile, or about an
8 km trek southwest towards the foothills

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of Mt Sharp.

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Last fall, we found a great path into Glenelg.

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Now, we're going back the same way, so we
can quickly be on our way.

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Here is a view of our recent sol 327 drive.

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We're looking westward from above Glenelg,
where you can see our inbound and outbound

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tracks.

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And here is a look of that drive displayed
on terrain meshes created from Curiosity's

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stereo navigation cameras.

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A terrain mesh is a 3D representation of the
ground.

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This was a 40-meter long "directed drive".

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That's when we tell Curiosity to just drive
towards the day's goal without stopping along

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the way to look for and avoid hazards.

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40 meters is about as far as the NAVCAM terrain
meshes can reach.

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The orange lines show the path that the front
wheels will take and the red marks show where

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individual arc and turn commands will be started.

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The green box shows the "corral" given to
Curiosity as part of her drive plan.

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She will not go outside it.

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The red and white marker shows the goal location.

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Images and animations like these are how rover
planners document and present drives for the

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rest of the team.

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This directed-driving mode is how we'll start
each of our drives to Mt. Sharp.

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To extend our drives further, we'll use the
autonomous navigation mode that was part of

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Curiosity's recent software update.

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It enables Curiosity to decide on her own
when to periodically stop and image the terrain

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in front of her.

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She can then look out for large rocks and
ditches and drive around them.

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Using this mode, we hope to cover at least
100 meters per day.

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Here's a map view of our upcoming drive.

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We expect to get one final good look at the
tracks laid down last year.

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Curiosity should end this drive as seen in
the orange path, just south of the older tracks.

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And meanwhile, Curiosity's odometer is close
to reaching the 1 km mark!

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Just a couple more drives should do it.