Mars rover wakes up, gets better laser aiming

SPRING break is over for NASA's Mars rover. But before it can get to work, Curiosity will receive some upgrades, such as the ability to fire its laser with more autonomy.

The rover had gone into standby mode throughout April, when Mars went behind the sun from our perspective. Limited radio communications made it too difficult for drivers on Earth to send Curiosity new commands.

The blackout left the team with a cliffhanger: in March, Curiosity had delivered the first chemical evidence of an ancient life-friendly environment on Mars.

The rover woke up on 1 May and is transitioning to new software. As a result, the ChemCam tool, which shoots rocks with a laser to analyse the resulting puff of gas, will be able to auto-adjust to avoid glare from the sun, letting it aim at a wider range of rocks.

After the upgrade, Curiosity will try to confirm the habitable conditions at its current site, says mission lead scientist John Grotzinger. "After that, we're likely to begin the trek to Mount Sharp," a layered mountain that should show how the Martian surface has changed over time.

This article appeared in print under the headline "Mars rover reboot"

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