Piecing together the puzzle of nodule-rich bedrock: A closer look at Lochbuie and surrounding targets using ChemCam and CheMin in the Glasgow drill campaign.

The focus of the science team at the “Glasgow” site is to gather chemistry data using ChemCam and CheMin. The one-sol plan includes a one-hour science block with ChemCam observations of three nearby targets: bedrock target “Gutcher,” nodular bedrock target “Lochbuie,” and vein target “Thistle Street.” The name “Lochbuie” is familiar as Curiosity has been analyzing bedrock targets containing nodules in this area for the past few weeks.

The fractured bedrock in the area has caught the science team’s interest as they want to assess whether the concentration and chemistry of nodules vary with distance from nearby fractures. To maintain continuity, targets in this vicinity are named with “Loch” in their names, with “Lochbuie” being the latest addition to the list that includes targets like “Loch na Keal,” “Loch Olabhat,” “Loch Trool,” and “Bishops Loch.”

An image showing the nodular texture in the “Loch Olabhat 2” target, captured by ChemCam’s Remote Micro Imager, demonstrates the small, dark laser pits created by ChemCam that track horizontally across the nodule-rich rock in the center-right of the image. This exploration is part of the ongoing drill campaign at the site, with a focus on collecting chemistry data through observations and analysis of different targets in the area. By studying the variation in nodules with distance from fractures in