The successful drive means Curiosity is now parked on the south side of Pinnacle Ridge, the last area of upper Gediz Vallis ridge that we planned to examine before we cross Gediz Vallis channel. We checked out the north side of Pinnacle Ridge last week and collected all sorts of data that tell us a lot about the composition and textures of the rocks that form the ridge.Decision-Making at Pinnacle RidgeWe had a big decision to make Friday early morning: Now that we can see the south side of Pinnacle Ridge is traversable, should we drive onto it to get additional contact science data on the Gediz Vallis ridge rocks, or should we continue to drive along Gediz Vallis channel towards our prepared channel crossing spot? Driving onto Pinnacle Ridge at this place could provide us a chance to find out more about the products that make up the ridge and the role of water in this location, but it might also take several sols and not inform us much more than what we currently learned from our investigation on the north face of Pinnacle Ridge.Consensus and ObservationsMy role today was Long Term Planner, which implied I had to lead the teams conversation to talk through the pros and cons of this choice, and (ideally) help the group come to an agreement.
