Curiosity rover sols 5010-5015 blog reports planning days and band observations

Catherine O’Connell‑Cooper, APXS Strategic Planner and Payload Uplink/Downlink Lead at the University of New Brunswick in New Brunswick, Canada, oversaw the latest Earth‑based planning cycle for NASA’s Curiosity rover on Friday, September 11, 2026. The schedule this week comprised two active planning days—Tuesday and Friday—following a pause on Monday in observance of Labor Day, a holiday observed across North America that falls on the first Monday of September and includes many members of the Curiosity operations team.

During the two planning sessions, the team refined command sequences and payload configurations for the rover’s Alpha Particle X‑ray Spectrometer (APXS), ensuring alignment with upcoming scientific objectives on the Martian surface. The brief interruption for the holiday allowed personnel to observe the national holiday while maintaining continuity in mission support. The completed plans are slated for uplink to the rover later this week, continuing the ongoing effort to maximize scientific return from the long‑running Mars exploration program.