William Shatner Hosts "Grand Entrance"
Curiosity's Landing on Mars | NASA MSL Rover Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVg_R2VquDU
Mars Science Laboratory(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Mars_Science_Laboratory_Curiosity_rover.jpg/800px-Mars_Science_Laboratory_Curiosity_rover.jpg)
This artist concept features NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, a mobile robot for investigating Mars' past or present ability to sustain microbial life. Curiosity is being tested in preparation for launch in the fall of 2011. In this picture, the rover examines a rock on Mars with a set of tools at the end of the rover's arm, which extends about 2 meters (7 feet). Two instruments on the arm can study rocks up close. Also, a drill can collect sample material from inside of rocks and a scoop can pick up samples of soil. The arm can sieve the samples and deliver fine powder to instruments inside the rover for thorough analysis. The mast, or rover's "head," rises to about 2.1 meters (6.9 feet) above ground level, about as tall as a basketball player. This mast supports two remote-sensing instruments: the Mast Camera, or "eyes," for stereo color viewing of surrounding terrain and material collected by the arm; and, the ChemCam instrument, which is a laser that vaporizes material from rocks up to about 9 meters (30 feet) away and determines what elements the rocks are made of.
Date 26 May 2011QuoteMars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, that will attempt to land a Mars rover called Curiosity on the surface of Mars. Currently en route to the planet, it is scheduled to land in Gale Crater at about 05:31 UTC on August 6, 2012. Curiosity rover's objectives include determining Mars' habitability, studying its climate and geology, and collecting data for human missions.
Curiosity is about twice as long and five times as heavy as the Spirit and Opportunity Mars exploration rovers, and carries over ten times the mass of scientific instruments. It will attempt a more accurate landing than previous rovers, within a landing ellipse of 7 by 20 km (4.3 by 12 mi), in the Aeolis Palus region of Gale Crater. This location is near the mountain Aeolis Mons (known by NASA as "Mount Sharp"). It is designed to explore for at least 687 Earth days (1 Martian year) over a range of 5 by 20 km (3.1 by 12 mi).
The Mars Science Laboratory mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort for the robotic exploration of Mars, and the project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of California Institute of Technology. When MSL launched, the program's director was Doug McCuistion of NASA's Planetary Science Division. The total cost of the MSL project is about US$2.5 billion.
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Color-coded rover diagram(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Mars_Science_Laboratory_wheels.jpg/799px-Mars_Science_Laboratory_wheels.jpg)
Mars rover Curiosity, the centerpiece of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, is coming together for extensive testing prior to its late 2011 launch. This image taken June 29, 2010, shows the rover with the mobility system -- wheels and suspension -- in place after installation on June 28 and 29.
Spacecraft engineers and technicians are assembling and testing the rover in a large clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Curiosity's six-wheel mobility system, with a rocker-bogie suspension system, resembles the systems on earlier, smaller Mars rovers, but for Curiosity, the wheels will also serve as landing gear. Each wheel is half a meter (20 inches) in diameter.(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/PIA15279_3rovers-stand_D2011_1215_D521.jpg/800px-PIA15279_3rovers-stand_D2011_1215_D521.jpg)
Two spacecraft engineers stand with a group of vehicles providing a comparison of three generations of Mars rovers developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The setting is JPL's Mars Yard testing area.
Front and center is the flight spare for the first Mars rover, Sojourner, which landed on Mars in 1997 as part of the Mars Pathfinder Project. On the left is a Mars Exploration Rover Project test rover that is a working sibling to Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on Mars in 2004. On the right is a Mars Science Laboratory test rover the size of that project's Mars rover, Curiosity, which is on course for landing on Mars in August 2012.
Sojourner and its flight spare, named Marie Curie, are 2 feet (65 centimeters) long. The Mars Exploration Rover Project's rover, including the "Surface System Test Bed" rover in this photo, are 5.2 feet (1.6 meters) long. The Mars Science Laboratory Project's Curiosity rover and "Vehicle System Test Bed" rover, on the right, are 10 feet (3 meters) long.
The engineers are JPL's Matt Robinson, left, and Wesley Kuykendall. The California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena, operates JPL for NASA.
Date 15 December 2011(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Mars_Rover_Curiosity%2C_Right_Side_View.JPG/800px-Mars_Rover_Curiosity%2C_Right_Side_View.JPG)
This photograph of the NASA Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, was taken during mobility testing on June 3, 2011. The location is inside the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Preparations are on track for shipping the rover to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in June and for launch during the period Nov. 25 to Dec. 18, 2011.
JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory mission for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. This mission will land Curiosity on Mars in August 2012. Researchers will use the tools on the rover to study whether the landing region has had environmental conditions favorable for supporting microbial life and favorable for preserving clues about whether life existed.
Hrvatski: NASA-in rover Curiosity tijekom testiranja mobilnosti.
Date June 3, 2011.(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/37/Curiosity_wheel_pattern_morse_code.png/800px-Curiosity_wheel_pattern_morse_code.png)
Detail of Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover with tread pattern which will leave an impression on the Martian surface spelling "JPL" in morse code
Source NASA/JPL Date 25 November 2011 (UTC)Mars Science Laboratory - Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Science_Laboratory)
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CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATAION, Fla. -- An Atlas V evolved expendable launch vehicle carries NASA's Mars Science Laboratory from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Nov. 26. The lab's Rover Curiosity is scheduled to land on Mars in August 2012.
Date 28 January 2012
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Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) landing diagram for outside the Martian atmosphere and for entry.
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Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) landing diagram for parachute descent, powered descent, and sky crane.
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Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) test parachute at the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California which has the world's largest wind tunnel. The MSL parachute is the largest parachute ever made for an extraterrestrial mission with a diameter of nearly 16 meters (51 feet). The parachute uses 80 suspension lines and is made mostly of nylon except for a small disk of polyester. Both the MSL parachute and the MSL test parachute were made by Pioneer Aerospace.
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Curiosity's Sky Crane Maneuver, Artist's Concept
This artist's concept shows the sky crane maneuver during the descent of NASA's Curiosity rover to the Martian surface.
The entry, descent, and landing (EDL) phase of the Mars Science Laboratory mission begins when the spacecraft reaches the Martian atmosphere, about 81 miles (131 kilometers) above the surface of the Gale crater landing area, and ends with the rover Curiosity safe and sound on the surface of Mars.
Entry, descent, and landing for the Mars Science Laboratory mission will include a combination of technologies inherited from past NASA Mars missions, as well as exciting new technologies. Instead of the familiar airbag landing systems of the past Mars missions, Mars Science Laboratory will use a guided entry and a sky crane touchdown system to land the hyper-capable, massive rover.
The sheer size of the Mars Science Laboratory rover (over one ton, or 900 kilograms) would preclude it from taking advantage of an airbag-assisted landing. Instead, the Mars Science Laboratory will use the sky crane touchdown system, which will be capable of delivering a much larger rover onto the surface. It will place the rover on its wheels, ready to begin its mission after thorough post-landing checkouts.
The new entry, descent and landing architecture, with its use of guided entry, will allow for more precision. Where the Mars Exploration Rovers could have landed anywhere within their respective 93-mile by 12-mile (150 by 20 kilometer) landing ellipses, Mars Science Laboratory will land within a 12-mile (20-kilometer) ellipse! This high-precision delivery will open up more areas of Mars for exploration and potentially allow scientists to roam "virtually" where they have not been able to before.
In the depicted scene, the spacecraft's descent stage, while controlling its own rate of descent with four of its eight throttle-controllable rocket engines, has begun lowering Curiosity on a bridle. The rover is connected to the descent stage by three nylon tethers and by an umbilical providing a power and communication connection. The bridle will extend to full length, about 25 feet (7.5 meters), as the descent stage continues descending. Seconds later, when touchdown is detected, the bridle is cut at the rover end, and the descent stage flies off to stay clear of the landing site.
Date 4 November 2011
Mars Science LaboratoryFact Sheet (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/fact_sheets/mars-science-laboratory.pdf)
Mars Science Laboratory Launch - Press Kit Nov 2011 (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/MSLLaunch.pdf)
Mars Science Laboratory Landing Press Kit July 2012 (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/MSLLanding.pdf)
Mars Science Laboratory Mission Page (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html)
This Thread will be for updates as the Mission progresses
Discussion thread is here
NASA spacecraft barrells towards Mars (http://www.thelivingmoon.com/forum/index.php?topic=2255.msg31115#msg31115)
Curiosity Closes in on its New 'Home'
Sat, 04 Aug 2012 04:20:24 PM PDT
With Mars looming ever larger in front of it, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft and its Curiosity rover are in the final stages of preparing for entry, descent and landing on the Red Planet at 10:31 p.m. PDT Aug. 5 (1:31 a.m. EDT Aug. 6). Curiosity remains in good health with all systems operating as expected. Today, the flight team uplinked and confirmed commands to make minor corrections to the spacecraft's navigation reference point parameters. This afternoon, as part of the onboard sequence of autonomous activities leading to the landing, catalyst bed heaters are being turned on to prepare the eight Mars Lander Engines that are part of MSL's descent propulsion system. As of 2:25 p.m. PDT (5:25 p.m. EDT), MSL was approximately 261,000 miles (420,039 kilometers) from Mars, closing in at a little more than 8,000 mph (about 3,600 meters per second).
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html
Only 8 hours to go to see if it lands or goes SPLAT :D
Watch it LIVE Here
NASA TV Schedule
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/schedule.html
Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover Animation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4boyXQuUIw
NASA Lands Car-Size Rover Beside Martian Mountain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnG-rFFpP8A
His other car is on Mars
(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120806051228-mars-landing-parachute-horizontal-gallery.jpg)
NASA's Curiosity rover and its parachute were spotted by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as Curiosity descended to the surface on Sunday.
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One of the first images taken by NASA's Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars early Monday, August 6. The clear dust cover that protected the camera during landing has been sprung open. Part of the spring that released the dust cover can be seen at the bottom right, near the rover's wheel.
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Another of the first images beamed back from NASA's Curiosity rover on August 6 is the shadow cast by the rover on the surface of Mars.
His other car is on Mars (http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/04/us/mars-rover-scott-maxwell/index.html?iref=NS1)
Where Will Curiosity Go First?
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This image shows destinations scientists want the rover to investigate. First, Curiosity will move toward an area nicknamed Glenelg where three kinds of terrain intersect. The science team thought the name Glenelg was appropriate because, if Curiosity traveled there, it would visit it twice -- both coming and going -- and the word Glenelg is a palindrome. Then, Curiosity will aim for the base of Mt. Sharp where a natural break in the dunes should allow the rover to begin scaling the lower reaches of the mountain.
August 17, 2012: By now it's old news that NASA's new Mars rover Curiosity is resting safely on the surface of Red Planet after a daredevil landing that had the nation holding its breath. Now, mission scientists are anxious to start moving. With such a sweet set of wheels at their disposal and the "open road" before them, just where will they go first?
"We won't have to travel far for excitement," says project scientist John Grotzinger. "We landed in the best possible place within the landing ellipse -- the bottom of an alluvial fan."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSHDByiYXvg
An alluvial fan is a pattern of sedimentary rocks, dirt, and sand deposited by flowing water – in this case, perhaps an ancient Martian river. Since life as we know it requires liquid water, this is an excellent first place to search for clues of a Mars that was once hospitable to life.
"The alluvial fan indicates that water flowed across the surface, so we'll head downhill to where water might have collected. We'll be looking for minerals like salts that might tell us where water has been. It's kind of like a scavenger hunt with minerals as clues."
After that, Grotzinger says it's "full-speed ahead" to the base of Mount Sharp, a 5000-meter tall mountain that holds within its ancient layers possible clues to life on the Red Planet.
"We'll have to make a deal with ourselves not to stop too often along the way. Mount Sharp is the reason we chose this landing site, so we need to high-tail it on over there."
Deputy Program Manager Richard Cook describes the temptation to stop along the way: "It'll be like taking a family vacation, but instead of the family you have 400 scientists who want to stop and look at every sight."
Curiosity is bristling with instruments custom-made to look for the chemical building blocks of life.
A laser on Curiosity's mast can take aim at interesting rocks and vaporize small spots on them from up to 7 meters away. The micro-blasts produce plasma clouds, and the scientists can examine the light reflected off these clouds to learn what the rocks are made of. The mast also sports a high-resolution camera called Mastcam, which has already begun observing and photographing the rover's surroundings.
The rover's robotic arm wields its own array of instruments. The Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer will measure the abundance of chemical elements in the dust, soils, rocks, and samples the rover gathers. The Mars Hand Lens Imager acts like a geologist's magnifying lens that can take its own color photos.
Ultimately samples will be delivered to a pair of onboard laboratory instruments. One of them, SAM, short for Sample Analysis at Mars, will explore the Red Planet by 'sniffing' the air, bird-dog style. It has vents that open to the atmosphere to detect gases like methane. SAM can also 'sniff' the gases released by rock or soil samples it heats in its own oven.
Can 400 scientists gripped by the thrill of the greatest 'family vacation' ever really rush to their destination without stopping to savor every sight?
Grotzinger makes just one guarantee: "In the coming months and years, Curiosity will tell us an incredible story."
Author: Dauna D. Coulter| Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips |
Credit: Science@NASA (http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/17aug_curiosity2/)
Curiosity Zaps First Martian Rock
August 19, 2012: NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has fired its laser for the first time on Mars. On Aug. 19th the mission's ChemCam instrument hit a fist-sized rock named "Coronation" with 30 pulses of its laser during a 10-second period. Each pulse delivers more than a million watts of power for about five one-billionths of a second.
The energy from the laser creates a puff of ionized, glowing plasma. ChemCam catches the light with a telescope and analyzes it with three spectrometers for information about what elements are in the rock. The spectrometers record 6,144 different wavelengths of ultraviolet, visible and infrared light.
"We got a great spectrum of Coronation -- lots of signal," said ChemCam Principal Investigator Roger Wiens of Los Alamos National Laboratory, N.M. "Our team is both thrilled and working hard, looking at the results. After eight years building the instrument, it's payoff time!"
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First Laser-Zapped Rock on Mars
This composite image, with magnified insets, depicts the first laser test by the Chemistry and Camera, or ChemCam, instrument aboard NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. The composite incorporates a Navigation Camera image taken prior to the test, with insets taken by the camera in ChemCam. The circular insert highlights the rock before the laser test. The square inset is further magnified and processed to show the difference between images taken before and after the laser interrogation of the rock.
The test took place on Aug. 19, 2012.
In the composite, the fist-sized rock, called "Coronation," is highlighted. Coronation is the first rock on any extraterrestrial planet to be investigated with such a laser test.
The widest context view in this composite comes from Curiosity's Navigation Camera. The magnified views in the insets come from ChemCam's camera, the Remote Micro-Imager. The area shown in the circular inset is 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) in diameter. It was taken before the rock was hit with the laser. The area covered in the further-magnified square inset is 8 millimeters (about one-third of an inch) across. It combines information from images taken before and after the test, subtracting the "before" image from the "after" image to make the changes in the rock visible.
Curiosity's Chemistry and Camera instrument (ChemCam) inaugurated use of its laser when it used the beam to investigate Coronation during Curiosity's 13th day after landing.
ChemCam hit Coronation with 30 pulses of its laser during a 10-second period. Each pulse delivered more than a million watts of power for about five one-billionths of a second. The energy from the laser excited atoms in the rock into an ionized, glowing plasma. ChemCam also caught the light from that spark with a telescope and analyzed it with three spectrometers for information about what elements are in the target.
This initial use of the laser on Mars served as target practice for characterizing the instrument but may provide additional value. Researchers will check whether the composition changed as the pulses progressed. If it did change, that could indicate dust or other surface material being penetrated to reveal different composition beneath the surface.
ChemCam was developed, built and tested by the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory in partnership with scientists and engineers funded by France's national space agency, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and research agency, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project, including Curiosity, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the rover.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP
First Laser-Zapped Rock on Mars (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia16075.html)
ChemCam recorded spectra from each of the 30 pulses. The goal of this initial use of the laser on Mars was to serve as target practice for characterizing the instrument, but the activity may provide additional value. Researchers will check whether the composition changed as the pulses progressed. If it did change, that could indicate dust or other surface material being penetrated to reveal different composition beneath the surface.
"It's surprising that the data are even better than we ever had during tests on Earth, in signal-to-noise ratio," said ChemCam Deputy Project Scientist Sylvestre Maurice of the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planetologie (IRAP) in Toulouse, France. "It's so rich, we can expect great science from investigating what might be thousands of targets with ChemCam in the next two years."
The technique used by ChemCam, called laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, has been used to determine composition of targets in other extreme environments, such as inside nuclear reactors and on the sea floor, and has had experimental applications in environmental monitoring and cancer detection. Today's investigation of Coronation is the first use of the technique in interplanetary exploration.
Curiosity Zaps First Martian Rock (http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/19aug_curiosity3/)
Curiosity Begins Driving at Bradbury Landing
August 22, 2012
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has begun driving from its landing site, which scientists announced today they have named for the late author Ray Bradbury.
Making its first movement on the Martian surface, Curiosity's drive combined forward, turn and reverse segments. This placed the rover roughly 20 feet (6 meters) from the spot where it landed 16 days ago.
Curiosity's First Track Marks on Mars
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This 360-degree panorama shows evidence of a successful first test drive for NASA's Curiosity rover. On Aug. 22, 2012, the rover made its first move, going forward about 15 feet (4.5 meters), rotating 120 degrees and then reversing about 8 feet (2.5 meters). Curiosity is about 20 feet (6 meters) from its landing site, now named Bradbury Landing.
Visible in the image are the rover's first track marks. A small 3.5-inch (9-centimeter) rock can be seen where the drive began, which engineers say was partially under one of the rear wheels. Scour marks left by the rover's descent stage during landing can be seen to the left and right of the wheel tracks. The lower slopes of Mount Sharp are visible at the top of the picture, near the center.
This mosaic from the rover's Navigation camera is made up of 23 full-resolution frames, displayed in a cylindrical projection.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia16092.html)
Blue Skies on Mars
Focusing the 34-millimeter Mastcam
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This image is from a series of test images to calibrate the 34-millimeter Mast Camera on NASA's Curiosity rover. It was taken on Aug. 23, 2012 and looks south-southwest from the rover's landing site.
The gravelly area around Curiosity's landing site is visible in the foreground. Farther away, about a third of the way up from the bottom of the image, the terrain falls off into a depression (a swale). Beyond the swale, in the middle of the image, is the boulder-strewn, red-brown rim of a moderately-sized impact crater. Father off in the distance, there are dark dunes and then the layered rock at the base of Mount Sharp. Some haze obscures the view, but the top ridge, depicted in this image, is 10 miles (16.2 kilometers) away.
Scientists enhanced the color in one version to show the Martian scene under the lighting conditions we have on Earth, which helps in analyzing the terrain. A raw version is also available.
The 34-millimeter Mastcam takes images with lower resolution, but a much wider field of view than the 100-millimeter Mastcam. A sharper version of the same scene from the telephoto 100-millimeter Mastcam can be seen at PIA16104.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
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Layers at the Base of Mount Sharp
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A chapter of the layered geological history of Mars is laid bare in this postcard from NASA's Curiosity rover. The image shows the base of Mount Sharp, the rover's eventual science destination.
This image is a portion of a larger image taken by Curiosity's 100-millimeter Mast Camera on Aug. 23, 2012. See PIA16104. Scientists enhanced the color in one version to show the Martian
Making Tracks on Mars
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This image shows the tracks left by NASA's Curiosity rover on Aug. 22, 2012, as it completed its first test drive on Mars. The rover went forward 15 feet (4.5 meters), rotated 120 degrees and then reversed 8.2 feet (2.5 meters). Curiosity is now 20 feet (6 meters) from its landing site, named Bradbury Landing.
This image was taken by a front Hazard-Avoidance camera, which has a fisheye lens.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
After the Laser Shots
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Images taken before and after NASA's Curiosity rover shot its laser 50 times are shown here. The rover's Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument shot its laser at rocks exposed by thrusters on the rover's sky crane at the scour mark called "Goulburn."
The images were taken by the instrument's remote micro-imager (RMI). They show differences in brightness at the impact spot as well as a slight change in shadows. The inset shows an area about 1 square-inch (2.5 centimeters per side). The target is about 19 feet (5.8 meters) away from the rover.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP
Laser Plasmas on Earth and Mars
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This image shows laser plasmas in a test lab at Los Alamos National Laboratory, N.M., under typical atmospheric pressures on Earth and Mars. A plasma is an ionized, glowing gas. The pressure on the Red Planet is only about one percent of that at sea level on Earth, allowing the plasma to expand more and become brighter. The laser beam, which is invisible, crosses the image from the left and strikes a metal target, creating the plasmas. Each image covers about 3 by 3 inches (75 by 75 millimeters). Image credit: LANL
Traces of Landing
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This mosaic image shows part of the left side of NASA's Curiosity rover and two blast marks from the descent stage's rocket engines. The images that were used to make the mosaic were obtained by the rover's Navigation cameras on Aug. 7 PDT (Aug. 8 EDT).
The rim of Gale Crater is the lighter colored band across the horizon. The back of the rover is to the left. The blast marks can be seen in the middle of the image. Several small bits of rock and soil, which were made airborne by the rocket engines, are visible on the rover's top deck.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Curiosity's Heat Shield in Detail
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This color full-resolution image showing the heat shield of NASA's Curiosity rover was obtained during descent to the surface of Mars on Aug. 5 PDT (Aug. 6 EDT). The image was obtained by the Mars Descent Imager instrument known as MARDI and shows the 15-foot (4.5-meter) diameter heat shield when it was about 50 feet (16 meters) from the spacecraft.
This image shows the inside surface of the heat shield, with its protective multi-layered insulation. The bright patches are calibration targets for MARDI. Also seen in this image is the Mars Science Laboratory Entry, Descent, and Landing Instrument (MEDLI) hardware attached to the inside surface.
At this range, the image has a spatial scale of 0.4 inches (1 cm) per pixel. It is the 36th MARDI image, obtained about three seconds after heat shield separation and about two and one-half minutes before touchdown. The original image from MARDI has been geometrically corrected to look flat. The thumbnail version of this image is available here .
Curiosity landed inside of a crater known as Gale Crater.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Scene of a Martian Landing
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The four main pieces of hardware that arrived on Mars with NASA's Curiosity rover were spotted by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera captured this image about 24 hours after landing. The large, reduced-scale image points out the strewn hardware: the heat shield was the first piece to hit the ground, followed by the back shell attached to the parachute, then the rover itself touched down, and finally, after cables were cut, the sky crane flew away to the northwest and crashed. Relatively dark areas in all four spots are from disturbances of the bright dust on Mars, revealing the darker material below the surface dust.
Around the rover, this disturbance was from the sky crane thrusters, and forms a bilaterally symmetrical pattern. The darkened radial jets from the sky crane are downrange from the point of oblique impact, much like the oblique impacts of asteroids. In fact, they make an arrow pointing to Curiosity.
The Curiosity rover is approximately 4,900 feet (1,500 meters) away from the heat shield; about 2,020 feet (615 meters) away from the parachute and back shell; and approximately 2,100 feet (650 meters) away from the discoloration consistent with the impact of the sky crane.
This image was acquired from a special 41-degree roll of MRO, larger than the normal 30-degree limit. It rolled towards the west and towards the sun, which increases visible scattering by atmospheric dust as well as the amount of atmosphere the orbiter has to look through, thereby reducing the contrast of surface features. Future images will show the hardware in greater detail. Our view is tilted about 45 degrees from the surface (more than the 41-degree roll due to planetary curvature), like a view out of an airplane window. Tilt the images 90 degrees clockwise to see the surface better from this perspective. The views are primarily of the shadowed side of the rover and other objects.
The image scale is 39 centimeters (15.3 inches) per pixel.
Complete HiRISE image products are available at: http://uahirise.org/releases/msl-descent.php.
HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Cross Section of Gale Crater, Mars
(http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/605932main_pia15102-full_full.jpg)
This artist's impression Mars' Gale Crater depicts a cross section through the mountain in the middle of the crater, from a viewpoint looking toward the southeast. The rover Curiosity of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission will land in Gale Crater in August 2012. The landing area is on or near an alluvial fan indicated in blue. A key factor in selection of Gale as the mission's landing site is the existence of clay minerals in a layer near the base of the mountain, within driving range of the landing site. The location of the clay minerals is indicated as the green band through the cross section of the mountain. The image uses two-fold vertical exaggeration to emphasize the area's topography. The crater's diameter is 96 miles (154 kilometers).
The image combines elevation data from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter, image data from the Context Camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and color information from Viking Orbiter imagery.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/MSSS
Oblique View of Gale Crater, Mars, with Vertical Exaggeration
(http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/605921main_pia15101-full_full.jpg)
Gale Crater, where the rover Curiosity of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission will land in August 2012, contains a mountain rising from the crater floor. This oblique view of Gale Crater, looking toward the southeast, is an artist's impression using two-fold vertical exaggeration to emphasize the area's topography. Curiosity's landing site is on the crater floor northeast of the mountain. The crater's diameter is 96 miles (154 kilometers).
The image combines elevation data from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter, image data from the Context Camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and color information from Viking Orbiter imagery.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/MSSS
Martian Dust Storm
(http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/672847main_vasavada-4_full.jpg) (http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/672847main_vasavada-4_full.jpg)
This close-up image of a dust storm on Mars was acquired by the Mars Color Imager instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Nov. 7, 2007, around 3 p.m. local time on Mars. Scientists working with NASA's Curiosity rover, which is set to land on Mars on Aug. 5 PDT (Aug. 6 EDT), are monitoring Mars each day for similar small storms that could either drift over the landing site or stir up dust that moves as haze over the site.
This image is centered on Utopia Planitia (53.6 degrees north latitude, 147.9 degrees east longitude), along the north seasonal polar cap edge in late northern winter. When NASA's Curiosity rover lands on Mars, it will be late southern winter. Scientists are looking at similar small storms that form near the south seasonal polar cap edge. The dust storm pictured here was short-lived, lasting less than 24 hours. The image also shows the seasonal north polar cap (at top of figure) and gravity-wave water ice clouds coming off of Mie crater, just south of the storm. Gravity-wave clouds, also called lee-wave clouds, are clouds that result from changes in atmospheric pressure, temperature and height because of vertical displacement, such as when wind blows over a mountain or crater wall.
The projection of the image is polar stereographic and the image has a resolution of about 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) per pixel. North is indicated with an arrow in this image. The white scale bar is 93 miles (150 kilometers).
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Fresh Crater Revealing Buried Ice
(http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/605544main_PIA15096-icecrater_full.jpg)
Recent small craters discovered by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter expose buried ice in the middle latitudes of Mars. This ice is a record of past climate change. Not stable today, it was deposited during a period of different obliquity, or tilt, of the planet's axis.
This image is one product from HiRISE observation ESP_011337_2360 . Other image products from this observation are available at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_011337_2360. (Reference: Byrne et al., 2009)
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Chemical Alteration by Water, Jezero Crater Delta
(http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/605555main_PIA15097-Jezero_full.jpg) (http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/605555main_PIA15097-Jezero_full.jpg)
On ancient Mars, water carved channels and transported sediments to form fans and deltas within lake basins. Examination of spectral data acquired from orbit show that some of these sediments have minerals that indicate chemical alteration by water. Here in Jezero Crater delta, sediments contain clays and carbonates. The image combines information from two instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter,the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars and the Context Camera. (Reference: Ehlmann et al. 2008.)
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/JHU-APL
Chemical Alteration by Water, Mawrth Vallis
(http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/605566main_PIA15098-Mawrth_full.jpg) (http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/605566main_PIA15098-Mawrth_full.jpg)
Thick stacks of clay minerals indicate chemical alteration of thick stacks of rock by interaction with liquid water on ancient Mars. Aluminum clays overlying iron/magnesium clays here in the ancient terrains of Mawrth Vallis indicate a change in environmental conditions. Aluminum clays may form by near-surface leaching while iron/magnesium clays may form in the subsurface. The image is from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. (References: Wray et al., 2008; Loizeau et al., 2010.)
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Sulfates and Clays in Columbus Crater, Mars
(http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/605577main_pia15099-full_full.jpg) (http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/605577main_pia15099-full_full.jpg)
Sulfates are found overlying clay minerals in sediments within Columbus Crater, a depression that likely hosted a lake in the past. Sulfate salt deposits ring the crater like a bathtub ring and were deposited after the clays, as the lake dried out. The image combines information from two instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter,the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars and the Context Camera. (Reference: Wray et al., 2011.)
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/JHU-APL
Aug. 29, 2012
Dwayne Brown / Steve Cole
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726 / 202-358-0918
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov / stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov
Guy Webster / D.C. Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-5011
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov / agle@jpl.nasa.gov
RELEASE: 12-301
NASA CURIOSITY ROVER BEGINS EASTBOUND TREK ON MARTIAN SURFACE
PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has set off from its landing vicinity on a trek to a science destination about a quarter-mile (400 meters) away, where it may begin using its drill.
The rover drove eastward about 52 feet (16 meters) on Tuesday, its 22nd Martian day after landing. This third drive was longer than Curiosity's first two drives combined. The previous drives tested the mobility system and positioned the rover to examine an area scoured by exhaust from one of the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft engines that placed the rover on the ground.
"This drive really begins our journey toward the first major driving destination, Glenelg, and it's nice to see some Martian soil on our wheels," said mission manager Arthur Amador of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. "The drive went beautifully, just as our rover planners designed it."
Glenelg is a location where three types of terrain intersect. Curiosity's science team chose it as a likely place to find a first rock target for drilling and analysis.
"We are on our way, though Glenelg is still many weeks away," said Curiosity Project Scientist John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena. "We plan to stop for just a day at the location we just reached, but in the next week or so we will make a longer stop."
During the longer stop at a site still to be determined, Curiosity will test its robotic arm and the contact instruments at the end of the arm. At the location reached Tuesday, Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam) will collect a set of images toward the mission's ultimate driving destination, the lower slope of nearby Mount Sharp. A mosaic of images from the current location will be used along with the Mastcam images of the mountain taken at the spot where Curiosity touched down, Bradbury Landing. This stereo pair taken about 33 feet (10 meters) apart will provide three-dimensional information about distant features and possible driving routes.
Curiosity is three weeks into a two-year prime mission on Mars. It will use 10 science instruments to assess whether the selected study area ever has offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life. JPL, a division of Caltech, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
More information about Curiosity is online at:
http://www.nasa.gov/msl
and
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl
-end-
A new SPECTACULAR Image from the Mars Rover
::)
Well okay so SPECTACULAR is a little over kill...
Okay okay so is a LOT overkill :P
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/00034/mhli/0034MH0067001000E1_DXXX.jpg)
Way to go NASA... such exciting scenery :P
PRESS RELEASE: 12-312
NASA MARS ROVER CURIOSITY BEGINS ARM-WORK PHASE
Sept. 6, 2012
Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov
Guy Webster / D.C. Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-5011
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov / agle@jpl.nasa.gov
PASADENA, Calif. -- After driving more than a football field's length since landing, NASA's Mars rover Curiosity is spending several days preparing for full use of the tools on its arm.
Curiosity extended its robotic arm Wednesday in the first of 6-10 consecutive days of planned activities to test the 7-foot (2.1-meter) arm and the tools it manipulates.
"We will be putting the arm through a range of motions and placing it at important 'teach points' that were established during Earth testing, such as the positions for putting sample material into the inlet ports for analytical instruments," said Daniel Limonadi of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., lead systems engineer for Curiosity's surface sampling and science system. "These activities are important to get a better understanding for how the arm functions after the long cruise to Mars and in the different temperature and gravity of Mars, compared to earlier testing on Earth."
Since the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft placed Curiosity inside Mars' Gale Crater on Aug. 5 (Aug. 6 EDT), the rover has driven a total of 358 feet (109 meters). The drives have brought it about one-fourth of the way from the landing site, named Bradbury Landing, to a location selected as the mission's first major science destination, Glenelg.
"We knew at some point we were going to need to stop and take a week or so for these characterization activities," said Michael Watkins, JPL's Curiosity mission manager. "For these checkouts, we need to turn to a particular angle in relation to the sun and on flat ground. We could see before the latest drive that this looked like a perfect spot to start these activities."
The work at the current location will prepare Curiosity and the team for using the arm to place two of the science instruments onto rock and soil targets. In addition, the activities represent the first steps in preparing to scoop soil, drill into rocks, process collected samples and deliver samples into analytical instruments.
Checkouts in the next several days will include using the turret's Mars Hand Lens Imager to observe its calibration target and the Canadian-built Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer to read what chemical elements are present in the instrument's calibration target.
"We're still learning how to use the rover. It's such a complex machine -- the learning curve is steep," said JPL's Joy Crisp, deputy project scientist for the MSL Project, which built and operates Curiosity.
After the arm characterization activities at the current site, Curiosity will proceed for a few weeks eastward toward Glenelg. The science team selected that area as likely to offer a good target for Curiosity's first analysis of powder collected by drilling into a rock.
"We're getting through a big set of characterization activities that will allow us to give more decision-making authority to the science team," said Richard Cook, MSL project manager at JPL.
Curiosity is one month into a two-year prime mission on Mars. It will use 10 science instruments to assess whether the selected study area ever has offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life. JPL manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
More information about Curiosity is online at:
http://www.nasa.gov/msl
and
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl
You can follow the mission on Facebook and on Twitter at:
http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity
and
http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity
-end-
SOL 38
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/raw_for_daily_status_report-full.jpg)
Sol 38 (Sept. 13, 2012) was destined to be a driving day for NASA's latest addition to the Martian landscape. Curiosity perambulated over 105 feet (32 meters) of unpaved Gale Crater during yesterday's drive. The rover's odometer now clocks in at 466 feet (142 meters) covered since the landing on Aug. 5.
The sol's activities also included pre- and post-drive imaging of the road ahead by both Mastcam and Hazcam, and science measurements from the DAN and REMS instruments.
The Sol 38 Navcam image of the surface in front of the rover can be found at: (raw image at: http://1.usa.gov/QLCB15 ).
In addition, Curiosity's science instruments performed observations and measurements, including Mastcam observations of the Martian moon Phobos passing in front of the sun.
Curiosity continues to work in good health. Sol 38, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 8:34 a.m. on Sept. 14, PDT.
09.19.2012
NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Looks at Ground Ahead, Moons Above
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/Lemmon-1-pia16151-br.gif)
09.19.2012
Phobos in Transit
Mars has two small, asteroid-sized moons named Phobos and Deimos. From the point of view of the rover, located near the equator of Mars, these moons occasionally pass in front of, or "transit," the disk of the sun. These transit events are the Martian equivalent of partial solar eclipses on Earth because the outline of the moons does not completely cover the sun (in contrast, Earth's moon does block the entire sun during a total solar eclipse). These eclipses, like those on Earth, occur in predictable "seasons" a few times each Mars year.
As part of a multi-mission campaign, NASA's Curiosity rover is observing these transits, the first of which involved the moon Phobos grazing the sun's disk. The event was observed on Martian day, or sol, 37 (September 13, 2012) using Curiosity's Mast Camera, or Mastcam, equipped with special filters for directly observing the sun. In a series of high-resolution video frames acquired at about three frames per second for about two minutes, the outline of part of Phobos blocked about five percent of the sun.
This animation shows the transit as viewed by the Mastcam 100-millimiter camera (M-100) in nine frames. Another version of the animation is available, consisting of 20 frames taken by the Mastcam 34-millimeter camera (M-34), which has about one-third the resolution of the M-100. In total, 256 frames were taken by the M-100 and 384 frames for the M-34.
The transit was also observed by Curiosity's Rover Environmental Monitoring Stations (REMS) instrument, which saw about a five percent drop in the sun's ultraviolet radiation during the event.
Mission scientists use these events to very accurately determine the orbital parameters of the Martian moons. Phobos, for example, orbits very close to Mars and is slowly spiraling in to Mars because of tidal forces. These forces change the orbital position of Phobos over time, and accurate measurements of those changes can provide information about the internal structure of that moon and how it dissipates energy. Deimos orbits much farther away and is slowly spiraling out.
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity will also attempt to observe a different set of Phobos and Deimos transits, seen from the other side of the planet, in Meridiani Planum.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Sol 43
(http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16153.jpg)
This map shows the route driven by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity through the 43rd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Sept. 19, 2012).
The route starts where the rover touched down, a site subsequently named Bradbury Landing. The line extending toward the right (eastward) from Bradbury Landing is the rover's path. Numbering of the dots along the line indicate the sol number of each drive. North is up. The scale bar is 200 meters (656 feet).
By Sol 43, Curiosity had driven at total of about 950 feet (290 meters). The Glenelg area farther east is the mission's first major science destination, selected as likely to offer a good target for Curiosity's first analysis of powder collected by drilling into a rock.
The image used for the map is from an observation of the landing site by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Image Credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
09.19.2012
On the Road to Glenelg (Unannotated)
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/Grotzinger-2-pia16154-unannotated-full.jpg) (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/Grotzinger-2-pia16154-unannotated-full.jpg)
This mosaic from the Mast Camera on NASA's Curiosity rover shows the view looking toward the "Glenelg" area, where three different terrain types come together. All three types are observed from orbit with the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. By driving there, Curiosity will be able to explore them.
One of the three terrain types is light-toned with well-developed layering, which likely records deposits of sedimentary materials. There are also black bands that run through the area and might constitute additional layers that alternate with the light-toned layers. The black bands are not easily seen from orbit and are on the order of about 3.3-feet (1-meter) thick. Both of these layer types are important science targets.
This mosaic is composed of seven images. The Mastcam 34-millimeter camera took a series of four images; embedded within that series is a second set of three images taken with the Mastcam 100-millimeter camera.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
09.19.2012
Dark Bands Run Through Light Layers (Unannnotated)
(http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16150.jpg) (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16150.jpg)
This mosaic from the Mast Camera on NASA's Curiosity rover shows a close-up view looking toward the "Glenelg" area, where three different terrain types come together. All three types are observed from orbit with the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. By driving there, Curiosity will be able to explore them.
One of these terrain types is light-toned with well-developed layering, which likely records the deposition of sedimentary materials. There are also black bands that run through the area and might constitute additional layers that alternate with the light-toned layer(s). The black bands are not easily seen from orbit and are on the order of about 3.3-feet (1-meter) thick. Both of these layer types are important science targets.
This mosaic is composed of images taken with the Mastcam 100-millimeter camera.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
(http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/figures/PIA16150_fig1.jpg) (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/figures/PIA16150_fig1.jpg)
09.19.2012
Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
NASA Mars Rover Targets Unusual Rock Enroute To First Destination
(http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16155.jpg) (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16155.jpg)
'Jake Matijevic' Contact Target for Curiosity
The drive by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity during the mission's 43rd Martian day, or sol, (Sept. 19, 2012) ended with this rock about 8 feet (2.5 meters) in front of the rover.
09.19.2012
'Jake Matijevic' Contact Target for Curiosity
The drive by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity during the mission's 43rd Martian day, or sol, (Sept. 19, 2012) ended with this rock about 8 feet (2.5 meters) in front of the rover. The rock is about 10 inches (25 centimeters) tall and 16 inches (40 centimeters) wide. The rover team has assessed it as a suitable target for the first use of Curiosity's contact instruments on a rock. The image was taken by the left Navigation camera (Navcam) at the end of the drive.
The rock has been named "Jake Matijevic." This commemorates Jacob Matijevic (1947-2012), who was the surface operations systems chief engineer for the Mars Science Laboratory Project and the project's Curiosity rover. He was also a leading engineer for all of the previous NASA Mars rovers: Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity.
Curiosity's contact instruments are on a turret at the end of the rover's arm. They are the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer for reading a target's elemental composition and the Mars Hand Lens Imager for close-up imaging.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
09.24.2012
Curiosity Finishes Close Inspection of Rock Target
PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's rover Curiosity touched a Martian rock with its robotic arm for the first time on Sept. 22, assessing what chemical elements are in the rock called "Jake Matijevic."
After a short drive the preceding day to get within arm's reach of the football-size rock, Curiosity put its Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument in contact with the rock during the rover's 46th Martian day, or sol. The APXS is on a turret at the end of the rover's 7-foot (2.1-meter) arm. The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), on the same turret, was used for close-up inspection of the rock. Both instruments were also used on Jake Matijevic on Sol 47 (Sept. 23).
The Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument, which shoots laser pulses at a target from the top of Curiosity's mast, also assessed what chemical elements are in the rock Jake Matijevic. Using both APXS and ChemCam on this rock provides a cross calibration of the two instruments.
With a final ChemCam laser testing of the rock on Sol 48 (Sept. 24), Curiosity finished its work on Jake Matijevic. The rover departed the same sol, with a drive of about 138 feet (42 meters), its longest yet. Sol 48, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 3:09 p.m. Sept. 24, PDT.
Curiosity landed on Mars seven weeks ago to begin a two-year mission using 10 instruments to assess whether a carefully chosen study area inside Gale Crater has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life.
(http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16221.jpg) (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16221.jpg)
Mars Hand Lens Imager Nested Close-Ups of Rock 'Jake Matijevic'
This image combines photographs taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) at three different distances from the first Martian rock that NASA's Curiosity rover touched with its arm.
09.24.2012
Mars Hand Lens Imager Nested Close-Ups of Rock 'Jake Matijevic'
This image combines photographs taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) at three different distances from the first Martian rock that NASA's Curiosity rover touched with its arm. The three exposures were taken during the 47th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (Sept. 23, 2012). The team has named the target rock "Jake Matijevic." The scale bar is 4 centimeters (1.6 inches).
MAHLI imaged Jake Matijevic from distances of about 10 inches, or 25 centimeters (context image); about 2 inches, or 5 centimeters (larger white box); and about 1 inch, or 2.5 centimeters (smaller white box). The series nested into this one image takes advantage of MAHLI's adjustable focus.
MAHLI reveals that the target rock has a relatively smooth, gray surface with some glinty facets reflecting sunlight and reddish dust collecting in recesses in the rock.
Jake Matijevic is a dark, apparently uniform rock that was selected as a desirable target because it allowed the science team to compare results of the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument and the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument, both of which provide information about the chemical elements in a target. APXS, like MAHLI, is on the turret at the end of Curiosity's robotic arm. It is placed in contact with a rock to take a reading. ChemCam shoots laser pulses at a target from the top of the rover's mast.
Jake Matijevic was also the first rock target for MAHLI, which was deployed to document the APXS and ChemCam analysis areas.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
(http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16220.jpg) (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16220.jpg)
PIA16220: Curiosity's Rock-Contact Science Begins
This image shows the robotic arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity with the first rock touched by an instrument on the arm.
09.24.2012
Curiosity's Rock-Contact Science Begins
This image shows the robotic arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity with the first rock touched by an instrument on the arm. The rover's right Navigation Camera (Navcam) took this image during the 46th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Sept. 22, 2012). On that sol, the rover placed the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument onto the rock to assess what chemical elements were present in the rock. The rock is named "Jake Matijevic" in commemoration of influential Mars-rover engineer Jacob Matijevic (1947-2012).
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
09.26.2012
Longest Drive Yet
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/proj/msl/redops/ods/surface/sol/00050/opgs/edr/ncam/NLA_401936677EDR_F0042956NCAM00435M_.JPG) (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/proj/msl/redops/ods/surface/sol/00050/opgs/edr/ncam/NLA_401936677EDR_F0042956NCAM00435M_.JPG)
This image was taken by Navcam: Left A (NAV_LEFT_A) onboard NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 50 (2012-09-26 13:07:29 UTC) .
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
On Sol 50 (Sept. 26), Curiosity completed its longest drive yet, rolling about 160 feet (48.9 meters) eastward toward the Glenelg area. The mission's total distance driven has now reached one-quarter mile (416 meters). A priority in coming sols is to identify a location for first use of the rover's capability to scoop up soil material and deliver a sample of it into laboratory instruments.
Activities on Sol 50 included pre-drive imaging of a target near the morning location and post-drive imaging of the new surroundings and the sky. A raw image from Curiosity's left Navigation Camera, with tracks from the drive in view, is at http://1.usa.gov/SzZmHE.
Curiosity continues to work in good health. Sol 50, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ends at 4:29 p.m. Sept. 25, PDT (7:29 p.m. EDT).
PRESS RELEASE
09.27.2012
Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
NASA Rover Finds Old Streambed On Martian Surface
(http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16156.jpg) (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16156.jpg)
PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Curiosity rover mission has found evidence a stream once ran vigorously across the area on Mars where the rover is driving. There is earlier evidence for the presence of water on Mars, but this evidence -- images of rocks containing ancient streambed gravels -- is the first of its kind.
Scientists are studying the images of stones cemented into a layer of conglomerate rock. The sizes and shapes of stones offer clues to the speed and distance of a long-ago stream's flow.
"From the size of gravels it carried, we can interpret the water was moving about 3 feet per second, with a depth somewhere between ankle and hip deep," said Curiosity science co-investigator William Dietrich of the University of California, Berkeley. "Plenty of papers have been written about channels on Mars with many different hypotheses about the flows in them. This is the first time we're actually seeing water-transported gravel on Mars. This is a transition from speculation about the size of streambed material to direct observation of it."
The finding site lies between the north rim of Gale Crater and the base of Mount Sharp, a mountain inside the crater. Earlier imaging of the region from Mars orbit allows for additional interpretation of the gravel-bearing conglomerate. The imagery shows an alluvial fan of material washed down from the rim, streaked by many apparent channels, sitting uphill of the new finds.
(http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/figures/PIA16156_fig1.jpg) (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/figures/PIA16156_fig1.jpg)
NASA's Curiosity rover found evidence for an ancient, flowing stream on Mars at a few sites, including the rock outcrop pictured here, which the science team has named "Hottah" after Hottah Lake in Canada's Northwest Territories. It may look like a broken sidewalk, but this geological feature on Mars is actually exposed bedrock made up of smaller fragments cemented together, or what geologists call a sedimentary conglomerate. Scientists theorize that the bedrock was disrupted in the past, giving it the titled angle, most likely via impacts from meteorites.
The key evidence for the ancient stream comes from the size and rounded shape of the gravel in and around the bedrock. Hottah has pieces of gravel embedded in it, called clasts, up to a couple inches (few centimeters) in size and located within a matrix of sand-sized material. Some of the clasts are round in shape, leading the science team to conclude they were transported by a vigorous flow of water. The grains are too large to have been moved by wind.
A close-up view of Hottah (Figure 1) reveals more details of the outcrop. Broken surfaces of the outcrop have rounded, gravel clasts, such as the one circled in white, which is about 1.2 inches (3 centimeters) across. Erosion of the outcrop results in gravel clasts that protrude from the outcrop and ultimately fall onto the ground, creating the gravel pile at left.
This image mosaic was taken by Curiosity's 100-millimeter Mastcam telephoto lens on its 39th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Sept. 14, 2012 PDT/Sept. 15 GMT).
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
09.26.2012
Rock Outcrops on Mars and Earth
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/Williams-3pia16189unannotated-br2.jpg) (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/Williams-3pia16189unannotated-br2.jpg)
This set of images compares the Link outcrop of rocks on Mars (left) with similar rocks seen on Earth (right). The image of Link, obtained by NASA's Curiosity rover, shows rounded gravel fragments, or clasts, up to a couple inches (few centimeters), within the rock outcrop. Erosion of the outcrop results in gravel clasts that fall onto the ground, creating the gravel pile at left. The outcrop characteristics are consistent with a sedimentary conglomerate, or a rock that was formed by the deposition of water and is composed of many smaller rounded rocks cemented together. A typical Earth example of sedimentary conglomerate formed of gravel fragments in a stream is shown on the right.
An annotated version of the image highlights a piece of gravel that is about 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) across. It was selected as an example of coarse size and rounded shape. Rounded grains (of any size) occur by abrasion in sediment transport, by wind or water, when the grains bounce against each other. Gravel fragments are too large to be transported by wind. At this size, scientists know the rounding occurred in water transport in a stream.
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/Williams-3pia16189annotated-br2.jpg) (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/Williams-3pia16189annotated-br2.jpg)
The name Link is derived from a significant rock formation in the Northwest Territories of Canada, where there is also a lake with the same name.
Scientists enhanced the color in the Mars image to show the scene as it would appear under the lighting conditions we have on Earth, which helps in analyzing the terrain. The Link outcrop was imaged with the 100-millimeter Mast Camera on Sept. 2, 2012, which was the 27th sol, or Martian day of operations.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS and PSI
(http:///%3E%3Cbr%20/%3EThe%20discovery%20comes%20from%20examining%20two%20outcrops,%20called%20"Hottah"%20and%20"Link,"%20with%20the%20telephoto%20capability%20of%20Curiosity's%20mast%20camera%20during%20the%20first%2040%20days%20after%20landing.%20Those%20observations%20followed%20up%20on%20earlier%20hints%20from%20another%20outcrop,%20which%20was%20exposed%20by%20thruster%20exhaust%20as%20Curiosity,%20the%20Mars%20Science%20Laboratory%20Project's%20rover,%20touched%20down.%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E"Hottah%20looks%20like%20someone%20jack-hammered%20up%20a%20slab%20of%20city%20sidewalk,%20but%20it's%20really%20a%20tilted%20block%20of%20an%20ancient%20streambed,"%20said%20Mars%20Science%20Laboratory%20Project%20Scientist%20John%20Grotzinger%20of%20the%20California%20Institute%20of%20Technology%20in%20Pasadena.%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cbr%20/%3EThe%20gravels%20in%20conglomerates%20at%20both%20outcrops%20range%20in%20size%20from%20a%20grain%20of%20sand%20to%20a%20golf%20ball.%20Some%20are%20angular,%20but%20many%20are%20rounded.%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E"The%20shapes%20tell%20you%20they%20were%20transported%20and%20the%20sizes%20tell%20you%20they%20couldn't%20be%20transported%20by%20wind.%20They%20were%20transported%20by%20water%20flow,"%20said%20Curiosity%20science%20co-investigator%20Rebecca%20Williams%20of%20the%20Planetary%20Science%20Institute%20in%20Tucson,%20Ariz.)
09.27.2012
Dry Streambed on Alluvial Fan in Northern Chile
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/Dietrich-2pia16191-br2.jpg)
This image shows a dry streambed on an alluvial fan in the Atacama Desert, Chile, revealing the typical patchy, heterogeneous mixture of grain sizes deposited together. On Mars, Curiosity has seen two rock outcrops close to its Bradbury Landing site that also record a mixture of sand and pebbles transported by water that were most likely deposited along an ancient streambed.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UC Berkeley
he science team may use Curiosity to learn the elemental composition of the material, which holds the conglomerate together, revealing more characteristics of the wet environment that formed these deposits. The stones in the conglomerate provide a sampling from above the crater rim, so the team may also examine several of them to learn about broader regional geology.
The slope of Mount Sharp in Gale Crater remains the rover's main destination. Clay and sulfate minerals detected there from orbit can be good preservers of carbon-based organic chemicals that are potential ingredients for life.
"A long-flowing stream can be a habitable environment," said Grotzinger. "It is not our top choice as an environment for preservation of organics, though. We're still going to Mount Sharp, but this is insurance that we have already found our first potentially habitable environment."
During the two-year prime mission of the Mars Science Laboratory, researchers will use Curiosity's 10 instruments to investigate whether areas in Gale Crater have ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life.
09.27.2012
Link to a Watery Past
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/Williams-2pia16188-br2.jpg) (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/Williams-2pia16188-br2.jpg)
In this image from NASA's Curiosity rover, a rock outcrop called Link pops out from a Martian surface that is elsewhere blanketed by reddish-brown dust. The fractured Link outcrop has blocks of exposed, clean surfaces. Rounded gravel fragments, or clasts, up to a couple inches (few centimeters) in size are in a matrix of white material. Many gravel-sized rocks have eroded out of the outcrop onto the surface, particularly in the left portion of the frame. The outcrop characteristics are consistent with a sedimentary conglomerate, or a rock that was formed by the deposition of water and is composed of many smaller rounded rocks cemented together. Water transport is the only process capable of producing the rounded shape of clasts of this size.
The Link outcrop was imaged with the 100-millimeter Mast Camera on Sept. 2, 2012, which was the 27th sol, or Martian day of operations.
The name Link is derived from a significant rock formation in the Northwest Territories of Canada, where there is also a lake with the same name.
Scientists enhanced the color in this version to show the Martian scene as it would appear under the lighting conditions we have on Earth, which helps in analyzing the terrain.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
9.27.2012
Best View of Goulburn Scour
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/malin-4pia16187-br2.jpg) (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/malin-4pia16187-br2.jpg)
This image from NASA's Curiosity Rover shows a high-resolution view of an area that is known as Goulburn Scour, a set of rocks blasted by the engines of Curiosity's descent stage on Mars. It shows a section from a mosaic of a pair of images obtained by Curiosity's 100-millimeter Mast Camera, with three times higher resolution than previously released. Details of the layer of pebbles can be seen in the close-up. These two images were the first views of this sandy conglomerate, a sedimentary layer laid down by water in the very distant past and uncovered in August 2012 during the rover's landing. The inset magnifies the area by a factor of two. Mastcam obtained these images on Aug. 19, 2012, or the 13th sol, or Martian day, of Curiosity's surface operations.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
08.11.2012
Exposed by Rocket Engine Blasts
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/pia16054-figure_5color-br2.jpg) (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/pia16054-figure_5color-br2.jpg)
This color image from NASA's Curiosity rover shows an area excavated by the blast of the Mars Science Laboratory's descent stage rocket engines. This is part of a larger, high-resolution color mosaic made from images obtained by Curiosity's Mast Camera.
With the loose debris blasted away by the rockets, details of the underlying materials are clearly seen. Of particular note is a well-defined, topmost layer that contains fragments of rock embedded in a matix of finer material. Shown in the inset in the figure are pebbles up to 1.25 inches (about 3 centimeters) across (upper two arrows) and a larger clast 4 inches (11.5 centimeters) long protruding up by about 2 inches (10 centimeters) from the layer in which it is embedded. Clast-rich sedimentary layers can form in a number of ways. Their mechanisms of formation can be distinguished by the size, shape, surface textures and positioning with respect to each other of the fragments in the layers.
The images in this mosaic were acquired by the 34-millimeter Mastcam over about an hour of time on Aug. 8, 2012 PDT (Aug. 9, 2012 EDT), each at 1,200 by 1,200 pixels in size.
In the main version, the colors portrayed are unmodified from those returned by the camera. The view is what a cell phone or camcorder would record since the Mastcam takes color pictures in the exact same manner that consumer cameras acquire color images. The second version, linked to the main version, shows the colors modified as if the scene were transported to Earth and illuminated by terrestrial sunlight. This processing, called 'white balancing,' is useful for scientists to be able to recognize and distinguish rocks by color in more familiar lighting.
At least NASA is finally getting the COLORS right :P
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia16054-figure_5white-full.jpg) (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia16054-figure_5white-full.jpg)
09.28.2012
Near Possible Target for Use of Arm Instruments
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/proj/msl/redops/ods/surface/sol/00052/opgs/edr/ncam/NLA_402117562EDR_F0043200NCAM00439M_.JPG)
Raw image from Curiosity's left Navigation Camera
This image was taken by Navcam: Left A (NAV_LEFT_A) onboard NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 52
On Sol 52 (Sept. 28), Curiosity drove about 122 feet (37.3 meters) eastward toward the Glenelg area, using visual odometry to assess and adjust for any wheel slippage. The mission's total distance driven has now reached 0.28 mile (0.45 kilometer). The drive brought the rover to a few meters away from an outcrop being considered for an approach drive and subsequent examination with instruments at the end of Curiosity's arm: the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer and the Mars Hand Lens Imager.
Another priority in coming sols is to reach a location for first use of the rover's capability to scoop up soil material and deliver a sample of it into laboratory instruments.
Activities on Sol 52 included the usual monitoring of the environment around Curiosity with the Radiation Assessment Detector, the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons instrument, and the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station. A raw image from Curiosity's left Navigation Camera, showing the ground near the rover after the Sol 52 drive, is at http://1.usa.gov/SifbNW.
Curiosity continues to work in good health. Sol 52, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ends at 5:48 p.m. Sept. 28, PDT (8:48 p.m. EDT).
10.01.2012
Inspection of Rock Target 'Bathurst Inlet'
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/proj/msl/redops/ods/surface/sol/00054/opgs/edr/ncam/NLA_402286667EDR_F0043232NCAM00204M_.JPG) (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/proj/msl/redops/ods/surface/sol/00054/opgs/edr/ncam/NLA_402286667EDR_F0043232NCAM00204M_.JPG)
This image was taken by Navcam: Left A (NAV_LEFT_A) onboard NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 54 (2012-09-30 14:20:43 UTC) .
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
On Sol 54 (Sept. 30, 2012), Curiosity used two tools at the end of its arm to inspect two targets on an angular rock called "Bathurst Inlet." The rover had driven 7 feet (2.1 meters) the preceding sol to place itself within arm's reach of the targets.
Curiosity took close-up images of Bathurst Inlet with its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), and took readings with the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) to identify chemical elements in the target. MAHLI also inspected another location within reach, "Cowles."
A Sol 54 raw image from Curiosity's left Navigation Camera showing the arm at work at Bathurst Inlet is at http://1.usa.gov/NYUbz3 .
Sol 54, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 7:07 p.m. Sept. 30, PDT (10:07 p.m. EDT).
10.02.2012
From 'Bathurst Inlet' to 'Rocknest'
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/proj/msl/redops/ods/surface/sol/00055/opgs/edr/ncam/NRA_402388588EDR_F0043416NCAM00442M_.JPG) (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/proj/msl/redops/ods/surface/sol/00055/opgs/edr/ncam/NRA_402388588EDR_F0043416NCAM00442M_.JPG)
On Sol 55, Curiosity's right Navigation Camera shows the calibration targets for the Mast Camera (Mastcam) and ChemCam, and the rover's UHF antenna, in the foreground, and the lower slope of Mount Sharp in the distance.This image was taken by Navcam: Right A (NAV_RIGHT_A) onboard NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 55 (2012-10-01 18:39:25 UTC) .
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
On Sol 55 (Oct. 1, 2012), Curiosity finished observations at the "Bathurst Inlet" rock target it had examined with instruments on the arm. Then the rover completed a drive of about 77 feet (23.5 meters) to arrive near a patch of wind-deposited soil called "Rocknest," which is a potential target for the first scooping activity. This drive brought the total distance driven during the mission to about 0.30 mile (0.48 kilometer).
Sol 55 activities prior to the drive included use of the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on Bathurst Inlet.
A Sol 55 raw image at http://1.usa.gov/P7LZ0V from Curiosity's right Navigation Camera shows the calibration targets for the Mast Camera (Mastcam) and ChemCam, and the rover's UHF antenna, in the foreground, and the lower slope of Mount Sharp in the distance.
Sol 55, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 7:46 p.m. Oct. 1, PDT (10:46 p.m. EDT).
10.03.2012
Approach to Ripple
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/FLA_402468252EDR_F0043474FHAZ00308M_-full.jpg) (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/FLA_402468252EDR_F0043474FHAZ00308M_-full.jpg)
10.03.2012
A Ripple At Rocknest.jpg
A raw image from Curiosity's front Hazard Avoidance Camera (Hazcam) after the Sol 56 drive, showing a ripple at Rocknest
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
On Sol 56 (Oct. 2, 2012), Curiosity drove about 20 feet (6 meters) westward to reach a ripple of sand and dust deposited by the wind at a soil patch called "Rocknest." This site is a potential target for the rover's first use of its scoop, which the team will be evaluating over the next few days.
Activities on Sol 56 also included monitoring the environment around Curiosity with the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD), the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument, and the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS). A raw image from Curiosity's front Hazard Avoidance Camera (Hazcam) after the Sol 56 drive, showing a ripple at Rocknest, is at http://1.usa.gov/PstZsE .
Sol 56, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 8:26 p.m. Oct. 2, PDT (11:26 p.m. EDT).
10.04.2012
Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
NASA Mars Curiosity Rover Prepares To Study Martian Soil
(http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16205.jpg) (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16205.jpg)
10.04.2012
Wheel Scuff Mark at 'Rocknest'
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity cut a wheel scuff mark into a wind-formed ripple at the "Rocknest" site to give researchers a better opportunity to examine the particle-size distribution of the material forming the ripple. The rover's right Navigation camera took this image of the scuff mark on the mission's 57th Martian day, or sol (Oct. 3, 2012), the same sol that a wheel created the mark. For scale, the width of the wheel track is about 16 inches (40 centimeters).
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Curiosity rover is in a position on Mars where scientists and engineers can begin preparing the rover to take its first scoop of soil for analysis.
Curiosity is the centerpiece of the two-year Mars Science Laboratory mission. The rover's ability to put soil samples into analytical instruments is central to assessing whether its present location on Mars, called Gale Crater, ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life. Mineral analysis can reveal past environmental conditions. Chemical analysis can check for ingredients necessary for life.
"We now have reached an important phase that will get the first solid samples into the analytical instruments in about two weeks," said Mission Manager Michael Watkins of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Curiosity has been so well-behaved that we have made great progress during the first two months of the mission."
The rover's preparatory operations will involve testing its robotic scooping capabilities to collect and process soil samples. Later, it also will use a hammering drill to collect powdered samples from rocks. To begin preparations for a first scoop, the rover used one of its wheels Wednesday to scuff the soil to expose fresh material.
Next, the rover twice will scoop up some soil, shake it thoroughly inside the sample-processing chambers to scrub the internal surfaces, then discard the sample. Curiosity will scoop and shake a third measure of soil and place it in an observation tray for inspection by cameras mounted on the rover's mast. A portion of the third sample will be delivered to the mineral-identifying chemistry and mineralogy (CheMin) instrument inside the rover. From a fourth scoopful, samples will be delivered to both CheMin and to the sample analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument, which identifies chemical ingredients.
"We're going to take a close look at the particle size distribution in the soil here to be sure it's what we want," said Daniel Limonadi of JPL, lead systems engineer for Curiosity's surface sampling and science system. "We are being very careful with this first time using the scoop on Mars."
The rinse-and-discard cycles serve a quality-assurance purpose similar to a common practice in geochemical laboratory analysis on Earth.
"It is standard to run a split of your sample through first and dump it out, to clean out any residue from a previous sample," said JPL's Joel Hurowitz, a sampling system scientist on the Curiosity team. "We want to be sure the first sample we analyze is unambiguously Martian, so we take these steps to remove any residual material from Earth that might be on the walls of our sample handling system."
Rocknest is the name of the area of soil Curiosity will test and analyze. The rover pulled up to the windblown, sandy and dusty location Oct. 2. The Rocknest patch is about 8 feet by 16 feet (2.5 meters by 5 meters). The area provides plenty of area for scooping several times. Diverse rocks nearby provide targets for investigation with the instruments on Curiosity's mast during the weeks the rover is stationed at Rocknest for this first scooping campaign.
Curiosity's motorized, clamshell-shaped scoop is 1.8 inches (4.5 centimeters) wide, 2.8 inches (7 centimeters) long, and can sample to a depth of about 1.4 inches (3.5 centimeters). It is part of the collection and handling Martian rock analysis (CHIMRA) device on a turret of tools at the end of the rover's arm. CHIMRA also includes a series of chambers and labyrinths for sorting, sieving and portioning samples collected by the scoop or by the arm's percussive drill.
Following the work at Rocknest, the rover team plans to drive Curiosity about 100 yards (about 100 meters) eastward into the Glenelg area and select a rock as the first target for use of its drill.
2012-312
Guy Webster / D.C. Agle 818-354-5011
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov / agle@jpl.nasa.gov
Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726
NASA Headquarters, Washington
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov
10.05.2012
Scuff Stuff
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/FLA_402646855EDR_F0050000FHAZ00202M_-full.jpg) (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/FLA_402646855EDR_F0050000FHAZ00202M_-full.jpg)
10.05.2012
Scuff Stuff .jpg
Sol 58 raw image from Curiosity's front Hazard Avoidance Camera after the Sol 56 drive, shows the arm extended toward the scuff in the ripple.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
On Sol 58 (Oct. 4, 2012) Curiosity maneuvered its arm to use instruments for close-up examination of sandy material at the "Rocknest" site. The inspections with the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) and Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) focused on targets in and near a wheel scuff that Curiosity made on the preceding sol to freshly expose material in a wind-sculpted ripple. These activities were preparation for planned first use of the rover's scoop.
A Sol 58 raw image at http://1.usa.gov/UHIyL6 from Curiosity's front Hazard Avoidance Camera after the Sol 56 drive, shows the arm extended toward the scuff in the ripple.
Sol 58, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 9:45 p.m. Oct. 4, PDT (12:45 a.m. Oct. 5, EDT).
10.08.2012
Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
First Scoopful A Success
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/proj/msl/redops/ods/surface/sol/00061/opgs/edr/ncam/NLA_402906079EDR_F0050104NCAM00326M_.JPG) (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/proj/msl/redops/ods/surface/sol/00061/opgs/edr/ncam/NLA_402906079EDR_F0050104NCAM00326M_.JPG)
First Scoopful
This image was taken by Navcam: Left A (NAV_LEFT_A) onboard NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 61 (2012-10-07 18:24:21 UTC)
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
On the mission's 61st Martian day, or sol (Oct. 7, 2012),NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used its soil scoop for the first time, collecting a scoopful of sand and powdery material at the "Rocknest" site. Imaging verified collection of the sample. The collected material will be used for cleaning interior surfaces of the rover's sample-handling mechanism. It will be held and vibrated inside each chamber of the mechanism before the material is discarded. Curiosity's Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA) device, on the robotic arm, includes the scoop and the mechanism for sieving and portioning samples of soil and powdered rock.
A Sol 61 raw image from Curiosity's left navigation camera, at http://1.usa.gov/OMDbxy, shows where the soil collected by the scoop was removed from the ground. The scoop leaves a hole 1.8 inches (4.5 centimeters) wide.
The rover's ability to put scooped and sieved samples of soil into on board laboratory instruments is an important part of the mission. Those instruments -- Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) and Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) -- will play crucial roles in evaluating whether the study area has ever had a favorable environment for microbial life. Still to be used for the first time is the rover's capability to take powdered samples from rocks, using a percussive drill, for delivery to those same instruments.
Sol 61, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 11:44 p.m. Oct. 7, PDT (2:44 a.m. Oct. 8, EDT).
STATUS REPORT
10.08.2012
Checking a Bright Object on the Ground
(http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16225.jpg) (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA16225.jpg)
View of Curiosity's First Scoop Also Shows Bright Object
This image from the right Mast Camera (Mastcam) of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows a scoop full of sand and dust lifted by the rover's first use of the scoop on its robotic arm.
Curiosity's first scooping activity appeared to go well on Oct. 7. Subsequently, the rover team decided to refrain from using the rover's robotic arm on Oct. 8 due to the detection of a bright object on the ground that might be a piece from the rover. Instead of arm activities during the 62nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission, Curiosity is acquiring additional imaging of the object to aid the team in identifying the object and assessing possible impact, if any, to sampling activities.
Sol 62, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, will end at 12:23 a.m. Oct. 9, PDT (3:23 a.m., EDT)
A related image is at: http://1.usa.gov/RrqFjs
A related video is at: http://1.usa.gov/RaFPcm .
(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/Vault/Object_001.png)
10.08.2012
View of Curiosity's First Scoop Also Shows Bright Object
This image from the right Mast Camera (Mastcam) of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows a scoop full of sand and dust lifted by the rover's first use of the scoop on its robotic arm. In the foreground, near the bottom of the image, a bright object is visible on the ground. The object might be a piece of rover hardware. This image was taken during the mission's 61st Martian day, or sol (Oct. 7, 2012), the same sol as the first scooping. After examining Sol 61 imaging, the rover team decided to refrain from using the arm on Sol 62 (Oct. 8). Instead, the rover was instructed to acquire additional imaging of the bright object, on Sol 62, to aid the team in assessing possible impact, if any, to sampling activities.
For scale, the scoop is 1.8 inches (4.5 centimeters) wide, 2.8 inches (7 centimeters) long.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/forum/index.php?action-profile;u=15) Space Maverick
I couldn't find a thread that strictly had images from Curiosity specifically. If there is one Mod feel free to move this. I was wondering if we could place images from that spacecraft in one thread? I wanted to start here.
(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/00173/mcam/0173MR0926020000E1_DXXX.jpg)
Some say a metal object and one person has even said it was a large lizard. I don't know but its interesting. The object in question is at 12 o'clock in this picture and has 2 reflections emanating from it. Taken January 30th 2013.
ETA by Zorgon
Discussion Thread on this artifact is here (http://www.thelivingmoon.com/forum/index.php?topic=3655.msg50775#msg50775)
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Feb. 9, 2013
Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov
Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-6278
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov
PRESS RELEASE: 13-044
NASA CURIOSITY ROVER COLLECTS FIRST MARTIAN BEDROCK SAMPLE
PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Curiosity rover has, for the first time,
used a drill carried at the end of its robotic arm to bore into a
flat, veiny rock on Mars and collect a sample from its interior. This
is the first time any robot has drilled into a rock to collect a
sample on Mars.
The fresh hole, about 0.63 inch (1.6 centimeters) wide and 2.5 inches
(6.4 centimeters) deep in a patch of fine-grained sedimentary
bedrock, can be seen in images and other data Curiosity beamed to
Earth Saturday. The rock is believed to hold evidence about long-gone
wet environments. In pursuit of that evidence, the rover will use its
laboratory instruments to analyze rock powder collected by the drill.
"The most advanced planetary robot ever designed now is a fully
operating analytical laboratory on Mars," said John Grunsfeld, NASA
associate administrator for the agency's Science Mission Directorate.
"This is the biggest milestone accomplishment for the Curiosity team
since the sky-crane landing last August, another proud day for
America."
For the next several days, ground controllers will command the rover's
arm to carry out a series of steps to process the sample, ultimately
delivering portions to the instruments inside.
"We commanded the first full-depth drilling, and we believe we have
collected sufficient material from the rock to meet our objectives of
hardware cleaning and sample drop-off," said Avi Okon, drill
cognizant engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),
Pasadena.
Rock powder generated during drilling travels up flutes on the bit.
The bit assembly has chambers to hold the powder until it can be
transferred to the sample-handling mechanisms of the rover's
Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA)
device.
Before the rock powder is analyzed, some will be used to scour traces
of material that may have been deposited onto the hardware while the
rover still was on Earth, despite thorough cleaning before launch.
"We'll take the powder we acquired and swish it around to scrub the
internal surfaces of the drill bit assembly," said JPL's Scott
McCloskey, drill systems engineer. "Then we'll use the arm to
transfer the powder out of the drill into the scoop, which will be
our first chance to see the acquired sample."
"Building a tool to interact forcefully with unpredictable rocks on
Mars required an ambitious development and testing program," said
JPL's Louise Jandura, chief engineer for Curiosity's sample
system."To get to the point of making this hole in a rock on Mars, we
made eight drills and bored more than 1,200 holes in 20 types of rock
on Earth."
Inside the sample-handling device, the powder will be vibrated once or
twice over a sieve that screens out any particles larger than
six-thousandths of an inch (150 microns) across. Small portions of
the sieved sample will fall through ports on the rover deck into the
Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument and the Sample Analysis
at Mars (SAM) instrument. These instruments then will begin the
much-anticipated detailed analysis.
The rock Curiosity drilled is called "John Klein" in memory of a Mars
Science Laboratory deputy project manager who died in 2011. Drilling
for a sample is the last new activity for NASA's Mars Science
Laboratory Project, which is using the car-size Curiosity rover to
investigate whether an area within Mars' Gale Crater has ever offered
an environment favorable for life.
JPL manages the project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in
Washington.
For more about the mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/msl
You can follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter at:
http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity
and
http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity
-end-
Curiosity Drills into Mars
Feb. 9, 2013: NASA's Curiosity rover has used a drill carried at the end of its robotic arm to bore into a flat, veiny rock on Mars and collect a sample from its interior. This is the first time any robot has drilled into a rock to collect a sample on Mars.
This is the biggest milestone accomplishment for the Curiosity team since the sky-crane landing last August, another proud day for America," says John Grunsfeld, NASA associate administrator for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. "The most advanced planetary robot ever designed is now a fully operating analytical laboratory on Mars."
(http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/725705main_pia16726-946.jpg) (http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/725701main_pia16726_full.jpg)
Curiosity's First Sample Drilling
At the center of this image from NASA's Curiosity rover is the hole in a rock called "John Klein" where the rover conducted its first sample drilling on Mars. The drilling took place on Feb. 8, 2013, or Sol 182, Curiosity's 182nd Martian day of operations. Several preparatory activities with the drill preceded this operation, including a test that produced the shallower hole on the right two days earlier, but the deeper hole resulted from the first use of the drill for rock sample collection.
The image was obtained by Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on Sol 182. The sample-collection hole is 0.63 inch (1.6 centimeters) in diameter and 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) deep. The "mini drill" test hole near it is the same diameter, with a depth of 0.8 inch (2 centimeters).
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
The fresh hole, about 0.63 inch (1.6 centimeters) wide and 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) deep in a patch of fine-grained sedimentary bedrock, can be seen in images and other data Curiosity beamed to Earth on Feb. 9th. The rock is believed to hold evidence about long-gone wet environments. In pursuit of that evidence, the rover will use its laboratory instruments to analyze rock powder collected by the drill.
For the next several days, ground controllers will command the rover's arm to carry out a series of steps to process the sample, ultimately delivering portions to the instruments inside.
The Edge (signup)
"We commanded the first full-depth drilling, and we believe we have collected sufficient material from the rock to meet our objectives of hardware cleaning and sample drop-off," said Avi Okon, drill cognizant engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Rock powder generated during drilling travels up flutes on the bit. The bit assembly has chambers to hold the powder until it can be transferred to the sample-handling mechanisms of the rover's Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA) device.
Before the rock powder is analyzed, some will be used to scour traces of material that may have been deposited onto the hardware while the rover was still on Earth, despite thorough cleaning before launch.
(http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/725717main_pia16728-946.gif) (http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/725715main_Okun-4-pia16728-final_full.gif)
Ready, Set, Drill
An animated set of three images from NASA's Curiosity rover shows the rover's drill in action on Feb. 8, 2013, or Sol 182, Curiosity's 182nd Martian day of operations. This was the first use of the drill for rock sample collection. The target was a rock called "John Klein," in the Yellowknife Bay region of Gale Crater on Mars.
This set of images was obtained by Curiosity's right front Hazard-Avoidance camera on Feb. 8, 2013, or Sol 182.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
We'll take the powder we acquired and swish it around to scrub the internal surfaces of the drill bit assembly," explains JPL's Scott McCloskey, drill systems engineer. "Then we'll use the arm to transfer the powder out of the drill into the scoop, which will be our first chance to see the acquired sample."
"Building a tool to interact forcefully with unpredictable rocks on Mars required an ambitious development and testing program," said JPL's Louise Jandura, chief engineer for Curiosity's sample system. "To get to the point of making this hole in a rock on Mars, we made eight drills and bored more than 1,200 holes in 20 types of rock on Earth."
Inside the sample-handling device, the powder will be vibrated once or twice over a sieve that screens out any particles larger than six-thousandths of an inch (150 microns) across. Small portions of the sieved sample will fall through ports on the rover deck into the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument and the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument. These instruments then will begin the much-anticipated detailed analysis.
The rock Curiosity drilled is called "John Klein" in memory of a Mars Science Laboratory deputy project manager who died in 2011.
Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/09feb_borehole/
(http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/725682main_pia16686-43_946-710.jpg)
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
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