MARS: CURIOSITY u krateru GALE Vol II.

Eroo wrote:

Mnijem, šta bi reka Jastreb, da se radi o potpuno istom fenomenu.
Na Zemlji se marsova Pustinjska ruža jednostavno ne može ostvariti zbog strahovitih
toplotnih utjecaja, tako da na kraju (nakon veziva)  erodiraju i toplotno rezidentniji listići gipsa.
Kao na fotografiji iznad!

sol 1526

Prva 360° panorama s mjesta prvog kontakta u krateru Gale. 

http://www.360cities.net/image/curiosity-rover-martian-solar-day-3#12.20,-4.20,18.9

Sols 1528-1530: Fifteen Kilometers!

22 November 2016

Our weekend plan went as expected, including a ~16 meter drive which brings us to our next drill target: “Precipice”. That drive also brings our total drive distance from Bradbury Landing to just over 15 km! We have a three sol plan today as we head into the long holiday weekend and prepare for drilling next week.
On Sol 1528, Mastcam has a 3x10 mosaic to provide context for the drill site, followed by ChemCam images of the drill bit and a MARDI twilight image of the ground beneath the rover. On the following sol, Navcam and Mastcam start the day with a set of atmospheric observations to watch for dust devils and measure the amount of dust in the atmosphere. After that, ChemCam has a passive sky observation, followed by active measurements of the targets “Thomas Bay”, “The Anvil”, and “The Ovens”. Mastcam then has a change detection observation on the targets “Hulls Cove” and “Big Heath” along with documentation of the ChemCam targets, including the AEGIS target from sol 1526. Mastcam and Navcam will then repeat some of the atmospheric observations from the morning.
In contrast to our busy Sol 1529, sol 1530 will be relatively quiet, with a focus on downlinking data and our normal background data collection from REMS and DAN.
by Ryan Anderson
-Ryan is a planetary scientist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the ChemCam team on MSL.

Još jednom: Ovo bi znalo bit relano moguća varijanta. 

Sols 1531-1533: Thanksgiving at Precipice

23 November 2016

Today’s plan covers sols 1531-1533, which will take us through the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. We are in place at our next drill location “Precipice” so there will be no driving in the plan, just a lot of science and preparation for drilling!
Sol 1531 will start off with ChemCam observations of Precipice as well as the targets “Frenchman Bay” and “Hunter’s Beach”, followed by Mastcam documentation of all three targets. I also managed to fit a request for some Navcams of Mt. Sharp in the Sol 1531 science block to enable some long distance RMI observations next week. After the science block, the rover will do the “pre-load test” on our drilling target to improve the accuracy of the drill next week. Precipice will also be brushed off, and APXS will settle in for an overnight measurement.
On Sol 1532, Mastcam starts off with an observation of the distant foothills of Mt. Sharp, multispectral imaging of the Precipice target (along with the associated calibration target), and imaging of the rover deck to watch for changes in the sand and dust that have collected there. Mastcam will also take a stereo image of the location where the previous drill sample will be dumped. ChemCam has an observation of a target called “Breakneck Pond” which will then be documented by Mastcam. We will round out the science block with Mastcam and Navcam atmospheric observations. Finally, on Sol 1533, we will dump out our previous drill sample and do an APXS measurement on the dump pile.
While the rover is busy with all of that, the Americans on the MSL team will be celebrating Thanksgiving, and thinking about how thankful we are that we get to work on such an amazing project with such great colleagues!
by Ryan Anderson
-Ryan is a planetary scientist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the ChemCam team on MSL.

Šta ti je tehnika...daljinski mikroskop(MRI).

paulhammond5155 
It's part of the Murray formation. The rover has already drilled and sampled lower examples of this basal unit to Mt Sharp. JPL have published reports on this formation stating that it was originally deposited as lakebed mud and then lithified (turned to rock). The rover has already climbed approaching 100 meters since it first encountered this formation at the Pahrump hills, so that lake was around for a long time. This geological formation was buried under thousands of meters of overburden that almost filled Gale crater (we can see the evidence of that filling on the mountain and the crater walls) the fractures we see in these mudstone were formed after lithification, possibly a combination of pressure from the overburden and groundwater. JPL have stated that the light toned minerals we see in those fractures are a form of Gypsum, which were likely formed by precipitation from fluids (high pressure groundwater) circulating through those fractures. The presence of veins throughout the sandstone & mudstone examined by Curiosity suggests that this process occurred well after sedimentation and cementation/lithification of those sediments (JPL release). In this particular weathered outcrop we can also observe horizontal mineral deposits that appear to follow the boundaries of sedimentary layers in the mudstone, this would indicate weakly cemented bonds between each layer in addition to the vertical fractures. As for the present appearance of this outcrop, it's shaped by millions of years of aeolian processes (wind carved). The consensus of the reports I have studied favour that the whole of the crater was once filled with sedimentary rocks (already stated above) and has since been exhumed by aeolian processes, that exhumation continues until this present day.
If I see any new reports on this region I'll post them here, but the science papers take time to be issued. They plan to drill at this site (a larger outcrop) in the days after the holiday weekend, so I look forward to seeing the results that we likely wont see until the middle of next year.
Glad you are enjoying the mission thus far, the images speak a thousand words by themselves but a few added words can help tell the rover's story :)

_____________________________

Malo kradem. Kao i obično.

Another view of the turret  (vrh robotske ruke) .

Sol 1534: Preparing to drill

28 November 2016

Curiosity had a productive Thanksgiving weekend and now we are getting ready to drill at “Precipice.”  Sol 1534 begins with MAHLI imaging of the post-sieve dump pile from the previous drill sample (“Sebina”).  Then we have a short science block to acquire a ChemCam passive observation and a Mastcam multispectral observation of the dump pile.  In the afternoon the plan includes a CHIMRA “thwack” activity to clean out any remnants of the previous sample in order to prepare for a new one.  Later in the afternoon we’ll also take a ChemCam long distance RMI mosaic to investigate a linear feature observed from HiRISE.  The full drill hole is planned for Sol 1536.
By Lauren Edgar
--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the MSL science team.

Lokacija sljedećeg vrtanja i ispitivanja uzorka.

Muljnjak(?). Engl. "mudstone"...

A selection of images of Curiosity's 'Collection and Handling for Interior Martian Rock Analysis' (CHIMRA). A Device for processing powdered rock and regolith samples.
Images acquired on mission sol 1534 and presented in a simple annotated montage, identifying some of the visible parts that were opened to check the internal cleanliness prior to drilling at 'Precipice'.

Sol 1537: Drill fault

1 December 2016
Unfortunately, the much-anticipated rotary-only drilling experiment did not even start due to a drill fault that is currently being investigated.  This type of drill fault appears to be unrelated to the previous short circuits during percussion, but more study is needed.  So the tactical planning team had to scramble to put together a plan while the drill experts work to recover from this anomaly.  Luckily, the fault did not preclude non-drilling arm activities, so we picked the bright target "Thomas Bay" for contact science.  We were also able to fit a lot of remote science observations into the plan:  A Navcam cloud movie, a Right Mastcam mosaic of "Squid Cove," Mastcam measurements of dust in the atmosphere, and a small Mastcam stereo mosaic of "Baldwin Corners."  At various times of day, Navcam and Mastcam will image the ground toward and opposite the azimuth of sunset to measure the photometric (light scattering) properties of the rocks and soils near the rover.  ChemCam and the Right Mastcam will also observe bedrock target "Compass Harbor" and vein targets "Bartlett Narrows" and "Birch Point."  After drill diagnostics are performed, more Mastcam dust measurements and images of "Hulls Cove" and "Big Heath" are planned.  It was a busy day for me and the other MAHLI uplink leads, as we had to modify our command sequences to take images with MAHLI's dust cover closed and find the best time to take images in full sunlight.  Since the fine-grained Sebina sample was dumped, we are concerned about material blowing onto MAHLI's lens and sticking to it.  Finally, the APXS will be placed on Thomas Bay for an overnight integration. 
by Ken Herkenhoff

Kamera MAHLI je trenutno isključena iz rada. Kamera ima polopac koji se automatski zatvara u slučaju prevelike prašine u zraku. 
Bila bi velika šteta ako bi restrikcija bila trajna...

Sols 1538-1540: Targeted Remote Sensing

2 December 2016

The RPs are going to take a little more time to diagnose the drill fault before we drive or use the arm again, so today’s plan is focused on targeted remote sensing.  We’re still at the “Precipice” site, assessing the composition and sedimentary structures in the Murray bedrock and carrying out some long distance observations.  Today’s plan includes a long distance ChemCam RMI mosaic to monitor linear features observed from HiRISE and another RMI mosaic to investigate the stratigraphy exposed in a butte called “Ireson Hill.”  The plan also includes a Mastcam mosaic to search for fracture patterns in the vicinity of “Squid Cove,” and a Mastcam clast survey for change detection.
By Lauren Edgar
--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the MSL science team.

News | November 2, 2016

Curiosity Mars Rover Checks Odd-looking Iron Meteorite


The dark, golf-ball-size object in this composite, colorized view from the ChemCam instrument on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is a nickel-iron meteorite, as confirmed by analysis using laser pulses from ChemCam on Oct. 30, 2016. The grid of bright spots on the rock resulted from the laser pulses. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP/LPGNantes/CNRS/IAS/MSSS

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6667