MARS: CURIOSITY u krateru GALE Vol II.

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

white balanced ...približno! 

Jučerašnji RMI-ChemCam snimak(kompozit) uzvišenja Ireson Hill, 220 m južno od  Curiosity.

Ireson Hill

Stereo!

Sol 1541: Change detection

December 05, 2016 - Monday

The weekend plan returned some great remote sensing data, including the above Mastcam image of "Ireson Hill" to investigate the stratigraphy exposed in a distant butte. While we work on assessing the drill fault, the team decided to devote today’s plan to remote sensing and change detection.  The plan starts with ChemCam observations of “Hunters Beach” and “Gorham Mountain” to investigate the chemistry of the Murray bedrock.  Then we’ll acquire a Mastcam tau and crater rim extinction image to characterize the amount of dust in the atmosphere, followed by a Navcam dust devil search.  The plan also includes a series of Hazcam observations taken approximately every hour until sunset – this will provide a very thorough dataset to monitor the movement of sand based on time of day.  This is really important for planning MAHLI observations, because we’ve noticed a lot of movement of fines through this area at this time of year, and we’ve mostly been taking MAHLI images with the dust cover closed to protect the instrument.  If we can better understand when and where the sand is most active, we can better plan MAHLI observations, and we can improve our understanding of the eolian environment!
By Lauren Edgar
--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the MSL science team.

Ovdje očigledno imaju problem s kamerom MAHLI, čiji se zaštitni poklopac automatski
zatvara kad registrira vjetar s previše prašine. Namjera sljedećih ispitivanja je kontinuirano
snimanje promjena tijekom dana, kako bi utvrdili kad je najbolje vrijeme za koristiti kameru MAHLI.

Dec. 6, 2016
Curiosity Rover Team Examining New Drill Hiatus

This Dec. 2, 2016, view from the Navigation Camera (Navcam) on the mast of NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover shows rocky ground within view while the rover was working at an intended drilling site called "Precipice" on lower Mount Sharp.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Full image and caption
Mission Status Report
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is studying its surroundings and monitoring the environment, rather than driving or using its arm for science, while the rover team diagnoses an issue with a motor that moves the rover's drill.
Curiosity is at a site on lower Mount Sharp selected for what would be the mission's seventh sample-collection drilling of 2016. The rover team learned Dec. 1 that Curiosity did not complete the commands for drilling. The rover detected a fault in an early step in which the "drill feed" mechanism did not extend the drill to touch the rock target with the bit.
"We are in the process of defining a set of diagnostic tests to carefully assess the drill feed mechanism. We are using our test rover here on Earth to try out these tests before we run them on Mars," Curiosity Deputy Project Manager Steven Lee, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said Monday. "To be cautious, until we run the tests on Curiosity, we want to restrict any dynamic changes that could affect the diagnosis. That means not moving the arm and not driving, which could shake it."
Two among the set of possible causes being assessed are that a brake on the drill feed mechanism did not disengage fully or that an electronic encoder for the mechanism's motor did not function as expected. Lee said that workarounds may exist for both of those scenarios, but the first step is to identify why the motor did not operate properly last week.
The drill feed mechanism pushes the front of the drill outward from the turret of tools at the end of Curiosity's robotic arm. The drill collects powdered rock that is analyzed by laboratory instruments inside the rover. While arm movements and driving are on hold, the rover is using cameras and a spectrometer on its mast, and a suite of environmental monitoring capabilities.
At the rover's current location, it has driven 9.33 miles (15.01 kilometers) since landing inside Mars' Gale Crater in August 2012. That includes more than half a mile (more than 840 meters) since departing a cluster of scenic mesas and buttes -- called "Murray Buttes" -- in September 2016. Curiosity has climbed 541 feet (165 meters) in elevation since landing, including 144 feet (44 meters) since departing Murray Buttes.
The rover is climbing to sequentially higher and younger layers of lower Mount Sharp to investigate how the region's ancient climate changed, billions of years ago. Clues about environmental conditions are recorded in the rock layers. During its first year on Mars, the mission succeeded at its main goal by finding that the region once offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life, if Mars has ever hosted life. The conditions in long-lived ancient freshwater Martian lake environments included all of the key chemical elements needed for life as we know it, plus a chemical source of energy that is used by many microbes on Earth.
Curiosity's drill, as used at all 15 of the rock targets drilled so far, combines hammering action and rotating-bit action to penetrate the targets and collect sample material. The drilling attempt last week was planned as the mission's first using a non-percussion drilling method that relies only on the drill's rotary action. Short-circuiting in the percussion mechanism has occurred intermittently and unpredictably several times since first seen in February 2015.
"We still have percussion available, but we would like to be cautious and use it for targets where we really need it, and otherwise use rotary-only where that can give us a sample," said Curiosity Project Scientist Ashwin Vasavada at JPL.
JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, and built the project's rover, Curiosity. For more information about the mission, visit:
Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-6278
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov
2016-309
Last Updated: Dec. 6, 2016

Sol 1542: More drill testing

6 December 2016
While investigation of the drill anomaly continues, more diagnostic tests will be performed on Sol 1542.  Again, no mobility or other arm activities will be planned, so the science team added only remote sensing observations.  ChemCam will observe Hunters Beach again to further investigate the the chemical variations that LIBS measured there previously.  ChemCam and the Right Mastcam will also observe bedrock targets "Sargent Mountain" and "Youngs Mountain."  Finally, Navcam and Mastcam will take one more set of images at 8 AM on Sol 1543, to complete the photometry dataset started on Sol 1537. 

by Ken Herkenhoff

Interpolirana Curi ...u srazmjeru sa Ireson Hill.

Sol 1543: Motor controller fault

7 December 2016
The Sol 1542 drill diagnostics did not complete as intended, and as a consequence, neither did some of the later science activities.  Therefore, those tests and activities from Sol 1542 will be planned again on Sol 1543.  But first, ChemCam will shoot its laser at a target near Hunters Beach, called "Bracy Cove," and at the bright layers just above The Anvil.  Late in the afternoon, ChemCam will perform a routine observation of its titanium calibration target, the Left Mastcam will acquire a 5x1 mosaic of "Squid Cove," and the Rear Hazcam will take another image to look for changes due to winds.  Overnight, SAM will perform an Opportunistic Derivitization experiment on a sample from Cumberland that we’ve been carrying since early in the landed mission.  This experiment has been some time in the making and should improve SAM's ability to characterize the organic molecules within that sample.  Early in the morning of Sol 1544, Navcam will search for clouds and dust devils, Mastcam will measure dust in the atmosphere, and both cameras will re-attempt the photometry observations that were planned yesterday. 


by Ken Herkenhoff

Skup naziva koji se često koriste u ovoj misiji: 

• AEGIS: Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science
  
• APXS: Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer.
  
• Bump: Short Drive.
  
• ChemCam-RMI: Chemistry Camera - Remote Micro Imager.
  
• CheMin: Chemistry & Mineralogy X-Ray Diffraction Instrument.
  
• CHIMRA: Collection & Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis
  
• DRT: Dust Removal Tool.
  
• HiRISE: High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment.
  
• KOP: Keeper of the Plan.
  
• LIBS: Laser-Induced-Breakdown-Spectroscopy.
  
• MAHLI: Mars Hand Lens Imager.
  
• MARDI: Mars Decent Imager.
  
• MastCam: Mast Camera.
  
• MSL: Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity Rover)
  
• MRO: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
  
• NavCam: Navigation Camera.
  
• PUL: Payload Uplink Lead.
  
• REMS: Rover Environmental Monitoring Station.
  
• RPs: Rover Planners.
  
• SAM: Sample Analysis at Mars Instrument.
  
• Sol: Martian Solar Day: 24h 37m
  
• SOWG: Science Operations Working Group
  
• sPDL: Science Payload Downlink Lead
  
• sPUL: Science Payload Uplink Lead
  

Sol 1544: Diagnostics and Remote Sensing

8 December 2016

The plan for Sol 1544 includes remote sensing and additional diagnostics to resolve the drill feed fault.  The plan starts with a Mastcam tau and crater rim extinction observation to monitor dust in the atmosphere.  Then we’ll acquire ChemCam observations of “Aunt Betty Pond” and “Kebo Mountain” to assess the composition of the Murray bedrock and veins.  In the afternoon we’ll repeat the Mastcam tau and crater rim extinction observations.  We’ll also take a few more rear Hazcam images to monitor the movement of fines at different times of day.  For more on the drill feed anomaly and our steps to resolve the issue, check out this recent press release.  In the meantime, the science team is getting ready for the American Geophysical Union conference next week, so we had some great science discussion presentations that will be shared at the meeting next week!
By Lauren Edgar
--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the MSL science team.

Greške ustvari i nisu greške. Ovdje smo na drugom planetu i nije moguće obuhvatiti sve
neugodne utjecaje  koji djeluju na nešto što konstruiramo tu na Zemlji.Tome , uz ostalo, 
i služe ispitivanja zadnjih dana...Ponekad se pojavi i neki bag u softwareu, što se najčešće
da popraviti-odkloniti, ali ne i eventualna fizička oštećenja. Osdim ako se odnekud ne pojavi
nekakav Marsovac sa alatom u torbi...

Sols 1545-1547: Moving again!

9 December 2016

This morning we received downlink that indicated operation of the drill feed using standard commands.  This is great news, and the anomaly response team has cleared the rover for use of the arm and driving (but not yet drilling).  In today’s plan, we’ll wrap up work at the “Precipice” location and drive to a nearby site to investigate some interesting fracture patterns.
The 3-sol plan weekend plan starts with another Mastcam tau and crater rim extinction observation to monitor dust in the atmosphere. This is followed by ChemCam observations of “The Anvil” and “Blue Hill” to investigate variations in chemistry in the Murray bedrock.  We’ll also take a Mastcam mosaic to provide additional context for the “Precipice” site.  In the afternoon we have a juicy arm backbone which includes MAHLI imaging of “Echo Lake,” “Beachcroft,” and “The Anvil,” with a short APXS integration on “Beachcroft” and an overnight integration on “Echo Lake.”  This should return a great dataset to understand the chemistry and sedimentary structures here.  On the second sol, Curiosity will acquire a ChemCam observation of “Western Head,” an area that showed some unusual color variation.  We’ll also extend the Mastcam mosaic of “Squid Cove” and take a couple of Navcam movies to monitor the atmosphere.  Throughout the plan we’ll take several front and rear Hazcam images for additional change detection observations.  There’s also an overnight SAM activity using the EGA, which makes use of the residual derivatization vapor in the sample manipulation system.  Then on the third sol we’ll drive toward the region with fractures, and take post-drive imaging to prepare for possible contact science next week.  It’s great to be moving again with a very full weekend plan! 
By Lauren Edgar 
--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the MSL science team.

 
A complex mineral filled fracture (vein) dubbed 'Blue Hill' by JPL, was examined by Curiosity's Chemistry Camera (RMI-ChemCam) during mission sol 1544 (10 December 2016). Two overlapping micro images have been assembled into a mosaic and included with a right-side mast camera (R-MastCam) context image in this simple collage. The mineral filled vein is wider than others in this location, it also appears to be composed of multi toned minerals, indicating that this could have been created by a series of events. A 10-centimeter scale bar has been added to the mast camera image. Blue Hill is located south of Curiosity, 5 meters from the mast camera lens.