MARS: CURIOSITY u krateru GALE

Sol 1239-1240: Analyzing the Sands of Mars

29 January 2016

Since the anomaly with CHIMRA is still being investigated, there was no science involving the arm in today’s plan. Still, there was plenty to do, and we had to be careful not to collect too much extra data because there is a backlog of data on the rover waiting to be downlinked to Earth.
 On Sol 1239 we planned a bunch of observations of a target called “Gosser Schroffenstein” in the area called “Mniszechis Vlei” (I am really enjoying the names list lately) where the rover’s wheel scuff in the sand exposed a tiny scarp or cliff in the sand. This little scarp gives us a good view of the fine-scaled layering in the top few centimeters of the dune. ChemCam will take an RMI mosaic of Gosser Schroffenstein, followed by an active LIBS analysis targeting the face of the scarp. After that, the RMI mosaic will be repeated to see if the laser pulses caused any changes in the delicate sand scarp. Once ChemCam is done, Mastcam will take a 5 image stereo mosaic of the whole Mniszechis Vlei area. Mastcam also has another change detection observation of the target “Hebron” and Navcam has an atmospheric observation. Once the science is done on Sol 1239, we will do some more diagnostics on the CHIMRA. Later in the day on Sol 1239, CheMin will analyze some of the sand that was collected previously.
On Sol 1240 ChemCam has a few passive (no laser) observations of the Mastcam and ChemCam calibration targets. These are followed by a couple of long-distance RMI mosaics of Mt. Sharp. These are observations that I have been advocating for recently, so it was nice to be able to fit them in the plan today while I was on duty as the ChemCam science PUL. Mastcam will take color images to help document the long distance RMI mosaics, and will repeat the change detection observations of Hebron a couple more times.
by Ryan Anderson
-Ryan is a planetary scientist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the ChemCam team on MSL.

Dok čekamo na nove snimke, evo nešto veoma zanimljivo... najnovije ...


Flight Over Dwarf Planet Ceres

Selfie...kompozit Vitaly Egorov...

Mt Sharp sa udaljenosti cca 8...10 km...Snimak ChemCam kamerom. Nevjerojatna tehnika. 

Nevjerojatna tehnika...Mt Sharp s udaljenosti desetak kilometara.
To područje je i konačni cilj misije CURIOSITY.

Sol 1241: Wrapping up at Namib Dune

1 February 2016


Curiosity is still parked at Namib dune, and we are we are close to finishing the science investigation here.  The team is still working to diagnose the CHIMRA anomaly, but the arm was cleared for use in today’s plan. 
The science activities in today’s plan include some additional MAHLI images to supplement the previously acquired selfie, and some long-distance ChemCam RMI mosaics to study layering on Mt. Sharp and the northern crater rim.  We’ll also acquire a Mastcam image to document the target “Erongo,” and use Navcam to search for dust devils and monitor the atmosphere.  Then we’ll use MAHLI to document several of the scoop and dump locations.  There’s also an early science block on the morning of Sol 1242, during which Mastcam and Navcam will image the ripple target “Epupa” under favorable morning illumination conditions.  I’ll be on duty later this week so I’m catching up on our remaining science requirements at this location.
By Lauren Edgar
--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of MSL science team.

Sol 1242: Last analyses of the dump piles

2 February 2016

Today was the last day for science activities at Namib Dune, as we’re planning to drive away on Sol 1243.  It’s fun looking at the disturbed sand in the workspace, and realizing how much we’ve done here (is it just me, or does it look like a big sandbox full of scoops, dumps and wheel scuffs?).  While it might look like Curiosity has just been playing in the sand, we’ve managed to accomplish a lot of really great science here. 
Today’s plan includes additional CHIMRA diagnostics, and a number of MAHLI and APXS observations of the dump piles.  It’s impressive how close we’re able to get MAHLI to the sand, which should enable some really high-resolution studies of the grain properties.   The plan also includes several Mastcam and ChemCam RMI observations of the ripples to look for changes.  I’ll be on duty tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to driving off in search of the next drill target!
By Lauren Edgar 
--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of MSL science team.