MARS: CURIOSITY u krateru GALE

Mjesec Phobos  iznad Mt Sharp...

Ovo je stvarno bilo nepotrebno. Barem ne u ovoj fazi misije.

Sol 1324: Power-constrained

26 April 2016

As expected, the Sol 1323 data we needed for planning today were received later than usual, so tactical planning started 3 hours later than normal.  This makes for a long day, especially for the European members of the MSL operations team.  But the real challenge today is power--the drill-related activities that have been commanded lately require discharging the batteries more deeply than we usually do.  So as SOWG Chair today, I put a lot of effort into fitting high-priority observations into the plan while limiting battery discharge.  As it turned out, we were able to preserve all of the strategically-planned activities, including dumping the unsieved portion of the sample and observing it with Mastcam, Navcam, MAHLI, and APXS.  ChemCam will measure the chemistry in the wall of the drill hole and CheMin will return mineralogical data.  But these activities will leave the batteries only 60% charged, not enough to continue the drill campaign tomorrow.  So it looks like the rover will have to take a break and recharge its batteries tomorrow.

by Ken Herkenhoff

Noćni snimak s "led" lampom. Na ovaj način se dobiju najautentičnije boje minerala, koje su primjerljive s bojama na Zemlji...s bojama pod našim Suncem.

Sol 1325: Taking it Easy

27 April 2016

It’s been a busy few days of drilling and related activities, so the plan for sol 1325 is a pretty simple one to allow the rover’s batteries to recharge. There is a short science block with a ChemCam observation of the drill tailings at “Lubango” along with Mastcam documentation. After that, MAHLI will take a closer look at the targets “Lianshulu” and “Rubikon”. Other than routine environmental monitoring measurements by DAN, RAD, and REMS, that’s about all for sol 1325! Taking it easy today allows us to do some remote sensing tomorrow and then wrap up our activities at this location over the weekend. On Sunday we will drive to our next drilling location, which is on a nearby patch of normal-looking Stimson sandstone. 
by Ryan Anderson
-Ryan is a planetary scientist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the ChemCam team on MSL.

OMG....

Sols 1326-1329: Wrapping Up at Lubango

29 April 2016

After a nice rest on Sol 1325, Curiosity was charged up and ready for lots of science! On Sol 1326, we started off with multispectral Mastcam observations of the pile of dumped powder from the “Lubango” drill target and the targets “Rubikon” and “Ebony”. Then ChemCam had a passive observation of the dump pile, followed by active observations using the laser on Rubikon as well as “Ida” and “Lorelei”. Mastcam documented the ChemCam observations as usual, and then finished the science block with an atmospheric observation. Later in the day on Sol 1326, MAHLI observed the dump pile and drill tailings, as well as a bedrock target called “Nara Valley”. Finally, APXS had an overnight observation of the dump pile.
In today’s weekend plan, which covers Sols 1327-1329, we start off with a sol focused on dumping out more of the powder acquired from the Lubango drill, this time after passing it through a sieve. Mastcam and MAHLI will take pictures of the new dump location before and after the sieved sample is dumped, and then APXS will do an overnight measurement. On Sol 1238, we have lots of remote sensing. Navcam and Mastcam have a few atmospheric observations, and then ChemCam will measure the pre- and post-sieve dump piles, Nara Valley, and a target called “Ovitoto”.
Then, on Sol 1329, Curiosity will do a short drive to a nearby patch of flat Stimson formation sandstone that should not have as much silica enrichment as what we see at Lubango. This will put us in position to drill that location sometime next week!
by Ryan Anderson

http://vk.com/doc14035574_437475606?hash=55a43a506f5ce78207&dl=a70511664738067353

http://vk.com/doc14035574_437475608?hash=8e7229b35e300a413f&dl=f58078f0974ef41cb4

Naslednje zanimljivo područje za znanstvena istraživanja će biti područje kolokvijalno nazvano kao "Murray Buttes", koje je od trenutne pozicije vozila udaljeno "zračne linije" cca 275 m. Nedaleko od tu je i polazna točka za zaokret prema jugu, put Mt Sharp, gdje se nalazi i lokacija konačnog cilja misije. Potrajat će , dok se ne stigne tamo...naravno, ako izdrži vozilo. 

Evo jedne simpatične panorame (360°), snimljene PanCam kamerom na poziciji sol 1302 (prije cca mjesec dana). Kompozit je NASA-in, tako da im vjerujemo da su boje izbalansirane blizu onoga kako bi okolinu vidjeli pod dnevnom svjetlošću na Zemlji.
PS: vozilo je trenutno ispod one uzvišice, gdje se prikazuje mjerilo 1..2..3 etc u metrima. 

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA20332.jpg

Isto kao gore.
PAZI, ne otvaraj ako nemaš sučin! cca 110 MB

Sols 1330-1331: Characterizing the next drill site

2 May 2016


Over the weekend, Curiosity completed the drilling investigation at Lubango, and we drove ~13 m to the “Ovitoto” area (note that this area is only ~4 m away from Cubango as the crow flies, but it took some maneuvering to get there).  This area is composed of typical unaltered Stimson bedrock, which we’ll use to compare to the altered bedrock at Lubango. 
I was on duty as GSTL today, and we put together a full plan of contact science to characterize the next potential drill site.  The two-sol plan starts with a ChemCam observation of “Okoruso,” followed by MAHLI of the same site.  ChemCam LIBS shots tend to blow away a lot of dust, so this will create some nice clean spots for MAHLI to observe grain-scale properties.  The “Okoruso” target will then be brushed off with the DRT, and we’ll acquire MAHLI and APXS on the same spot.  We’ll also do a preload test to prepare for drilling on Wednesday.  Early the next morning, Curiosity will acquire several Navcam and Mastcam observations to monitor the atmosphere and search for dust devils.  These activities will be coordinated with REMS monitoring at the same time.  In the afternoon of the second sol we have a targeted science block, with ChemCam observations of “Omatako” and “Kombat” to investigate variations in composition near the drill site and another alteration zone.  Looking forward to more drilling on Wednesday!
By Lauren Edgar
--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the MSL science team.