A failing motor on the dust cover of the SHERLOC instrument forced a decision that seemed likely to doom it to obscurity given the unlimited supply of dust on Mars. Eight months later, we have an answer.
Despite one of the front wheels and the diagonally opposite rear wheel being perched on rocks they commanded the robotic arm to acquire close up images (WATSON) of the surface of this small boulder. They were probably confident that the rover would not slip. In the past, the use of the arm to obtain close-ups using the turret mounted cameras have meant a delay as the rover was repositioned to firm ground, as s slip could damage the rover. This image is from the front-left HazCam NASA/JPL-Caltech
paulhammond5155 1d ago • 100%
It looks like it has been polished by eons of wind blown dust particles
paulhammond5155 1d ago • 100%
Nicely done, I preferred the older JPL mission traverse maps as used on the early years of the MSL mission, as each waypoint and some of the larger features were labeled. I can only assume that the new style interactive maps can not cope with that level of detail.
paulhammond5155 2d ago • 100%
Look close - You'll see one of the rear wheels perched on a rock.
They will likely not perform any arm work in this state.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/James Sorenson
Data provided by JPL after every drive - NASA/JPL-Caltech
Cropped from a 9-tile post drive R-NavCam. The drive distance may have been over 7 meters, but the point-to-point distance was less than one meter. This long drive may have been a result of the rover having one of its wheels perched on a rock, leaving it unstable for un-stowing the robotic arm. I'm assuming we'll see some closer inspection of this target over the weekend.
Where the Streets Have No Name - Curiosity Rover Blog for Sols 4336-4337. Earth planning date: Wednesday October 16, 2024 Curiosity continues to drive along the western edge of the upper Gediz Vallis channel. After exiting the channel a few weeks ago, we turned north to image the “back side” of the deposits that we investigated on the eastern side before the channel crossing. As a member of the Channel Surfers working group, we believe that acquiring these views will help further our understanding of the geometry, nature, and evolution of these landforms. The bumpy terrain in front of us, however, plays a role in determining our route and length of drive. The rover planners on the team always do a fantastic job in charting the course on this once-in-a-lifetime road trip. I like to imagine Curiosity with the windows down, blaring U2, as she steadily blazes a new path across the sulfate unit. With an eye towards imaging in this two-sol plan, Mastcam crafted a large mosaic of “Fascination Turret” that rises above the channel floor. ChemCam fit an unprecedented number of long distance RMI images in the plan that will document the upper extent of the white stone deposit, the nature of the “Kukenan” mound, and characterize the rocks in Fascination Turret at targets named “Chimney Tree” and “Forgotten Canyon.” In our immediate workspace, ChemCam used the Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument on a laminated (very thinly bedded) bedrock in the workspace at “Puppet Lake” to determine its chemical composition, which will be documented with a coordinating Mastcam image. MAHLI and AXPS teamed up to analyze a cluster of small gray rocks in front of us at “Jumble Lake.” The second sol includes a 25-meter (about 82 feet) drive to the west/northwest as we continue along our path adjacent to the channel. The Environmental theme group included a range of activities such as a Mastcam tau that will measure the optical depth of the atmosphere and constrain aerosol scattering properties, dust devil movies, and a suprahorizon movie to monitor clouds. Written by Sharon Wilson Purdy, Planetary Geologist at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Source for this blog and the archive of all blogs (with all the links and the original raw images etc) https://science.nasa.gov/blog/sols-4336-4337-where-the-streets-have-no-name/ These blog updates are provided by self-selected Mars Science Laboratory mission team members who love to share what Curiosity is doing with the public. Dates of planned rover activities described in these reports are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status. Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
4-tile NavCam - NASA/JPL-Caltech
paulhammond5155 4d ago • 100%
Apologies for the stitching errors (upper right of the slope) MS-ICE didn't do a great job this time, and I missed it before sharing
data provided by JPL (JSON feeds)
assembled 6 overlapping NavCam tiles to get this simple mosaic of the workspace. Assembled in PhotoScape and MS-ICE. NASA/JPL-Caltech
paulhammond5155 4d ago • 100%
You mean “notional path to the SSW”, Paul, no?
They chose North on 1301 :) see https://mars.nasa.gov/maps/location/?mission=M20
Not quite the place I was thinking of, but we have a good selection of targets for arm work :)
paulhammond5155 4d ago • 100%
My bad, SSW... Fat fingers 😮
paulhammond5155 4d ago • 100%
This is a 4-tile end-of-drive NavCam. The rear of the rover is pointing NE. Assembled in MS-ICE - Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Not sure why it was such a short drive, the workspace is just sandy regolith, and there was no wheel slip during the drive. Maybe they are deciding which path to take, the notional path to the SSW or head north to some white rocks seen upslope... Decisions decisions ;) fixed typo in direction of notional path :)
Planning with Popsicles - A Clipper Celebration! - Curiosity Rover Blog for Sols 4334-4335. Earth planning date: Monday October 14, 2024 Today was an unusually exciting day during tactical planning on the Curiosity mission because it intersected with a momentous event in space exploration: the launch of Europa Clipper from Kennedy Space Center. Even though the launch window occurred right in the middle of our morning planning meetings, at 9:06 a.m. PDT to be specific, today’s Tactical Uplink Lead and Science Operations Working Group Chair agreed it would be OK for the entire tactical team to take a 15-minute pause to turn on NASA TV and watch the launch together. Down the hall the Perseverance rover tactical team had decided the same, and for a few moments, the two teams paused their planning and watched together in anticipation as the countdown ticked down to T-0. Many of my close friends and co-workers had worked for years — some for decades — to make this mission a reality, and it was amazing to watch the enormous rocket carrying the Clipper spacecraft leap off the pad knowing how hard it was to get to this point. I cannot wait for the mission’s discoveries once it reaches Jupiter’s watery moon Europa! In true JPL tradition, we of course had to commemorate the event with some sweet frozen treats on-lab. Back when Curiosity landed, we had a full fridge of ice cream that was kept stocked for the first 90 sols of the mission. (Eating ice cream cones at 2 in the morning is a core memory of mine from those early days in our mission.) Today, in a clever nod to Europa’s icy surface, we celebrated with some even icier sweets: fruit and coffee popsicles to anyone on-lab. I chose coffee of course; the caffeine was great to help me get through a busy day of planning for Curiosity! On Mars, things with our rover are going well. We completed our mega ~50-meter drive (about 164 feet) over the weekend, which took Curiosity further north along the western side of Gediz Vallis channel. Our plan today is a “touch and go,” which means we’ll do contact science with APXS and MAHLI on a block in front of us named “Dollar Lake,” some remote sensing, including ChemCam LIBS of a target named “Cape Horn” and a couple Mastcam mosaics, followed by a drive to the north. We’ll continue to follow the western side of Gediz Vallis channel as we descend slightly down Mount Sharp, until we reach a location where we are able to head west towards a more easily traversable valley, and then restart our ascent. What a fun day of planning today. Congratulations to everyone involved helping Europa Clipper reach this incredible milestone, and go Clipper go! Written by Abigail Fraeman, Planetary Geologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Source for this blog and the archive of all blogs (with all the links and the original raw images etc) https://science.nasa.gov/blog/sols-4334-4335-planning-with-popsicles-a-clipper-celebration/ These blog updates are provided by self-selected Mars Science Laboratory mission team members who love to share what Curiosity is doing with the public. Dates of planned rover activities described in these reports are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status. Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
paulhammond5155 5d ago • 100%
The rover is currently driving up the rim wall of Jezero crater. The rim wall was created by a huge impact in Mars early history. So we could be looking at some of the oldest rocks that were uplifted during the impact. I'm clearly not a geologist, so it will be interesting to see the results of the investigations of the rocks in this region by the science team.
Perseverance rover acquired this image using its Left Mastcam-Z camera. Mastcam-Z is a pair of cameras located high on the rover's mast. This image was acquired on October 15, 2024 (Sol 1299) at the local mean solar time of 11:40:37. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
Sol 1298 tiled NavCam - Still dusty, even though the end of the Mars year is close NASA/JPL-Caltech
paulhammond5155 7d ago • 100%
Wouldn't want to catch your spacesuit on that ;) Have to use some of your expensive duct tape :)
Today’s Rover ABC – Aurora, Backwards Driving, and Chemistry, with a Side of Images - Curiosity Rover Blog for Sols 4331-4333. Earth planning date: Friday October 11, 2024 This blogger is in the United Kingdom, just north of London, where we yesterday had beautiful night skies with a red aurora that was even visible with the unaided eye, and looked stunning on photographs. That reminded me of the solar storm that made it all the way to Mars earlier this year. Here is my colleague Deborah’s blog about it: “Aurora Watch on Mars.” And, of course, that was a great opportunity to do atmospheric science and prepare for future crewed missions, to assess radiation that future astronauts might encounter. You can read about it in the article, “NASA Watches Mars Light Up During Epic Solar Storm.” But now, back from shiny red night skies north of London, and auroras on Mars six months ago, to today’s planning! Power — always a negotiation! Today, I was the Science Operations Working Group chair, the one who has to watch for the more technical side of things, such as the question if all the activities will fit into the plan. Today there were many imaging ideas to capture the stunning landscape in detail with Mastcam and very close close-ups with the long-distance imaging capability of ChemCam (RMI). Overall, we have two long-distance RMIs in the plan to capture the details of the ridge we are investigating. You can see in the accompanying image an example from last sol of just how many stunning details we can see. I so want to go and pick up that smooth white-ish looking rock to find out if it is just the light that makes it so bright, or if the surface is different from the underside… but that’s just me, a mineralogist by training, used to wandering around a field site! Do you notice the different patterns — textures as we call them in geology — on the rocks to the left of that white-ish rock and the right of it? So much stunning detail, and we are getting two more RMI observations of 10 frames each in today’s plan! In addition there are more than 80 Mastcam frames planned. Lots of images to learn from! Chemistry is also featuring in the plan. The rover is stable on its wheels, which means we can get the arm out and do an APXS measurement on the target “Midnight Lake,” which MAHLI also images. The LIBS investigations are seconding the APXS investigation on Midnight Lake, and add another target to the plan, “Pyramidal Pinnacle.” On the third sol there is an AEGIS, the LIBS measurement where the rover picks its own target before we here on Earth even see where it is! Power was especially tight today, because the CheMin team does some housekeeping, in particular looking at empty cells in preparation for the next drill. The atmosphere team adds many investigations to look out for dust devils and the dustiness of the atmosphere, and APXS measures the argon content of the atmosphere. This is a measure for the seasonal changes of the atmosphere, as argon is an inert gas that does not react with other components of the atmosphere. It is only controlled by the temperature in various places of the planet — mainly the poles. DAN continues to monitor water in the subsurface, and RAD — prominently featured during the solar storm I was talking about earlier — continues to collect data on the radiation environment. Let’s close with a fun fact from planning today: During one of the meetings, the rover drivers were asked, “Are you driving backwards again?” … and the answer was yes! The reason: We need to make sure that in this rugged terrain, with its many interesting walls (interesting for the geologists!), the antenna can still see Earth when we want to send the plan. So the drive on sol 4332 is all backwards. I am glad we have hazard cameras on the front and the back of the vehicle! Written by Susanne Schwenzer, Planetary Geologist at The Open University Source for this blog and the archive of all blogs (with all the links and the original raw images etc) https://science.nasa.gov/blog/sols-4331-4333-todays-rover-abc-aurora-backwards-driving-and-chemistry-with-a-side-of-images/ These blog updates are provided by self-selected Mars Science Laboratory mission team members who love to share what Curiosity is doing with the public. Dates of planned rover activities described in these reports are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status. Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL
WATSON's lens and open dust cover were imaged by the NavCam's and MastCams on sol 1296. Not sure, but one option could be looking for dust on the lens. This is one of the 4-tile NavCam's that imaged the turret, the WATSON camera is on the lower left of the turret. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
paulhammond5155 2w ago • 100%
STOP STOP I’M GETTING A NOSEBLEED
I just posted the processed 4-tile image (glancing over it's shoulder at the tracks) Hope the nosebleed has ceased ;)
paulhammond5155 2w ago • 100%
Curiosity's single drive climbing record is currently 9.49 meters. Sadly I don't have the data for Spirit and Opportunity, but I'm guessing the record climb is now held by Perseverance with that climb of 32.419922 meters :)
paulhammond5155 2w ago • 100%
It has a sophistication motion detector. It basically maps its xyz position throughout the drive, and at the end of the drive it points it camera at where it calculates the sun should be and using a ND filter it captured an image, if the image is not in the middle of the image the team can adjust its xyz, It's very accurate. In addition they have orbital images of the terrain it is traversing, they can use that orbital imagery to pinpoint its location to less than a meter.
paulhammond5155 2w ago • 80%
Nice :)
paulhammond5155 3w ago • 100%
It was a huge challenge. There's a really good video out there on the challenges the team faced. I'll see if I can find it, but if anyone else has the link please share it here :)
paulhammond5155 3w ago • 100%
It's been challenging for sure in this soft(ish) regolith and the slope angle.
It also looks like there was a failed drive on sol 1287. After losing Spirit rover in a sand trap the rover drivers have been very careful traversing across loose sand.
I would not be surprised if they make a move to either side of this 'smooth passage'. The orbital imagery appears to show more favourable terrain (rougher) at the north and south edges. That diversion may only be required for the next 300 meters or so, as the distance between the contours widens a little after that, before narrowing again as they get nearer the rim crest. Whichever path they take it's going to take a lot of drives to reach the crest.
paulhammond5155 3w ago • 100%
It's got another 3 months left before it is archived.
I joined in January 2013, but lurked there for a long while before that.
I'll miss it, as I am sure many others will
paulhammond5155 3w ago • 100%
I expect a future book or two when the MSL and 2020 surface operations eventually come to a close. Knowing some of the players I don't feel they would be overtly controversial. but one may have to read a little between the lines :) Sadly I'm already as old as dirt, so I won't be seeing them on my coffee table before they nail my pine lid down. As for Neretva Vallis, you are not alone, it seemed more than a little odd that only one sample was taken. I know they have limited tubes left, but it sure feels like a missed opportunity...
paulhammond5155 3w ago • 100%
I'm sure there are a lot of folk that would appreciate and be very interested in any contributions you make, where you could shine a light on the many gaps there are in their understanding. It's probably not something you can measure in counting lots of upvotes on particular, but I'm pretty sure there is an audience out there for you.... Go for it whenever you see feature in any of the raw images or breaking down the results of a paper...