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Tag Archives: Curiosity
Gale’s winds sculpted the Mt. Sharp mound as they built it
The major reason for sending the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity to Gale Crater is the five-kilometer (three-mile) high layered mound, dubbed Mt. Sharp, that looms at the crater’s center. The lowest layers have been altered by water and perhaps … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, climate change, Curiosity, dust, eolian, Gale Crater, katabatic winds, LPSC 2013, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, wind, wind erosion
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Gale Crater’s Lake District
Mars rover Curiosity landed on, or just beyond, the far end of an alluvial fan — rocks, gravel, and sand washed down by the Peace River from the north rim of Gale Crater. The rover has driven for 200 sols … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged alluvial fan, climate change, Crater Lake, craters, Curiosity, Gale Crater, HiRISE, LPSC 2013, MSL, water
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Developing a stratigraphic column for Gale Crater’s floor
After more than 100 sols (Martian days) in Gale Crater, NASA’s Curiosity rover has driven some 500 meters (1,600 feet), traversing several rock units. A sketch of the crater floor’s geological history is emerging. On its half-kilometer drive from its … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged conglomerate, craters, Curiosity, Gale Crater, LPSC 2013, MSL, stratigraphic column, stratigraphy
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Blowing sand and moving dunes in Gale Crater
Curiosity, NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory rover, is exploring the floor of Gale Crater. Its main science target, however, is the giant stack of water-altered sediments that make up Mount Sharp, Gale Crater’s central mound. But to reach the mound, the … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Curiosity, dunes, Gale Crater, HiRISE, Mars Science Laboratory, sand, sand dunes, sand ripples, wind
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Hardened arteries in Nili and Nilo
Water seeping through conduits and cracks in the deep subsurface rocks of Nilosyrtis and Nili Fossae left behind minerals, like hard-water deposits that collect in the plumbing of your house. (Or cholesterol in your arteries.) Then as the softer rocks … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged clay minerals, cracks, CTX, Curiosity, fractures, Gale Crater, groundwater, gypsum, HiRISE, Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MSL, Nili Fossae, Nilosyrtis, Opportunity, phyllosilicates, water
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Mars’ ancient climate had a “wet-pass” filter
Volcanic eruptions — and the rocks they produce — dominate the surface of the Red Planet. Mars also shows evidence for activity by liquid water — sediments, channels, and valley networks — through much of its history. While volcanos can … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, climate, climate change, Curiosity, Gale Crater, ice, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, snowmelt, water
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When Gale was young
With Mars rover Curiosity safely down on Mars, scientists are set to explore the geology and history of Gale Crater, searching for evidence of habitable environments, ancient or modern. Gale Crater has attracted much study since it became a candidate … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Curiosity, Gale Crater, hydrothermal systems, impacts, Mars Science Laboratory, water
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Duck & cover: good advice for Mars organics
Everyone knows Mars has a terrible environment: temperatures are bitter cold most of the time, there’s almost no air pressure, and solar ultraviolet light scours the surface unhindered. Actually, it’s even worse. Alexander Pavlov (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) and … Continue reading
“Blueberries” could date when Meridiani rocks were last wet
The relative amount of three chemical elements contained in Martian “blueberries” might offer scientists a way to date when these spherules were last inundated with water, according to recent research. Rich in the iron mineral hematite, blueberries are small concretions, … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged concretions, Curiosity, Gale Crater, hematite, jarosite, Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars Science Laboratory, MER, Meridiani Planum, Opportunity, water
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Gale Crater’s mound: part of the Medusae Fossae Formation?
The Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF) is a thick deposit of soft materials that erodes easily by wind. The formation spreads in several large patches between the volcanic provinces of Elysium and Tharsis. In addition, outliers extend farther afield, with some … Continue reading