Tag Archives: Murray Buttes

Curiosity: Farewell to the Murray Buttes

Posted on September 12, 2016 by rburnham

The layered geologic past of Mars is revealed in stunning detail in new color images returned by NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover, which is currently exploring the “Murray Buttes” region of lower Mount Sharp. The new images arguably rival photos taken … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Into the open

Posted on September 6, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1452, September 6, 2016. The exit “gate” from the Murray Buttes stands behind the rover, as seen by the rear-looking Navcam after Curiosity has driven through. Mt. Sharp appears at the far right end of this composite image. (Click … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Communication challenges

Posted on September 2, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1450-53, September 2, 2016, update by USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: Curiosity had a nice ~78 m drive on Sol 1448, which set us up for a lot of great science over the long (4-sol) weekend.  Unfortunately a problem with … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Exiting the Murray Buttes

Posted on September 2, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1448, September 2, 2016. Like Opportunity over on the other side of Mars, Curiosity is also transiting a topographic gap into new territory. The gateway here (click to enlarge, 1.3 MB) marks Curiosity’s exit from the Murray Buttes. These … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: No touch, just go

Posted on September 1, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1448-49, August 31, 2016, update by USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: MSL roved 53 meters on Sol 1446, and ended up in an area with nice exposures of bedrock.  We were interested in taking MAHLI close-up images of the bedrock … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Around the butte, and through the gap…

Posted on August 31, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1446, August 30, 2016. Three Navcam frames show the rover’s route forward, as it rounds the wide east-west butte (left) that has stood blocking views of Mt. Sharp. The butte on the right flank of the gap is the … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Back on the road

Posted on August 30, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1446-47, August 29, 2016, update by USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: The MSL activities planned for last weekend went well, and the rover’s batteries have enough energy to proceed with another drive on Sol 1446.  We started the day looking at … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: A SAM-filled weekend plan

Posted on August 26, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1443-45, August 26, 2016, update by USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: The drive planned on Wednesday did not execute due to an unanticipated flight software interaction.  However, the problem is now understood and we will attempt the drive again next week. Today’s … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Wide butte

Posted on August 26, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1441, August 25, 2016. The Navcam shoots the view ahead. So which way around that looming butte will Curiosity go, to the left or the right? Click to enlarge (3.2 MB). Sol 1441 raw images (from all cameras), and … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Veins

Posted on August 25, 2016 by rburnham

Sol 1441, August 25, 2016. The ChemCam took a two-frame composite of a piece of rocky pavement with bright mineral veins running through the cracks in the rock. Click to enlarge. Sol 1441 raw images (from all cameras), and Curiosity’s … Continue reading →

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