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Monthly Archives: June 2017
Curiosity update: A roving astronomer
Sol 1736-39, June 23, 2017, update by MSL scientists Michael Battalio and Mark Salvatore: Curiosity has presented us with another beautiful workspace following a 16.6 meter drive. The majority of this week’s activities were focused on imaging Vera Rubin Ridge to … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, Beaver Dam Pond, Blunts Point, Curiosity, Deimos, Gale Crater, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, MSL, Murray Formation, NASA, Phobos, Vera Rubin Ridge, Winter Harbor
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Curiosity: RMI scopes out part of the ridge
Sol 1734, June 22, 2017. To make a mosaic that measures 10 frames wide by two high, the Curiosity’s Remote Micro-Imager shot 20 frames profiling one part of Vera Rubin Ridge. The mission control directed the rover to drive 16 … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, MSL, Murray Formation, NASA, Remote Micro-Imager, RMI, Vera Rubin Ridge
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Opportunity: Studying the channel near the head of Perseverance Valley
NASA’s senior Mars rover, Opportunity, is examining rocks at the edge of Endeavour Crater for signs that they may have been either transported by a flood or eroded in place by wind. Those scenarios are among the possible explanations rover-team … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Cape Byron, channels, Endeavour Crater, Mars Exploration Rover, MER, NASA, Opportunity, Perseverance Valley
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No one under 20 has lived a day without NASA at Mars
As the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft approached its destination on July 4, 1997, no NASA mission had successfully reached the Red Planet in more than 20 years. Even the mission team anxiously awaiting confirmation that the spacecraft survived its innovative, bouncy … Continue reading
HiRISE: Plains north of Coprates Chasma
Plains north of Coprates Chasma. Beautiful Mars series.
Posted in Reports
Tagged Beautiful Mars, Coprates Chasma, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA, plains, University of Arizona
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THEMIS: Winding ridges & ‘basketball terrain’ in Arcadia Planitia
THEMIS Image of the Day, June 23, 2017. Do you see what I see? Make a wish and then break the wishbone! (THEMIS Art #132) More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.
Posted in Reports
Tagged Arcadia Planitia, Arizona State University, ASU, basketball terrain, Mars Odyssey, NASA, periglacial processes, pingos, ridges, THEMIS, THEMIS Art, THEMIS Image of the Day, Thermal Emission Imaging System
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Curiosity: Vera Rubin Ridge in Mastcam color
Sol 1732, June 20, 2017. Using its wide-angle (34mm) lens the Mastcam took a composite of the ridge in color. The overhead view from orbit is below, showing Curiosity’s position, sol by sol. (Click either image to enlarge it.) Sol … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, MSL, Murray Formation, NASA, Vera Rubin Ridge
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Curiosity update: Gazing longingly towards Vera Rubin Ridge
Sol 1734-35, June 21, 2017, update by MSL scientist Mark Salvatore: Curiosity continues to drive to the east-northeast around two small patches of dunes that are positioned just north of Vera Rubin Ridge. Once beyond this easternmost dune patch, the … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, MSL, Murray Formation, NASA, Northern Neck, Pecks Point, Vera Rubin Ridge
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Opportunity field report: June 21, 2017
Sol 4766, June 21, 2017; Rover Field Report by Larry Crumpler, MER Science Team & New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science: Opportunity is doing a geologic walkabout at the entrance to Perseverance Valley. There is an odd trough-like … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Cape Byron, Endeavour Crater, Mars Exploration Rover, MER, NASA, Opportunity, Perseverance Valley
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Laser-targeting AI yields more science
Artificial intelligence is changing how we study Mars. A.I. software on NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has helped it zap dozens of laser targets on the Red Planet this past year, becoming a frequent science tool when the ground team was … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged AEGIS, Aeolis Mons, Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science, ChemCam, Chemistry and Camera, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, MSL, NASA
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