Monthly Archives: August 2019

THEMIS: Nili Fossae graben

THEMIS Image of the Day, August 16, 2019. The two linear depressions in this VIS image are part of the Nili Fossae fracture system. Nili Fossae is the name of a collection of curved faults and down-dropped blocks of crust … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: SAM is GO for analyzing the Glen Etive drill sample

Sols 2497-98, August 12, 2019, update by MSL engineer Ashley Stroupe: This morning, after seeing that the redo of the SAM Preconditioning in Monday’s plan was successful, the SAM team was ready to drop-off four portions to SAM for evolved … Continue reading

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Latest weather at Gale Crater and Elysium Planitia

Daily Elysium charts and data (temperature, wind speed, atmospheric pressure) here.

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Curiosty: On the outcrop

Sol 2496, August 14, 2019. Curiosity’s front and rear Hazcams show the rover remains parked at the outcrop, with the Glen Etive drill hole and conical tailings pile visible on the flat rock in the upper center of the front … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Slope monitoring on Ganges Mensa

Slope monitoring on Ganges Mensa. An existing stereo pair shows dark lineations that look very much like recurring slope lineae, but did not exhibit any observed growth within a 1-month interval of the stereo pair, unlike RSL. This picture is … Continue reading

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Mars 2020 rover gets its toolkit

The bit carousel – a mechanism that will play a key role in the acquisition, containment and eventual return to Earth of humanity’s first samples from another planet – has been incorporated into NASA’s Mars 2020 rover. “The bit carousel … Continue reading

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THEMIS: Indus Vallis channel

THEMIS Image of the Day, August 15, 2019. This VIS image shows a small section of Indus Vallis. Indus Vallis is located in northern Terra Sabaea. Explore more THEMIS Images of the Day by geological subject.

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HiRISE: Meridiani layers

Layers in a depression that are not depressing. Wherein we revel at the stratigraphic gorgeousness of a small area in Sinus Meridiani on the fourth planet from the Sun. Sinus Meridiani was named by the French astronomer Camille Flammarion in … Continue reading

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THEMIS: Bamberg Crater dune field

THEMIS Image of the Day, August 14, 2019. Today’s VIS image shows a small field of sand dunes on the floor of Bamberg Crater. At the top of the image is a small group of peaks forming a rough circle. … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: A slight change of plans

Sols 2495-96, August 12, 2019, update by MSL scientist Vivian Sun: Today’s planning began with a bit of a shuffle as we learned that the sample cup that was used for SAM preconditioning over the weekend didn’t seal as well … Continue reading

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