Curiosity update: Little bit of everything

Posted on June 15, 2017 by rburnham

NLB_550725553EDR_F0640000NCAM00375M_-br2Sol 1727, June 14, 2017, update by MSL scientist Rachel Kronyak: After a successful drive, our parking spot included a nice patch of Murray bedrock to allow us to perform contact science (MAHLI and APXS) in today’s plan. Our target for contact science is “Jones Marsh,” a dark patch of the Murray that you can see just above the rightmost corner of Curiosity’s mast shadow in the Navcam image. The GEO group also planned a suite of observations of Vera Rubin Ridge (VRR), which we’re making great progress towards. Mastcam will perform a multispectral observation on “Freeman Ridge,” a small butte just in front of VRR that shows interesting color variations. ChemCam will then take a mosaic of VRR using its Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) to complement the Mastcam mosaic we took in yesterday’s plan. We will take an additional Mastcam mosaic of “Spaulding Mountain,” an area of exposed Murray formation blocks along our drive path. [More at link]

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HiRISE: Faults in Melas Chasma

Posted on June 15, 2017 by rburnham

tumblr_oq7i0sIFVF1rlz4gso2_1280Faults in Melas Chasma. Beautiful Mars series.

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Curiosity: Ridge on the skyline

Posted on June 14, 2017 by rburnham

1726-navcamSol 1726, June 14, 2017. Four Navcam frames shoot the southern skyline as seen from the approach to Vera Rubin Ridge. Click to enlarge it.

Sol 1726 raw images (from all cameras), and Curiosity’s latest location.

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HiRISE: Decoding a geological message

Posted on June 14, 2017 by rburnham

ESP_049167_1855A close up image of a recent 150-meter diameter impact crater near Amazonis Mensa and Medusae Fossae is another great example of geologic complexity of Mars. The spider web-like texture of this crater is intriguing. But what does it mean?

On Earth, we have many geologic mechanisms that embrace the surface of the planet in an almost constant state of metamorphosis. Although Mars is not nearly as geologically active as Earth, it is still a host to many processes that shape its surface even today (e.g., aeolian modification, periglacial processes, recent impacts, etc.). The appearance of the ejecta of this crater is likely a combination of both the characteristics of the target material it was deposited on, and processes that modified and degraded it over time. [More at link]

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MARCI weather report, June 5-11, 2017

Posted on June 14, 2017 by rburnham

MARCI-June-7-2017Last week, local-scale dust storms of various sizes continued to occur over the mid-to-high latitudes of both martian hemispheres. Northern Phlegra Montes and northwestern Utopia Planitia encountered some arcuate-shaped dust storms during that time. Dust lifting activity over the southern highlands shifted a bit more equator-ward as some small dust events were spotted near the Claritas rise. Focusing our… [More at link, including video]

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Opportunity: Northeast view over valley, rimrock on Winnemucca

Posted on June 14, 2017 by rburnham

4759-pancamFCSol 4759, June 14, 2017. Two Pancam frames look northeast across the head of Perseverance Valley and out onto the floor of Endeavour Crater. Below, the rimrock on Winnemucca mesa, with glimpses of the bright deposit on top. False-color by Holger Isenberg; click either image to enlarge it.

Opportunity raw images, its latest mission status, location map, and atmospheric opacity, known as tau.

1P550670225ESFCZKPP2596L5M1_L4L5L5L5L6

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HiRISE: Hills in Eos Chasma

Posted on June 14, 2017 by rburnham

tumblr_oq7hn0GRHO1rlz4gso1_1280Hills in Eos Chasma. Beautiful Mars series.

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THEMIS: Craters in Memnonia

Posted on June 14, 2017 by rburnham

Craters in Memnonia (THEMIS_IOTD_20170614)THEMIS Image of the Day, June 14, 2017. Do you see what I see? Is that a momma holding a baby? (THEMIS Art #125)

More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.

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Curiosity: Close targets

Posted on June 13, 2017 by rburnham

1724-mastcam34Sol 1724, June 12, 2017. The Mastcam (with its wide-angle lens) shot a composite image that shows several targets — Haynes Point, John Small Cove, and Barr Hill — in front of the rover. (For more about this site, see here.) Click image to enlarge it.

Sol 1724 raw images (from all cameras), and Curiosity’s latest location.

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HiRISE: Crater on a crater wall

Posted on June 13, 2017 by rburnham

ESP_050259_1380It’s not that common to see craters on steep hills, partly because rocks falling downhill can quickly erase such craters. Here, however, a small impact occurred on the sloping wall of a larger crater and is well-preserved.

Dark, blocky ejecta from the smaller crater has flowed downhill (to the west) toward the floor of the larger crater. Understanding the emplacement of such ejecta on steep hills is an area of ongoing research. [More at link]

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