Curiosity update: ‘Drilling at Greenhorn’

Posted on October 16, 2015 by rburnham

FLB_498172968EDR_F0500676FHAZ00202M_Sol 1136-1138, October 16, 2015, update from USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: Unfortunately the Sol 1135 bundles were not uplinked due to a DSN issue, so the activities that we planned yesterday never made it onboard.  However, that meant that Curiosity spent the day resting and recharging in time for a lot of great science this weekend.

Today’s 3-sol plan will recover most of the activities that were planned for Sol 1135, in addition to the main activity of a full drill hole on the “Greenhorn” target.  On the first sol, Curiosity will acquire several ChemCam and Mastcam observations on the targets “Nisku,” “Skull Creek,” “Hawk Creek,” and “Opeche,” to investigate the variability in silica associated with these fracture zones.  We’ll also take several Mastcam images to look for changes in fine-grained deposits to evaluate local winds.  Overnight, we’ll use… [More at link]

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HiRISE: Kasei Valles

Posted on October 16, 2015 by rburnham

ESP_042518_2065Kasei Valles is a valley system was likely carved by some combination of flowing water and lava. In some areas, erosion formed cliffs along the flow path resulting in water or lava falls. The flowing liquid is gone but the channels and “dry falls” remain.

Since its formation, Kasei Valles has suffered impacts—resulting in craters—and has been mantled in dust, sand, and fine gravel as evidenced by the rippled textures. [More at link]

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Curiosity update: ‘Sniffing the Martian air’

Posted on October 16, 2015 by rburnham

1134MH0005090000401946R00_DXXXSol 1135, October 15, 2015, update from USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: The Sol 1134 mini-start hole on “Pilgrim” went well, as seen in the MAHLI image [at right].  Side note: if that doesn’t look like a hole to you, try rotating the image (the hole is illuminated from the lower left, but the human eye generally prefers to see sunlight coming from the upper half of the image).

Due to power restrictions, we’re waiting until the weekend plan to go for the full drill hole, but that means that today there’s time for a SAM atmospheric observation and a targeted science block.  The goal of the SAM activity is to look for methane, one Mars year after the previous high detections.  So we’ll let SAM take a big whiff to see if we can detect anything.  I was on duty as GSTL today… [More at link]

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THEMIS: The Martian, Part 5: Schiaparelli Crater floor

Posted on October 16, 2015 by rburnham

The Martian Part 5 Schiaparelli Crater Floor (THEMIS_IOTD_20151016)THEMIS Image of the Day, October 16, 2015. All this week, the THEMIS Image of the Day has been following on the real Mars the path taken by fictional astronaut Mark Watney, stranded on the Red Planet in the book and movie, The Martian.

Generally smooth and rolling terrain covers most of this portion of Schiaparelli Crater’s floor. Because the impact that made Schiaparelli occurred billions of years ago, nature has had ample time to leave lava and sediments in the crater and to erode them. The ridge in the image’s southern end is part of an eroded crater rim, one of many such smaller impact craters that have collected on Schiaparelli’s floor since it formed. (This image was taken as part of a study for the Mars Student Imaging Project by a high-school science class.)

Here astronaut Mark Watney’s great overland trek reaches its end. He arrives safely at the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), which was sent in advance for the next Mars mission crew. The rocket will get him off the ground and into Mars orbit, where he can be picked up by a rescue ship coming from Earth.

More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.

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HiRISE: Gullies in a central-pit crater

Posted on October 16, 2015 by rburnham

ESP_042615_1385Sometimes a central pit forms inside some Martian craters, especially when there’s substantial ground ice. Such is the case in this observation.

Sometimes what we call “mass wasting” processes (think small avalanches or landslides) occur on the slopes of the central pit. We took this image to search for any recent activity that would add to or modify previously identified gullies. [More at link]

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HRSC: Flash floods in Mangala Valles

Posted on October 15, 2015 by rburnham

Perspective_view_of_eroded_crater_in_Mangala_VallesCatastrophic flooding triggered by ice melting from the heat of volcanic activity is thought to be responsible for the chaotic scenery depicted in this region of the Mangala Valles channel network.

The images were taken by the high-resolution stereo camera on ESA’s Mars Express on 12 July just to the south of the mouth of Minio Vallis. The region is part of the Mangala Valles outflow channel system, and is situated in the southwestern portion of the Tharsis bulge, home to several volcanoes, including the Solar System’s largest: Olympus Mons. [More at link]

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HiRISE: Fine-branched ridges

Posted on October 15, 2015 by rburnham

ESP_024497_1745This image shows numerous branching ridges with various degrees of sinuosity. These branching forms resemble tributaries funneling and draining into larger channel trunks towards the upper portion of the scene.

The raised relief of these branching ridges suggests that these are ancient channels are inverted due to lithification and cementation of the riverbed sediment, which made it more resistant to erosion than the surrounding material. Wind-blown bedforms are abundant and resemble small ridges that are aligned in an approximately north-south direction. [More at link]

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Curiosity update: ‘Mini-start hole at Pilgrim’

Posted on October 15, 2015 by rburnham

FLB_498073376EDR_F0500676FHAZ00323M_Sol 1134, October 14, 2015, update from USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: Curiosity is currently investigating an alteration zone around a fracture, and the plan today is focused on what we call a “mini-start hole.”  Before we do a full drill hole, we do a small test hole to make sure its safe.  The target “Pilgrim” was selected for drilling, located in the middle of this Mastcam image.  Today’s plan also includes MAHLI imaging of “Pilgrim,” both before and after drilling.  Then we’ll place APXS over… [More at link]

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HiRISE: Cone shaped hill

Posted on October 15, 2015 by rburnham

ESP_042195_2035There are many hills and knobs on Mars that reveal aspects of the local geologic history. Typically the hills in the relatively-smooth region surrounding this image are flat topped erosional remnants or mesas with irregular or even polyhedral margins. These landforms suggest wide spread erosion of the soft or weakly-cemented sedimentary layers.

This hill stands out because of is circular inverted-cone shape and apparent dark streaks along its flanks visible in lower resolution images. Close inspection from HiRISE reveals that the fine soils sloping down from the peak are intersected with radiating lines of rock and eroding rubble. [More at link]

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THEMIS: The Martian, Part 4: Schiaparelli Crater rim

Posted on October 15, 2015 by rburnham

The Martian, part 4 Schiaparelli Crater rim (THEMIS_IOTD_20151015)THEMIS Image of the Day, October 15, 2015. All this week, the THEMIS Image of the Day is following on the real Mars the path taken by fictional astronaut Mark Watney, stranded on the Red Planet in the book and movie, The Martian.

Today’s image shows part of the northwest rim of Schiaparelli Crater. Schiaparelli is a large, ancient impact scar, some 480 kilometers (280 miles) wide. It has been much modified by billions of years of erosion and deposition by wind and probably water.

For astronaut Mark Watney, the descent from the rim onto the crater floor looks smooth and gradual. But it almost wrecks his rover vehicle when he drives into soft sediments. His goal? An automated rescue rocket, intended for the next Mars expedition, which stands about 250 kilometers (150 miles) away on the southern part of Schiaparelli’s floor.

More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.

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