Curiosity update: Go for drilling at Highfield!

Posted on November 8, 2018 by rburnham

2223MH0007650010803170C00_DXXX-br2Sol 2224, November 8, 2018, update by MSL scientist Mark Salvatore: Today was a good day on Mars. The science and engineering teams are making preparations to drill a patch of grey bedrock named “Highfield”, which will be our latest attempt to characterize this unique rock unit on Vera Rubin Ridge. Our last attempt to drill into this geologic member of the VRR (nearly 50 sols ago!) was unsuccessful at the drill target “Inverness.” This target proved to be extremely resistant and hard, making it difficult for the drill to penetrate deep into the surface and accumulate sample material. So, the science team engaged in quite a bit of discussion about whether the Highfield target is expected to be as hard as or softer than the Inverness target. The team decided that it was worth trying to drill… [More at link]

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HiRISE: Ridges in Terra Sabaea crater

Posted on November 8, 2018 by rburnham

tumblr_phl6osyj6M1rlz4gso2_1280Ridges in Terra Sabaea. The objective of this observation is to determine the nature of ridges on a crater floor.  They may represent inverted terrain.

Beautiful Mars series. [More at links]

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THEMIS: Sinuous features hint at ground ice

Posted on November 8, 2018 by rburnham

Sinuous features in Noachis crater (THEMIS_IOTD_20181108)THEMIS Image of the Day, November 8, 2018. This VIS image is located in an unnamed crater in Noachis Terra.

The sinuous feature near the bottom of the crater rim appears to have been caused by down slope movement of materials. The sinuous nature may have been created by inclusion of a volatile material such as ice.

See more THEMIS Images of the Day by geological subject.

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Opportunity: Five months since we received a signal

Posted on November 8, 2018 by rburnham

NASA Mars Exploration Rover Status Report, October 30, 2018: The global dust storm on Mars has ended and atmospheric opacity (tau) over the rover site hovers around a typical seasonal value between 1.0 and 1.2.

No signal from Opportunity has been heard since Sol 5111 (June 10, 2018). Opportunity likely experienced a low-power fault, a mission clock fault and an up-loss timer fault. The team has been listening for the rover over a broad range of times and frequencies using the Deep Space Network (DSN) Radio Science Receiver.

They have been commanding “sweep and beeps” throughout the daily DSN pass with both right-hand, and now left-hand circular polarization to address a possible complexity with certain conditions within mission clock fault. [More at link]

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HiRISE: Shadowed gullies in Dunkasa Crater

Posted on November 7, 2018 by rburnham

tumblr_phfr8xVnI81rlz4gso1_1280Hide all you want, gullies! That shadow of Dunkasa Crater is no match for us, especially when we can use Photoshop to bring out your enhanced colors.

Beautiful Mars series. [More at links]

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Curiosity: Mastcam scouts Highfield and vicinity

Posted on November 7, 2018 by rburnham

2222-mastcam34Sol 2222, November 6, 2018. Mastcam shot a six-frame composite centered on the next drill target, Highfield. (Note the many light-toned mineral veins running through the flat-lying rock outcrops.) Click the image (6 MB) to enlarge it.

Sol 2222 raw images (from all cameras).

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MARCI weather report, Oct 29-Nov 4, 2018

Posted on November 7, 2018 by rburnham

MARCI-November-3-2018Dust activity across much of Mars was relatively uneventful towards the end of the week. Looking to the southern high-latitudes, some dust hazes were observed near the edge of the defrosting seasonal south polar ice cap. Arsia Mons, the southernmost volcano of the Tharsis Montes, continued to be partially concealed by optically thin water ice clouds. Conditions for exploration sites were storm-free near the end of… [More at link, including video]

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Curiosity update: Optimism for ‘Highfield’

Posted on November 7, 2018 by rburnham

NRA_594757171EDR_F0730550NCAM00364M_-br2Sol 2223, November 7, 2018, update by MSL scientist Lauren Edgar: On Sol 2222, Curiosity drove ~10 m towards the “Lake Orcadie” location, in the hopes that we would be able to drill the gray Jura member here. Today’s plan is focused on characterizing the target “Highfield,” the bright patch of outcrop shown in the middle of the above Navcam image. I was the SOWG Chair today, and it was a pretty straightforward planning day because most of the activities were pre-planned as part of our standard drill site characterization. First APXS will carry out a short integration on the intended drill target, followed by two MAHLI images. Then we’ll use the DRT to brush the target, followed by… [More at link]

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Weather update from Gale Crater

Posted on November 7, 2018 by rburnham

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THEMIS: Pit chains and craters on Ascraeus Mons

Posted on November 7, 2018 by rburnham

Pit-chains and craters on Ascraeus Mons (THEMIS_IOTD_20181107)THEMIS Image of the Day, November 7, 2018. The linear features in this VIS image are located on part of the large flow feature on the southern flank of Ascraeus Mons.

The features most likely formed by collapse of the surface into voids created by tube fed lava flows.

See more THEMIS Images of the Day by geological subject.

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