Tag Archives: Aeolis Mons

Curiosity report, Sols 2257-2312, by Emily Lakdawalla, The Planetary Society

Two thousand, three hundred and two Martian days. That is how long it took from landing day for Curiosity to reach the “clay-bearing unit.” The clay-bearing unit is a region at the base of Mount Sharp where Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Curiosity update: Targeting small bedrock patches, pebbles, and soil

Sols 2311-12, February 4, 2019, update by MSL scientist Roger Wiens: The accompanying image shows the target “Brent” in the lower right corner; it was analyzed with ChemCam and APXS, and imaged with MAHLI over the weekend. It is a … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Curiosity update: Atop another (smaller) ridge

Sols 2308-10, February 1, 2019, update by MSL scientist Vivian Sun: Curiosity successfully completed her drive yesterday and is currently parked on top of one of the ridges (“Knockfarril Hill”) in the clay-bearing unit. One of the mysteries of the … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Curiosity: Looking ahead, and farther ahead

Sol 2306, January 31, 2019. Curiosity’s Navcam took a composite showing the rolling surface of the clay-bearing unit directly before the rover (above), while the Remote Micro-Imager looked off into the distance to profile a hill (below).  Click either image … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Curiosity measures a Mars mountain’s gravity

Ed. note: More about this result here, here, and here. Apollo 17 astronauts drove a moon buggy across the lunar surface in 1972, measuring gravity with a special instrument. There are no astronauts on Mars, but a group of clever … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Curiosity update: Stepping up to the edge

Sols 2306-07, January 30, 2019, update by MSL engineer Ashley Stroupe: In today’s plan, Curiosity is venturing further into the clay unit territory. Prior to departure, we’ll be looking at several targets with Mastcam color and ChemCam to try to … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Curiosity: Scoping Greenheugh

Sol 2304, January 29, 2019. Curiosity used its Remote Micro-Imager to scope out a distant butte dubbed Greenheugh. Note the layers of sedimentary rocks. Click the image to enlarge it. Sol 2304 raw images (from all cameras).

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Curiosity update: In the clay unit

Sols 2304-05, January 29, 2019, update by MSL scientist Christopher Edwards: Today’s plan found Curiosity solidly in new territory and the view couldn’t be more different than the patchy bedrock of the Vera Rubin Ridge. The workspace for the next … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Curiosity: Farewell to Vera Rubin Ridge

NASA’s Curiosity rover has taken its last selfie on Vera Rubin Ridge and descended toward a clay region of Mount Sharp. The twisting ridge on Mars has been the rover’s home for more than a year, providing scientists with new … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Curiosity update: Looking forward to the clay-bearing unit

Sols 2301-03, January 28, 2019, update by MSL scientist Ryan Anderson: This weekend’s plan started off on Sol 2301 with some Mastcam atmospheric observations, followed by ChemCam analysis of “Loch Ness” and “Loch Skeen,” examples of brown and gray bedrock. … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off