Tag Archives: Bagnold Dunes

Curiosity: Northern view and ridgeline

Posted on September 7, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1807, September 5, 2017. Six Navcam frames make a composite looking generally north over the lower slopes of Vera Rubin Ridge, the Murray Buttes, the Bagnold Dunes, and the floor of Gale Crater extending to the rim which is … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Marching ahead towards Vera Rubin Ridge

Posted on June 20, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1732-33, June 19, 2017, update by MSL scientist Mark Salvatore: As this is my first time contributing to the MSL blog, I’d like to quickly introduce myself to you all. I’m Mark, an MSL Participating Scientist and a faculty … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Northwest by north

Posted on May 9, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1690, May 8, 2017. As Curiosity continues southeast toward Vera Rubin Ridge, it is slowly but surely climbing. A look behind the rover with the Navcam shows, beyond the Murray Formation slabs and rocks which Curiosity is currently driving … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Profiling Amphitheater Valley

Posted on May 8, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1688, May 6, 2017. Using its 100-mm lens, the Mastcam shot a 14-frame profile of finely layered outcrops making up the target Amphitheater Valley. While the outcrop is not continuous, in several places cross-bedding appears within the layers, suggesting … Continue reading →

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Curiosity carries dune-sand sample, as team works on drill-feed problem

Posted on May 5, 2017 by rburnham

As it drives uphill from a band of rippled sand dunes, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is toting a fistful of dark sand for onboard analysis that will complete the rover’s investigation of those dunes. From early February to early April, … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Mega-science at a megaripple!

Posted on May 5, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1687, May 5, 2017, update by MSL scientist Michelle Minitti: The rover planners executed another great drive to park us in front of a megaripple in order to study its physical and chemical characteristics, which we can compare and … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Among megaripples

Posted on May 4, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1686, May 4, 2017. Curiosity’s drive toward Vera Rubin Ridge is encountering locations where sand has collected into large ripples. Here we see that the rover rolled a foot or two onto a ripple then rolled back, perhaps as … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: March to the megaripples

Posted on May 4, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1686, May 3, 2017, update by MSL scientist Michael Battalio: Continuing the steady march up Mt. Sharp, Curiosity drove 18.3 m to bring us closer to a series of features being called megaripples, which are darker and larger ripples … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Touch and go or just go?

Posted on May 3, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1684, May 2, 2017, update by MSL scientist Christopher Edwards: Today was a day of tradeoffs. Should Curiosity focus on driving to get to a higher priority target sooner, or conduct contact science at the current location? Ultimately the … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Rough pavement ahead

Posted on April 26, 2017 by rburnham

Sol 1678, April 26, 2017. Curiosity has crossed the Bagnold Dune Field and is heading for Vera Rubin Ridge (formerly Hematite Ridge). As a result, the path ahead, as shown in the Navcam composite above, lies across slabby rocks with … Continue reading →

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