Tag Archives: Duluth

Curiosity update: The great martian bake-off

Posted on June 5, 2018 by rburnham

Sol 2072, June 5, 2018, update by MSL scientist Abigail Fraeman: We received confirmation that the “Duluth” drill sample was delivered to SAM this weekend, so we’re ready to run our evolved gas analysis (EGA) tosol! An EGA basically involves … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: A very, very, very good day on Mars

Posted on June 4, 2018 by rburnham

Sols 2070-72, June 4, 2018, update by MSL scientist Abigail Fraeman: Every single day that the Curiosity team gets to go into work and operate a one-ton rover on the surface of Mars is a good day. But last Friday … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Zap goes ChemCam

Posted on June 1, 2018 by rburnham

Sol 2068, May 31, 2018. The Remote Micro-Imager follows and records the ChamCam’s laser-zapping of a target rock (above). Note how each laser shot blows the surface dust away from the resulting pit. At right are the front and rear … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Triple delivery for CheMin

Posted on May 31, 2018 by rburnham

Sols 2068-69, May 31, 2018, update by MSL scientist Claire Newman: We’re looking forward to analyzing some great drill samples from the “Duluth” rock target in Curiosity’s Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument, CheMin. However, previous tests on Mars and the first … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: ‘Tis the season to be dusty

Posted on May 30, 2018 by rburnham

Sol 2067, May 30, 2018, update by MSL scientist Claire Newman: The previous plan included some tests of the sample delivery system, including delivery of a single portion to the closed cover of the SAM inlet. The imaging showed a … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Sample drop-off testing

Posted on May 26, 2018 by rburnham

Sols 2063-66, May 25, 2018, update by MSL scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Some of the Duluth drill sample was dropped into CheMin on Sol 2061, but not enough for a proper mineralogical analysis. So the top priority for today’s plan is … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Time to feed CheMin

Posted on May 24, 2018 by rburnham

Sols 2061-62, May 23, 2018, update by MSL scientist Lauren Edgar: After successfully drilling the “Duluth” target on Sol 2057 (as seen in the above Mastcam image), the science team is eager to find out what it’s made of. As … Continue reading →

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Curiosity starts drilling again

Posted on May 24, 2018 by rburnham

Engineers working with NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover have been hard at work testing a new way for the rover to drill rocks and extract powder from them. This past weekend, that effort produced the first drilled sample on Mars in … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Characterizing a successful drill!

Posted on May 23, 2018 by rburnham

Sols 2059-60, May 23, 2018, update by MSL scientist Mark Salvatore: This past weekend, Curiosity successfully drilled into the “Duluth” rock target, generating a beautiful pile of drill tailings! This is a very exciting time for us on the rover … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: Poised

Posted on May 21, 2018 by rburnham

Sols 2056-58, May 21, 2018, update by MSL scientist Michelle Minitti: This weekend, Curiosity will attempt to sink the drill into the complexly-layered “Duluth” block. Before that, she will gather more data from the “Blunts Point” member rocks in front … Continue reading →

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