Tag Archives: Marias Pass

Take a walk on Mars — from home

Posted on October 19, 2017 by rburnham

When NASA scientists want to follow the path of the Curiosity rover on Mars, they can don a mixed-reality headset and virtually explore the Martian landscape. Starting today, everyone can get a taste of what that feels like. NASA’s Jet … Continue reading →

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Silica-rich rocks at Marias Pass puzzle rover team

Posted on December 17, 2015 by rburnham

In detective stories, as the plot thickens, an unexpected clue often delivers more questions than answers. In this case, the scene is a mountain on Mars. The clue: the chemical compound silica. Lots of silica. The sleuths: a savvy band … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Moving on from Marias Pass

Posted on August 19, 2015 by rburnham

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is driving toward the southwest after departing a region where for several weeks it investigated a geological contact zone and rocks that are unexpectedly high in silica and hydrogen content. The hydrogen indicates water bound to … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Crazy Mountain in color

Posted on August 17, 2015 by rburnham

Sol 1074, August 14, 2015. Using its 100mm lens, the Mastcam captured a 9-frame composite of the Crazy Mountain outcrop. Click to enlarge. Sol 1074 raw images (from all cameras), and Curiosity’s latest location map.

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Curiosity: On beyond Marias Pass

Posted on August 14, 2015 by rburnham

Sol 1073, August 13, 2015. This view to the southwest shows the terrain that lies ahead of Curiosity, now that it has left the Marias Pass area. Mount Sharp stands in the distance at the top of the composite image; … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: ‘Crazy Mountain’

Posted on August 14, 2015 by rburnham

Sol 1074, August 13, 2015, update from USGS scientist Ryan Anderson: The 47 meter drive on sol 1073 went exactly as expected, putting us in a good position for the sol 1074 plan. It’s a pretty simple plan today, with … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: ‘Drive-thru geology’

Posted on August 13, 2015 by rburnham

Sol 1073, August 12, 2015, update from USGS scientist Ryan Anderson: The drive on sol 1072 was successful, with a total distance travelled of about 35 meters. For sol 1073, Mastcam will be very busy taking pictures to document the … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: ChemCam at Missoula, part 3

Posted on August 12, 2015 by rburnham

Sol 1071, August 11, 2015. The third composite by ChemCam at the Missoula outcrop shows similar layering, but with different details. (Click to enlarge.) Sol 1071 raw images (from all cameras), and Curiosity’s latest location map.

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Curiosity: ChemCam at Missoula, part 2

Posted on August 12, 2015 by rburnham

Sol 1071, August 11, 2015. More of the layered outcrop at Missoula; note the small spherules embedded in the rock. (Click to enlarge.) Sol 1071 raw images (from all cameras), and Curiosity’s latest location map.

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Curiosity update: ‘What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate’

Posted on August 12, 2015 by rburnham

Sol 1071-1072, August 11, 2015, update from USGS scientist Ryan Anderson: Unfortunately over the weekend there was an outage at the Deep Space Network, which prevented the plan for the weekend from being sent to Curiosity. So, instead of a … Continue reading →

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