Tag Archives: Mars Science Laboratory

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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NASA briefing on Mars science results, June 7

Posted on June 5, 2018 by rburnham

The media and public are invited to ask questions during a live discussion at 2 p.m. EDT Thursday, June 7, on new science results from NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover. The results are embargoed by the journal Science until then. The … 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: RMI zooms in on mineralized vein ‘Gary’

Posted on May 31, 2018 by rburnham

Sol 2067, May 30, 2018. The Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) took aim at a small, thin ridge of minerals, dubbed Gary, that formed within a crack inside softer rock. The soft rock then eroded to leave the mineralized vein standing above … 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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NASA video Mars report

Posted on May 25, 2018 by rburnham

What’s the latest news from Mars? NASA’s InSight lander and MarCO CubeSats are on their way to the Red Planet, a tiny helicopter will hitch a ride with the Mars 2020 rover mission, and Curiosity’s drill is back in business! … 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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