Tag Archives: Murray Buttes

New Curiosity science plan: ‘Drive less, drill more’

Posted on September 11, 2014 by rburnham

NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover Arrives at Martian Mountain NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover has reached the Red Planet’s Mount Sharp, a Mount-Rainier-size mountain at the center of the vast Gale Crater and the rover mission’s long-term prime destination… Curiosity’s trek up … Continue reading →

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Sandy valleys lie ahead in Curiosity’s path

Posted on August 1, 2014 by rburnham

The main map here shows the assortment of landforms near the location of NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover as the rover’s second anniversary of landing on Mars nears. The gold traverse line entering from upper right ends at Curiosity’s position as … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Sol 703, July 29, 2014

Posted on July 30, 2014 by rburnham

Mastcam’s wide-angle imager looks down into Hidden Valley, examining sand ripples in a five-frame composite. In the distance at center, the valley branches left and right. HiRISE imagery from orbit shows the left branch leads down to a large field … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: ‘Ripple driving test’

Posted on July 8, 2014 by rburnham

Sol 683, July 8, 2014, update on Curiosity from U.S. Geological Survey scientist Ken Herkenhoff: “The imaging of the rover wheels went well last weekend, and we are ready to drive again on Sol 683. After taking a couple Mastcam mosaics…” … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: ‘In the dunes’

Posted on July 7, 2014 by rburnham

Sols 678-679, July 3-4, 2014, update on Curiosity from U.S. Geological Survey scientist Ryan Anderson: “The sol 678 drive was successful! We traversed 66.5 meters, ending our drive right were we expected near some picturesque wind-blown…” [More at link]

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Curiosity: Sol 676, July 1, 2014

Posted on July 1, 2014 by rburnham

A shallow valley leads downward and south toward the dunes, buttes, and Mount Sharp in the distance. The road ahead? NASA description: This image was taken by Navcam: Left B (NAV_LEFT_B) onboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 676 (2014-07-01 17:19:46 … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Sol 665, June 20, 2014

Posted on June 20, 2014 by rburnham

The way ahead after passing through Robert Frost Pass. The low ridges at the foot of Mount Sharp in the distance are the Murray Buttes; dark patches indicate portions of the Bagnold Dune Field. Composite of two left-side Navcam images. … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Sol 656, June 11, 2014

Posted on June 11, 2014 by rburnham

Curiosity is now on a low rise above a trough that lies between the rover and the foot of Mount Sharp. The trough has both active sand dunes and buttes the rover must navigate past to reach the mountain. NASA … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: On the road again

Posted on June 3, 2014 by rburnham

From Emily Lakdawalla’s blog at The Planetary Society: “The last couple of weeks have seen Curiosity return to the business of making steady headway toward Murray Buttes and, beyond them, Mount Sharp. Eight of the last 14 sols have seen … Continue reading →

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