Tag Archives: Stimson Formation

HiRISE: Curiosity trek

Posted on December 10, 2015 by rburnham

The Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity, continues its exciting traverse of Mars. In an image acquired in September, it was exploring the boundary between two rock units: the light-toned Murray Formation and the overlying and darker-toned Stimson unit. We can clearly … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Mastcam shoots a dune

Posted on December 8, 2015 by rburnham

Sol 1185, December 6, 2015. The wide-angle lens (34mm) on Curiosity’s Mastcam took a five-frame partial panorama of the rough ground in front of the rover and part of the Bagnold dune field. The center frame in the pan looks … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: ‘Analyzing bedrock and sand’

Posted on December 8, 2015 by rburnham

Sol 1187-88, December 7, 2015, update from USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: After successfully completing a mobility test last week (as seen by our wheel tracks through this sand patch), Curiosity drove ~35 m toward a dune that is now named … Continue reading →

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Curiosity: Looking beyond High Dune

Posted on December 7, 2015 by rburnham

Sol 1185, December 6, 2015. Five Navcam frames show the terrain ahead of the rover, with a large dune at left. Note the bright mineral veins in the rocks lying in front, which veins are also visible in the Hazcam … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: ‘Busy weekend at High Dune’

Posted on December 7, 2015 by rburnham

Sol 1184-87, December 4, 2015, update from USGS scientist Ryan Anderson: The rover has arrived at the edge of “High Dune” and we have a very busy weekend plan studying the dune and then continuing to drive. On sol 1184 we … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: ‘Completing mobility tests’

Posted on December 3, 2015 by rburnham

Sol 1183, December 3, 2015, update from USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Today we are planning the last sol of the mobility test, turning and backing out of the sand while taking multiple Hazcam images, then pausing to take Navcam and … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: ‘Studying our tracks’

Posted on December 3, 2015 by rburnham

Sol 1182, December 2, 2015, update from USGS scientist Ryan Anderson: Today’s plan is focused on studying the results of yesterday’s mobility test where we drove a little ways into a sand patch and then backed out, leaving trenches where … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: ‘Mobility testing’

Posted on December 2, 2015 by rburnham

Sol 1181, December 1, 2015, update from USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Due to problems at the Goldstone DSN complex, the bundle of command sequences generated for Sol 1180 could not be sent to MSL.  So the rover performed minimal activities … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: ‘Heater table update’

Posted on December 1, 2015 by rburnham

Sol 1180, November 30, 2015, update from USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: The MAHLI wheel imaging planned for Sol 1179 completed nominally, and the initial assessment showed no broken grousers.  The rover is now poised to begin testing mobility in the … Continue reading →

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Curiosity update: ‘Recipe for a successful rover plan’

Posted on November 26, 2015 by rburnham

Sol 1177-79, November 25, 2015, update from USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: The 28 m drive on Sol 1174 ran successfully and Curiosity is now parked in front of a beautiful sand sheet and sand dune! Today science and engineering teams … Continue reading →

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