Tag Archives: Stimson Formation

Curiosity: Mountain vista

Sol 1568, January 3, 2017. Three Navcam frames looking southwest show Mt. Sharp and two small buttes, Oak Hill to the left and Ireson Hill to the right, with the instrument arm’s head in front. (The vista is similar to … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: Preparing for the holidays

Sol 1566-68, December 21, 2016, update by USGS scientist Lauren Edgar: Today was our last tactical planning day before the team takes a break over the holidays.  But that doesn’t mean that Curiosity will be resting!  A group of science … Continue reading

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Curiosity: Cracked rock

Sol 1555, December 20, 2016. The Remote Micro-Imager  took aim at a rock target showing a tile-like pattern of cracks that appear to be partly filled with minerals, likely deposited by water. The right side of the four-frame composite shows … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: Lots of targets!

Sol 1555-57, December 19, 2016, update by USGS scientist Ryan Anderson: Our short drive over the weekend went well, and we are now at a new location with plenty of science targets to choose from. It’s been quite a while … Continue reading

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Curiosity: Buttes & Mt. Sharp

Sol 1552, December 17, 2016. Over the weekend, Curiosity’s Navcam took a three-frame composite showing the scene that lies ahead of the rover. The small, dark-topped butte on the left is Oak Hill, the larger butte to the right of … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: Diagnostics, science, and a drive

Sol 1552-54, December 16, 2016, update by USGS scientist Ryan Anderson: The engineering team is still hard at work diagnosing our drill issues, but in the meantime we are still getting good science done. The Sol 1552 plan starts off … Continue reading

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Curiosity: Oak Hill butte

Sol 1548, December 13, 2016. With Curiosity parked at Precipice while the drill undergoes more diagnosis and testing, the Mastcam, using its 100mm telephoto lens, snapped a picture of a small butte named Oak Hill. This feature lies about 1 … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: More drill testing

Sol 1550-51, December 14, 2016, update by USGS scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Use of the arm and driving remain off limits while the drill continues to be diagnosed.  The 2-sol plan starts with ChemCam and Right Mastcam observations of bright vein … Continue reading

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Curiosity: Ireson Hill, in full-width profile

Sols 1539 and 1548, December 4 and 13, 2016. On Sol 1539 (December 4), Curiosity’s Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) shot a five-frame composite of the small butte called Ireson Hill, but the frames didn’t cover the butte’s full width. On Sol … Continue reading

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Gale Crater’s rock-ingredient stew seen as plus for habitability

Editor’s note: Press conference video here. NASA’s Curiosity rover is climbing a layered Martian mountain and finding evidence of how ancient lakes and wet underground environments changed, billions of years ago, creating more diverse chemical environments that affected their favorability … Continue reading

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