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Wednesday, November 6, 2013
MARS Orbiter Mission
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
ക്യൂരിയോസിറ്റിക്ക് പ്രായം 1 - Curiosity aged one
The car-sized Curiosity has driven more than one mile over Martian terrain, beamed back more than 190 gigabits of data, including 70,000 images (36,700 full; 35,000 thumbnails), and its laser has fired more than 75,000 times at 2,000 targets
The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on Nov. 26, 2011. Mars rover Curiosity landed successfully on the floor of Gale Crater on Aug. 6, 2012 Universal Time (evening of Aug. 5, Pacific Time), at 4.6 degrees south latitude, 137.4 degrees east longitude and minus 4,501 meters (2.8 miles) elevation.
In July 2013, Curiosity finished investigations in the Glenelg area and began a southwestward trek expected to last many months toward an entry point to the lower layers of Mount Sharp. There, at the main destination for the mission, researchers anticipate finding further evidence about habitable past environments and about how the ancient Martian environment evolved to become much drier.
for more details see the pdf file http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/fact_sheets/mars-science-laboratory.pdf
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Preparatory test for drilling on mars rock
PASADENA, Calif. - The drill on
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used both percussion and rotation to bore about 0.8
inch (2 centimeters) into a rock on Mars and generate cuttings for evaluation
in advance of the rover's first sample-collection drilling.
Completion of this "mini
drill" test in preparation for full drilling was confirmed in data from
Mars received late Wednesday at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena,
Calif. If the drill cuttings on the ground around the fresh hole pass visual
evaluation as suitable for processing by the rover's sample handling
mechanisms, the rover team plans to proceed with commanding the first full
drilling in coming days.
An image of the hole and
surrounding cuttings produced by the mini drill test is online at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia16760.html
.
The test was performed on a patch
of flat, vein-bearing rock called "John Klein." The locations of
earlier percussion-only testing and planned sample-collection drilling are also
on John Klein. Pre-drilling observations of this rock yielded indications of
one or more episodes of wet environmental conditions. The team plans to use
Curiosity's laboratory instruments to analyze sample powder from inside the
rock to learn more about the site's environmental history.
The planned full drilling will be
the first rock drilling on Mars to collect a sample of material for analysis.
During a two-year prime mission,
researchers are using Curiosity's 10 science instruments to assess whether the
study area in Gale Crater on Mars ever has offered environmental conditions
favorable for microbial life.
The bit in the rotary-percussion
drill of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity left its mark in a target patch of rock
called "John Klein" during a test on the rover's 176th Martian day,
or sol (Feb. 2, 2013), in preparation for the first drilling of a rock by the
rover. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
PASADENA, Calif. - The bit of the
rock-sampling drill on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity left its mark on a Martian
rock this weekend during brief testing of the tool's percussive action.
The successful activity, called a
"drill-on-rock checkout" by the rover team at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, is part of a series of tests to prepare for the first
drilling in history to collect a sample of rock material on Mars.
Another preparatory test, called
"mini drill," will precede the full drilling. The mini drill test
will use both the rotary and percussive actions of the drill to generate a ring
of rock powder around a hole. This will allow for evaluation of the material to
see if it behaves as a dry powder suitable for processing by the rover's sample
handling mechanisms.
During a two-year prime mission,
researchers are using Curiosity's 10 science instruments to assess whether the
study area in Gale Crater on Mars ever has offered environmental conditions
favorable for microbial life.
The bit in the rotary-percussion
drill of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity left its mark in a target patch of rock
called "John Klein" during a test on the rover's 176th Martian day,
or sol (Feb. 2, 2013), in preparation for the first drilling of a rock by the
rover. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
PASADENA, Calif. - The bit of the
rock-sampling drill on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity left its mark on a Martian
rock this weekend during brief testing of the tool's percussive action.
The successful activity, called a
"drill-on-rock checkout" by the rover team at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, is part of a series of tests to prepare for the first
drilling in history to collect a sample of rock material on Mars.
Another preparatory test, called
"mini drill," will precede the full drilling. The mini drill test
will use both the rotary and percussive actions of the drill to generate a ring
of rock powder around a hole. This will allow for evaluation of the material to
see if it behaves as a dry powder suitable for processing by the rover's sample
handling mechanisms.
During a two-year prime mission,
researchers are using Curiosity's 10 science instruments to assess whether the
study area in Gale Crater on Mars ever has offered environmental conditions
favorable for microbial life.
A Shiny looking Martian rock
A shiny-looking Martian rock is
visible in this image taken by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity's Mast Camera
(Mastcam) during the mission's 173rd Martian day, or sol (Jan. 30, 2013).
Image
credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems ›
On Mars, as on Earth, sometimes
things can take on an unusual appearance. A case in point is a shiny-looking
rock seen in a recent image from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover.
Some casual observers might see a
resemblance to a car door handle, hood ornament or some other type of metallic
object. To Ronald Sletten of the University of Washington, Seattle, a
collaborator on Curiosity's science team, the object is an interesting study in
how wind and the natural elements cause erosion and other effects on various types
of rocks.
Find out what likely caused the
shiny appearance of the Martian rock, and see some examples of similar
phenomena found on Earth. A PDF of the images and explanatory text is available
at:
Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Panoramic View From Near 'Point Lake' in Gale Crater, Sol 106
This panorama is a mosaic of images taken by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on the NASA Mars rover Curiosity during the 106th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Nov. 22, 2012). The rover was near a location called "Point Lake" for an overlook of a shallow depression called "Yellowknife Bay" which is in the left third of this scene, in the middle distance.
The image spans 360 degrees, with south at the center. It has been white-balanced to show what the rocks and soils in it would look like if they were on Earth.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
First Use of Mars Rover Curiosity's Dust Removal Tool
This image from the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows the patch of rock cleaned by the first use of the rover's Dust Removal Tool (DRT).
The tool is a motorized, wire-bristle brush on the turret at the end of the rover's arm. Its first use was on the 150th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Jan. 6, 2013). MAHLI took this image from a distance of about 10 inches (25 centimeters) after the brushing was completed on this rock target called "Ekwir_1." The patch of the rock from which dust has been brushed away is about 1.85 inches by 2.44 inches (47 millimeters by 62 millimeters). The scale bar at bottom right is 1 centimeter (0.39 inch).
A view of Curiosity's turret at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA15699 shows the DRT on the right side of the image and the MAHLI at the center.
Honeybee Robotics, New York, N.Y., built the DRT for Curiosity. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built the MAHLI.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Monday, January 14, 2013
Close-up of Brushed Area on Martian Rock Target 'Ekwir_1'
This image from the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows details of rock texture and color in an area where the rover's Dust Removal Tool (DRT) brushed away dust that was on the rock. This rock target, "Ekwir_1" was brushed and this image was recorded on the same Martian day, or sol, Sol 150 of Curiosity's mission on Mars (Jan. 6, 2013.)
The image, one of the highest resolution images returned so far by MAHLI, was taken from a distance of about 0.4 inch (1 centimeter) from the rock's surface. Fractures, white veins, pits and tiny dark grains in the rock are visible, as well as remaining clumps and specks of dust. The scale bar at lower left is 2 millimeters (0.08 inches).
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