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#1140 by hop on 04 Feb, 2014 01:31
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Yeah. I don't think they're going to go through/over it though. Even if Curiosity's investigations of the internal consistency/structure of the dune show it up as suitable for traverse, because the other side doesn't exactly look smooth. (via Phil Stooke).
Latest update http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/news/astrogeology/sol-530-532-update-on-curiosity-from-usgs-scientist-ken-herkenhoff-going-for-itQuoteUsing the images acquired of Dingo Gap beyond the dune, it appears that the gap can be safely traversed, and the Project decided to drive through the gap. But first, the weekend plan included lots of targeted science observations on Sol 530, APXS and MAHLI observations of the dune inside and outside of the scuff on Sol 531, and a set of wheel images in four positions on Sol 532.
There was a short (1-ish meter) drive on sol 532 before the mentioned MAHLI images. -
#1141 by robertross on 04 Feb, 2014 18:36
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02.03.2014
NASA Mars Rover's Color View of Likely Route West
The team operating NASA's Curiosity Mars rover will likely drive the rover westward over a dune and across a valley with fewer sharp rock hazards than alternative routes.
A final decision on whether to pass through this valley will ride on evaluation of a short drive planned this week toward the top of the dune that lies across "Dingo Gap." The dune is about 3 feet (1 meter) high at its center, tapered off at both sides of the gap between two low scarps. A color view assembled from images taken by Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam) on the east side of the dune shows details of the valley that the rover may traverse this month.
NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project is using Curiosity to assess ancient habitable environments and major changes in Martian environmental conditions. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, built the rover and manages the project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1594
02.03.2014
Martian Valley May Be Curiosity's Route (White-Balanced)
This view combines several frames taken by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, looking into a valley to the west from the eastern side of a dune at the eastern end of the valley. The team operating Curiosity has chosen this valley as a likely route toward mid-term and long-term science destinations. The foreground dune, at a location called "Dingo Gap," is about 3 feet (1 meter) high in the middle and tapered at south and north ends onto low scarps on either side of the gap.
The component images were taken by Mastcam's left-eye camera during early afternoon, local solar time, of the 528th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (Jan. 30, 2014). The center of the view is about 10 degrees south of straight west. The left edge is about 20 degrees west of straight south. The right edge is northwest. The largest of the dark rocks on the sand in the right half of the scene are about 2 feet (about 60 centimeters) across.
The image has been white-balanced to show what the rocks would look like if they were on Earth. A version with two 2-meter (79-inch) scale bars at distances of about 36 feet (11 meters) and 131 feet (40 meters) away from the rover is available as Figure A. A version with raw color, as recorded by the camera under Martian lighting conditions, is available as Figure B.
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#1142 by SkipMorrow on 04 Feb, 2014 20:46
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If the decision is made to go over the dune, will they practice with the curiosity replica here on earth first (doesn't that replica have a name)? Will there be video of the test available?
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#1143 by SkipMorrow on 04 Feb, 2014 20:51
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Lol, I posted too soon. Emily Lakdawalla just posted on twitter that Curiosity is at the top of the dune.
https://twitter.com/elakdawalla/status/430818878461984768/photo/1 -
#1144 by Bubbinski on 05 Feb, 2014 11:34
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Check out the unmannedspaceflight.com MSL thread! The full size pic of Earth from Mars is in.
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#1145 by SaxtonHale on 05 Feb, 2014 23:03
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She has her left wheel over the dune and her right on the nearside.
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#1146 by Kaputnik on 07 Feb, 2014 07:34
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Curiosity's Facebook page was showing a clear view ahead this morning- she's over the dune!
Didn't sink in too much at all, to my eye.
Question: does Curiosity have slippage detection parameters like gene MERs, and if so at what slippage rate will she cease the drive? -
#1147 by robertross on 07 Feb, 2014 12:43
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02.06.2014
NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Sees 'Evening Star' Earth
New images from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover show Earth shining brighter than any star in the Martian night sky.
The rover's view of its original home planet even includes our moon, just below Earth.
The images, taken about 80 minutes after sunset during the rover's 529th Martian day (Jan. 31, 2014) are available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA17936 for a broad scene of the evening sky, and at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA17935 for a zoomed-in view of Earth and the moon.
The distance between Earth and Mars when Curiosity took the photo was about 99 million miles (160 million kilometers).
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1598
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#1148 by Apollo-phill on 07 Feb, 2014 13:09
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Looks like MSL Curiosity is over the dune and on the floor of "gully" on the other side from this NASA JPL raw image.
Apollo-phill.
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#1149 by John Santos on 07 Feb, 2014 13:13
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02.06.2014
NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Sees 'Evening Star' Earth
New images from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover show Earth shining brighter than any star in the Martian night sky.
The rover's view of its original home planet even includes our moon, just below Earth.
The images, taken about 80 minutes after sunset during the rover's 529th Martian day (Jan. 31, 2014) are available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA17936 for a broad scene of the evening sky, and at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA17935 for a zoomed-in view of Earth and the moon.
The distance between Earth and Mars when Curiosity took the photo was about 99 million miles (160 million kilometers).
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1598
Is it okay to comment on this thread?
I have sometimes wondered what the effects of being able to see both Earth and the Moon from Mars would have had on hypothetical Martian astronomers. Would it have made discovering heliocentrism and Newton's and Kepler's laws a no-brainer for them? Or would they have just developed an even convoluted form of the Ptolemaic system first? (Any elaboration of this idea is clearly off-topic for this thread and maybe for this site, but I really just wanted to comment on how cool this image is.)
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#1150 by RonM on 07 Feb, 2014 13:43
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02.06.2014
NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Sees 'Evening Star' Earth
New images from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover show Earth shining brighter than any star in the Martian night sky.
The rover's view of its original home planet even includes our moon, just below Earth.
The images, taken about 80 minutes after sunset during the rover's 529th Martian day (Jan. 31, 2014) are available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA17936 for a broad scene of the evening sky, and at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA17935 for a zoomed-in view of Earth and the moon.
The distance between Earth and Mars when Curiosity took the photo was about 99 million miles (160 million kilometers).
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1598
Is it okay to comment on this thread?
I have sometimes wondered what the effects of being able to see both Earth and the Moon from Mars would have had on hypothetical Martian astronomers. Would it have made discovering heliocentrism and Newton's and Kepler's laws a no-brainer for them? Or would they have just developed an even convoluted form of the Ptolemaic system first? (Any elaboration of this idea is clearly off-topic for this thread and maybe for this site, but I really just wanted to comment on how cool this image is.)
Only if they could see it naked eye, without optical aid. You would think so from the photo, but what was the exposure? Could you actually see the Moon from Mars just with your eyes?
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#1151 by kenny008 on 07 Feb, 2014 13:55
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According to the first link (PIA17936), both the Earth and the Moon would be able to be seen by an observer on Mars with normal vision. Pretty cool!
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#1152 by meekGee on 07 Feb, 2014 20:02
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02.06.2014
NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Sees 'Evening Star' Earth
New images from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover show Earth shining brighter than any star in the Martian night sky.
The rover's view of its original home planet even includes our moon, just below Earth.
The images, taken about 80 minutes after sunset during the rover's 529th Martian day (Jan. 31, 2014) are available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA17936 for a broad scene of the evening sky, and at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA17935 for a zoomed-in view of Earth and the moon.
The distance between Earth and Mars when Curiosity took the photo was about 99 million miles (160 million kilometers).
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1598
Is it okay to comment on this thread?
I have sometimes wondered what the effects of being able to see both Earth and the Moon from Mars would have had on hypothetical Martian astronomers. Would it have made discovering heliocentrism and Newton's and Kepler's laws a no-brainer for them? Or would they have just developed an even convoluted form of the Ptolemaic system first? (Any elaboration of this idea is clearly off-topic for this thread and maybe for this site, but I really just wanted to comment on how cool this image is.)
Heh, I always thought this about a (truly hypothetical) lunar civilization (just as a thought exercise) - they'd be seeing a motionless Earth hanging in the sky, yet rotating in place, and with varying illumination. How cool is that? To figure out that it is indeed rotating, but you're rotating with it! It's like the universe is conspiring to make it difficult to figure out what's really going on... -
#1153 by robertross on 13 Feb, 2014 02:58
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02.11.2014
Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
NASA's Curiosity Drives On After Crossing Martian Dune
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is continuing its traverse toward enticing science destinations after climbing over a dune spanning a gap in a ridge.
The rover covered 135 feet (41.1 meters) on Feb. 9, in its first drive since the 23-foot (7-meter) crossing of the dune on Feb. 6. That put Curiosity's total odometry since its August 2012 landing at 3.09 miles (4.97 kilometers).
An animated sequence of images from the low-slung Hazard-Avoidance Camera on the rear of the vehicle documents the up-then-down crossing of the dune.
NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project is using Curiosity to assess ancient habitable environments and major changes in Martian environmental conditions. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, built the rover and manages the project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1601
edit: link to higher res gif
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/PIA17938-MAIN_sol-535rhaz-br2.gif
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#1154 by Dalhousie on 13 Feb, 2014 19:17
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So not even a couple of days studying the best sections seen to date?
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#1155 by Phil Stooke on 13 Feb, 2014 19:35
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No, because an even better section is coming up in 1000 m or so, a place where they will probably drill again.
Phil
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#1156 by hop on 13 Feb, 2014 21:10
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Emily Lakdawalla has posted a great update with info on the wheel situation and dune crossing http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2014/curiosity-update-sols.html
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#1157 by catdlr on 15 Feb, 2014 01:14
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Curiosity Rover Report (Feb. 14, 2014): Rover's 5K Run
Published on Feb 14, 2014
Curiosity logs 5K after a punishing trek over sharp terrain. To celebrate, JPLers put on their running shoes!
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#1158 by Bubbinski on 21 Feb, 2014 18:25
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Check this out:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1605
They're doing reverse driving on smoother ground. And there's a beautiful picture on that that I'm going to print out and put up on my wall, and try to turn into wallpaper on my computing devices.
They've done 2 95 m drives in the past couple of days as per this from Emily Lakdawalla:
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2014/02201503-curiosity-update-sols-540-7.html
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#1159 by Dalhousie on 21 Feb, 2014 21:56
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No, because an even better section is coming up in 1000 m or so, a place where they will probably drill again.
Phil
Still worth a bit more of a look than just a drive by photo shoot. Anything can happen in the next km.