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#380 by JohnFornaro on 16 Aug, 2012 16:26
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I'd forgotten - until reminded by a USA friend - that my name (along with 1,246,445 other worldwide names) is etched onto a microchip on board MSL Curiosity now parked inside Gale crater.
I dunno. You know the way aliens are. As soon as "Melvin" finds that chip, I betcha you all are going to get a visit from a little green man about landing stuff in his back yard.
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#381 by Plopper on 16 Aug, 2012 17:08
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Does that Reddit AMA thing mean that engineers are answering questions NOW live online somehow? I've seen nothing from them in the links given here. [confused]
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#382 by neilh on 16 Aug, 2012 17:14
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Does that Reddit AMA thing mean that engineers are answering questions NOW live online somehow? I've seen nothing from them in the links given here. [confused]
they're answering questions right now at the link I posted a few above. Their reddit responses are highlighted and under the name "CuriosityMarsRover." They posted a pic to Twitter confirming it was them. -
#383 by Plopper on 16 Aug, 2012 17:49
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Thank you neilh!
News to me was that they on average will transfer about 31 Mbytes per Sol.
And I didn't know they coded in C for simplicity!
410 scientists and engineers work in shift on the project since 1-10 years. Now I understand why it costs billions... -
#384 by Andrew Faulring on 16 Aug, 2012 18:20
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The raw images website now has 127 full frame images from MARDI.
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw/?s=0&camera=MARDI
Frame #358 taken at 2012-08-06 05:16:52 UTC appears to show the heat shield impact location, possibly including the debris plume.
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/00000/mrdi/0000MD9999000358E1_DXXX.jpg
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw/?rawid=0000MD9999000358E1_DXXX&s=0
Look for the dark spot centered about 50 pixels from the bottom of frame. Crop of full frame attached.
North is towards the upper right corner. Rotate the MARDI frame about 45 degrees counterclockwise to align with the MRO HiRISE images (see below).
I believe this is the heat shield because
(1) The location is consistent with the heat shield as imaged by MRO HiRISE:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/PIA16001.html
(2) The frame was taken 65 seconds before touchdown. The HiRISE EDL image was taken around one minute before touchdown and shows the heat shield still in free flight close to the impact point.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia15993.html
(3) The dark spot does not appear in MARDI frame #344 taken around 3.5 seconds earlier:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/00000/mrdi/0000MD9999000344E1_DXXX.jpg
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw/?rawid=0000MD9999000344E1_DXXX&s=0
Note that the field of view rotated towards the top of the image between frames #344 and #358, so the impact location would be about a third the way up from the bottom of the earlier frame.
The next full frame that has been downloaded is #372. In this frame the impact location is not visible, since it is below the bottom of this frame.
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/00000/mrdi/0000MD9999000372E1_DXXX.jpg
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw/?rawid=0000MD9999000372E1_DXXX&s=0
(4) The descending heat shield is visible in earlier frames. The last frame in which the heat shield is clearly visible is #162:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/00000/mrdi/0000MD9999000162E1_DXXX.jpg
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw/?rawid=0000MD9999000162E1_DXXX&s=0
Look above the sand dunes a few hundred pixels from the left edge of the frame about one third down from the top. The next three full frames (#200, #228, #241) show a white dot moving left to right over the dark sand dunes.
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/00000/mrdi/0000MD9999000200E1_DXXX.jpg
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/00000/mrdi/0000MD9999000228E1_DXXX.jpg
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw-images/msss/00000/mrdi/0000MD9999000241E1_DXXX.jpg
After that the heat shield is not visible probably because it was over the lighter colored areas.
The dark spot in frame #358 is much larger than the last image of the heat shield. Thus frame #358 is likely showing the impact location and possibly the debris plume of the heat shield.
We will have more confidence that this is the impact location after the remaining MARDI full frame images are downloaded. Would these be the first images of human-made hardware impacting Mars?
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#385 by savuporo on 16 Aug, 2012 18:27
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The AMA is pretty interesting. As the thread is pretty big, if you want to see just the responses they keep posting, head over to http://www.reddit.com/user/CuriosityMarsRover and click on "context" for the answers you are interested in.
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#386 by neilh on 16 Aug, 2012 20:12
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The raw images website now has 127 full frame images from MARDI.
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw/?s=0&camera=MARDI
Someone on r/space made an unofficial HD youtube video from the images, pretty amazing:
http://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/ybe61/hires_animated_gif_from_mardi_of_heat_shield/c5u64od
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#387 by Fixer on 16 Aug, 2012 20:27
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Quote
Curiosity Update 1:30 p.m. EDT, Friday, Aug. 17
NASA will host a media teleconference at 1:30 p.m. EDT (10:30 a.m. PDT), Aug. 17, to provide a status update on the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars' Gale Crater.
http://www.nasa.gov/news/media/newsaudio/index.html
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/telecon/index.html -
#388 by Duck on 17 Aug, 2012 12:18
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Are those images the best we'll get of the landing sequence? (Was there not a camera on the descent stage/skycrane that would have taken photos looking at the rover being lowered, from above?)
-Iain -
#389 by Kaputnik on 17 Aug, 2012 13:01
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Are those images the best we'll get of the landing sequence? (Was there not a camera on the descent stage/skycrane that would have taken photos looking at the rover being lowered, from above?)
-Iain
The main purpose of the MARDI footage is to help put the landing site into context when planning the initial science operations. The fact that you get a cool movie out of it is a byproduct
There was no science objective in taking footage from the descent stage; you could perhaps argue that it would be useful for engineering feedback but clearly that wasn't felt to be necessary. Anyway, it would have been a significant project in its own right as the descent stage as flown had no way of transmitting data back. -
#390 by Duck on 17 Aug, 2012 13:09
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Right; I always forget about the data transmission part. Something taken for granted.
That being said - as a mechanical designer - pictures and video feedback of machines in the field is crucial for future designs. If I can't be on-site to troubleshoot a machine I've designed, I need to get the guys who are doing the install to send pics and video back to get the best result. It is difficult to understand how something works, if you can't see or "feel" it! I can't help but feel the team that worked on the mechanical elements of the whole skycrane maneouver would have loved to have had at least *something* to see the results of their labours.
-Iain -
#391 by douglas100 on 17 Aug, 2012 17:19
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If they thought a camera in the descent stage was worth it they would have installed one. I imagine the EDL guys got lots of data about how the skycrane maneuver went, up to the point when the connection to the rover was severed.
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#392 by Plopper on 17 Aug, 2012 18:08
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They lost contact!!!
Not with Curiosity, but with the telecon. I'm "off air" since about 15 minutes now. If someone recorded it, or knows where to find a recording, please post here! (Nice news about Glenelg!) -
#393 by Lars_J on 17 Aug, 2012 18:20
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The telecon ran fine for me.
The images can be see here: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/telecon/index.html -
#394 by Plopper on 17 Aug, 2012 18:39
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In the second image at todays telecon,
When they reach the base of Mount Sharp, will they enter on the floor of that deep narrow valley leading SW, or will they climb up on one of the sides of it among those "four-story buildings" like hills? Isn't it that very valley which is expected to be layered like Grand Canyon and would be an excellent science target for geology?
3D effect image of it here (I found it somewhere else in this forum yesterday):
http://jumpjack.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/3d-psp_009149009294-anim.gif -
#395 by Fixer on 17 Aug, 2012 19:25
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Quote
NASA media teleconference at 10:30 a.m. PDT (1:30 p.m. EDT), Friday, Aug. 17, to provide a status update on the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars' Gale Crater.
Participants:
John Grotzinger - Curiosity project scientist, California Institute of Technology
Roger Wiens - ChemCam principal investigator, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Slides: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/telecon/index.html
P.S. It seems they will drive to that interesting trisection point where high TI unit and other layers meet each other. 276K at landing point. Will test Chemcam, more high-res images to come in a days and weeks. Interesting telecon. Tell me if sound volume is too low.
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#396 by jacqmans on 17 Aug, 2012 21:21
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RELEASE: 12-287
NASA CURIOSITY TEAM PINPOINTS SITE FOR FIRST DRIVE, FIRST LASER USE ON TAP THIS WEEKEND
WASHINGTON -- The scientists and engineers of NASA's Curiosity rover
mission have selected the first destination for their one-ton,
six-wheeled mobile Mars laboratory. The target area, named Glenelg,
is a natural intersection of three kinds of terrain. The choice was
described by Curiosity Principal Investigator John Grotzinger of the
California Institute of Technology during a media teleconference on
Aug. 17.
"With such a great landing spot in Gale Crater, we literally had every
degree of the compass to choose from for our first drive," Grotzinger
said. "We had a bunch of strong contenders. It is the kind of dilemma
planetary scientists dream of, but you can only go one place for the
first drilling for a rock sample on Mars. That first drilling will be
a huge moment in the history of Mars exploration."
The trek to Glenelg will send the rover 1,300 feet (400 meters) east
southeast of its landing site. One of the three types of terrain
intersecting at Glenelg is layered bedrock, which is attractive as
the first drilling target.
"We're about ready to load our new destination into our GPS and head
out onto the open road," Grotzinger said. "Our challenge is there is
no GPS on Mars, so we have a roomful of rover-driver engineers
providing our turn-by-turn navigation for us."
Prior to the rover's trip to Glenelg, the team in charge of
Curiosity's Chemistry and Camera instrument, or ChemCam, is planning
to give their mast-mounted rock-zapping laser and telescope
combination a thorough checkout. On Saturday night, ChemCam is
expected to "zap" its first rock in the name of planetary science. It
will be the first time such a powerful laser has been used on the
surface of another world.
"Rock N165 looks like your typical Mars rock, about three inches wide.
It's about 10 feet away," said Roger Wiens, principal investigator of
the ChemCam instrument from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New
Mexico. "We are going to hit it with 14 millijoules of energy 30
times in 10 seconds. It is not only going to be an excellent test of
our system, it should be pretty cool too."
Mission engineers are devoting more time to planning the first roll of
Curiosity. In the coming days, the rover will exercise each of its
four steerable (front and back) wheels, turning each of them
side-to-side before ending up with each wheel pointing straight
ahead. On a later day, the rover will drive forward about one
rover-length (10 feet, or 3 meters), turn 90 degrees, and then kick
into reverse for about 7 feet (2 meters).
"There will be a lot of important firsts that will be taking place for
Curiosity over the next few weeks, but the first motion of its
wheels, the first time our roving laboratory on Mars does some actual
roving, that will be something special," said Michael Watkins,
mission manager for Curiosity from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
Pasadena, Calif.
The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft delivered Curiosity to its
target area on Mars at 10:31:45 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5 (1:31:45 a.m. EDT
on Aug. 6), which included the 13.8 minutes needed for confirmation
of the touchdown to be radioed to Earth at the speed of light.
The audio and visuals of the teleconference will be archived and
available for viewing at:
http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl
The mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate
in Washington. The rover was designed, developed and assembled at
JPL, a division of Caltech. ChemCam was provided by Los Alamos
National Laboratory. France provided ChemCam's laser and telescope.
For more information about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/msl
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#397 by JebbPA on 17 Aug, 2012 21:36
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Some Sol 10 images have recently been uploaded! does anyone know what these Chemcam images show? http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw/?s=10&camera=CHEMCAM_RMI
For those who missed the telecon update, the early Chemcam images show this calibration target http://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/USLANL/2012/08/17/file_attachments/151341/ChemCamCalibrationPreLaunch.jpg -
#398 by catdlr on 18 Aug, 2012 01:50
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Heat Shield, Meet Mars
Published on Aug 17, 2012 by JPLnews
This sequence of images shows the heat shield from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory hitting the ground on Mars and raising a cloud of dust. The images were taken by the Mars Descent Imager on the mission's Curiosity rover while the rover was still suspended on a parachute, after the spacecraft had jettisoned the heat shield.
A dark spot, the shadow of the heat shield, enters the scene from lower left, moving toward the center. The bright heat shield itself is also apparent just before the shadow and hardware meet in the impact on the surface. The area of ground visible in the images is about six-tenths of a mile (1 kilometer) across. The frames shown here are cropped portions of full-frame images from the Mars Descent Imager.
The sequence includes 25 frames, repeated in five run-throughs for this presentation. The action is full speed in the first, fourth and fifth run-throughs. It is one-half and one-eighth speeds in the second and third run-throughs.
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#399 by robertross on 18 Aug, 2012 13:43
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Quote
NASA media teleconference at 10:30 a.m. PDT (1:30 p.m. EDT), Friday, Aug. 17, to provide a status update on the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars' Gale Crater.
Participants:
John Grotzinger - Curiosity project scientist, California Institute of Technology
Roger Wiens - ChemCam principal investigator, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Slides: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/telecon/index.html
P.S. It seems they will drive to that interesting trisection point where high TI unit and other layers meet each other. 276K at landing point. Will test Chemcam, more high-res images to come in a days and weeks. Interesting telecon. Tell me if sound volume is too low.
Thanks for the recording
