A view of Cumberland, where Curiosity will begin drilling again soon.
Credit: NASA-JPL / Caltech / MSSS
After just coming out of its month-long “vacation” due to solar conjunction, the Curiosity rover is ready to resume science operations, and do some more drilling, it was reported last Thursday.
Mars’ atmosphere is much thinner now than it once was, but it still has clouds, as seen in this NASA photo, as well as fog, wind, dust storms and snow. Credit: NASA / JPL
For any future astronauts who land on Mars, there is one piece of advice that shouldn’t even need to be said: keep your helmet on! Mars has an atmosphere, like Earth, but it is much thinner than ours (and mostly carbon dioxide), and so is unbreathable by humans. However, evidence has continued to grow that Mars’ atmosphere was once a lot thicker than it is now, early on in the planet’s history. Recent findings from the Curiosity rover have added to that evidence, as well as showing not only how Mars has lost most of the atmosphere that it once had, but also that the atmosphere which remains is still very active.
The next direction for NASA, in terms of searching for life on Mars, might not be “follow the water” – it might be “follow the salt.” Credit: NASA / JPL / MSSS
You may be familiar with the phrase “follow the water” when it comes to the search for life on Mars, and for good reason – any place on Earth where there is liquid water, there is life. So, logically, the best places to look for evidence of past or present life on Mars would be where there has been liquid water in the past (or perhaps even still is, underground). But now there is also another approach being taken, in terms of possible present-day habitability in particular: follow the salt.
Before and after image of a rock lasered by Curiosity. The surface of the rock has darkened around the spot hit by the laser. Credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Scientists studying data from the Curiosity rover have found another interesting puzzle, one which may easily have gone unnoticed were it not for one diligent researcher in particular, it was announced last week at the 44th Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference at The Woodlands, Texas.
Natural colour version of the Mount Sharp panorama. See links below for full-size versions.
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
The Curiosity rover is continuing to recover from a couple of computer glitches, and it may be another day or two before resuming full time science operations, so things have been rather quiet lately. Other than of course the big press conference last Tuesday where it was announced that Curiosity has confirmed a previous habitable environment in this area from a long time ago.
Bedrock seen by the Opportunity rover (left) which formed in acidic water and bedrock at the Curiosity landing site (right) which formed in non-acidic, pH neutral water, as found in a lakebed. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Cornell / MSSS
The analysis results of the first-ever rock drilling on Mars, by the Curiosity rover, were announced today by NASA at a press briefing in Washington. The new findings indicate that ancient Mars, at least in this area, was habitable and could have supported some form of life.
Curiosity’s current view in Gale crater at twilight. Click for larger version.
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS / Damien Bouic
Here is a beautiful panoramic view of Curiosity’s current location in Gale crater, showing the scene at Martian twilight. The panorama is composed of images taken between sol 170 and sol 176, thanks again to Damien Bouic. Click to see the full-size version of the image. How long will it be before astronauts can see a view like this?
Close-up view of the “shiny knob” protruding from the bedrock.
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
NASA has posted an update of sorts regarding the “shiny knob” seen in a recent Mastcam image taken by the Curiosity rover. This is the one previously referred to here as the “hammerhead” due to its shape.
The first two holes ever drilled on Mars, on sol 180 and sol 182. Click for larger version.
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
Here is another great view of the first two holes ever drilled on Mars, by the Curiosity rover. The first one, top, was made on sol 180 (February 6, 2013) and the second one, below, was made on sol 182 (February 8, 2013). The second one is deeper, and some of the powdered bedrock sample obtained will be delivered to the CheMin and SAM laboratory instruments for analysis. The grey material is powdered bedrock (not covered by reddish Martian dust) which has spilled out during the drilling.
Close-up view of the second, deeper drill hole. Click for larger version.
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
The Curiosity rover has now drilled its second hole in a flat piece of Martian bedrock and obtained a sample for analysis by its on-board laboratory. This is the first time ever that such a drilling has been done on Mars.