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By European Space Agency
12 November 2024 marks the start of a new year on Mars. At exactly 10:32 CET/09:32 UTC on Earth, the Red Planet begins a new orbit around our Sun.
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By European Space Agency
Video: 00:00:23 Robots in disguise: our Hera asteroid detective plus her CubeSat buddies – Milani the rock decoder and Juventas the radar visionary – dressed up for Halloween!
To see them out of costume, watch our The Incredible Adventures of the Hera Mission series!
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By NASA
Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto & Dwarf Planets Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud 3 min read
Sols 4266-4267: Happy ‘Landiversary,’ Curiosity
Earth planning date: Monday, Aug. 5, 2024
After the usual morning routine of doing some engineering housekeeping, Curiosity continues to take some remote science observations. We take a ChemCam LIBS observation and a Mastcam image of the “Peeler Lake” target, a dark, nodular target that appears to be more erosion-resistant than nearby rocks. By comparing Peeler Lake to “Kings Canyon” (which also has some nodules), the science team may be able to determine more about their relative compositions. ChemCam also takes RMI images of the Kings Canyon drill tailings. There is also a ChemCam RMI mosaic of Gediz Vallis and a Mastcam of the “Sky High Lake” target, which is a rock with a gray coating. The last thing in this science block is an image down the CheMin inlet before we deliver sample to the instrument. After a long nap, in the late afternoon we have the first part of a large Mastcam mosaic of “Milestone Peak” channel deposits and we add some more frames to our ongoing 360-degree panorama. This late afternoon lighting helps highlight layers and textures. We also have our normal DAN and REMS observations throughout the plan.
After another nap, Curiosity wakes up to deliver sample to CheMin. We do this by pointing the drill bit over the open CheMin inlet and using a tiny bit of percussion and rotation to release some sample from the drill. We do this late in the afternoon to reduce the time between delivering the sample and starting the analysis (which has to happen in the cooler temperatures of nighttime) to minimize the degradation of the sample. After allowing CheMin to analyze the sample for most of the night, Curiosity wakes up and dumps out the sample to avoid it sticking too much inside the instrument.
On the second sol of the plan, Curiosity is taking more remote-sensing observations. Navcam atmospheric dust observations kick off first. ChemCam then takes a LIBS observation of “Sky High Lake” followed by RMI images inside the drill hole (to take a look at the interior layers of the rock) and Gediz Vallis. Last in this morning block, there are Mastcam images of Sky High Lake and a post-dropoff image of the open CheMin inlet to look for any sample that may be stuck there. In the late afternoon, we finish up the Milestone Peak mosaic.
Written by Ashley Stroupe, Mission Operations Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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Last Updated Aug 07, 2024 Related Terms
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3 min read Sols 4263-4265: A Royal Birthday Celebration at Kings Canyon
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Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…
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By NASA
Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto & Dwarf Planets Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud 3 min read
Sols 4263-4265: A Royal Birthday Celebration at Kings Canyon
This image captures the rover arm conducting the preload test on “Kings Canyon” from Drill Sol 1 to determine whether the target is safe to drill. Earth planning date: Friday, Aug. 2, 2024
Prepare your party poppers, horns, and confetti! On Aug. 6 (EDT), after 4,265 Martian sols since Curiosity first landed in Gale Crater, the rover will be turning 12 years old. I still remember the excitement of watching Curiosity’s landing back when I started high school. Now, as a “Keeper of the Plan” for the Geology and Mineralogy theme group, I have the incredible opportunity to be part of this mission. To mark the end of the 12th year, Curiosity is currently parked within a large valley called Gediz Vallis, all primed and ready to drill “Kings Canyon” (pictured).
The previous plan involved conducting a preload test in Drill Sol 1, to ensure we could drill safely. The test was successful, confirming that Kings Canyon is safe to drill! The team was also happy with the chemical composition data from the APXS (Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer) results, so we are all set to drill a new king!
On the first sol, we’ll conduct Drill Sols 2 and 3, where the actual drilling will take place and the drilled material will be subsequently characterized. Alongside drilling, we also plan to capture a MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager) image of a relatively peaceful target called “RAGE.” (This target is the site where the rover will later perform the RAGE activity to clean up after drilling.) On the second sol, we’ll perform a LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectrometer) analysis on “Lake Eleanor,” a rock crushed by Curiosity’s wheel, revealing light-toned material. Additionally, we will conduct a ChemCam passive observation on a section of the Gediz Vallis channel floor.
The third sol is packed with scientific activities. We’ll conduct a LIBS on “Lyell Glacier,” a rock with different colored coatings to compare with dark-toned coatings seen by the Perseverance rover. ChemCam will take the opportunity to capture a long-distance Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) shot of an arm of “Milestone Peak,” which is full of gray rocks aligned in a slightly different direction from the rest of the ridge within the center of Gediz Vallis. We also plan to capture four Mastcam mosaics: one of the southern section of a large hill called “Kukenan” and three mosaics documenting the different textures, structures, and lithologies of the deposits within the valley floor. Furthermore, a ChemCam Passive Sky observation and atmospheric monitoring activities in the morning are also on the agenda.
As we prepare for these exciting activities, the anticipation builds for Curiosity’s 12th birthday. Here’s to many more years of exploration and discovery on the Red Planet!
Written by Amelie Roberts, Ph.D. candidate at Imperial College London
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Last Updated Aug 05, 2024 Related Terms
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Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Michael Williams of United Space Alliance paints the NASA logo — known as the “meatball” — on the left wing of space shuttle Endeavour in 2012.Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis NASA’s logo turns 65 on Monday, July 15, and media are invited to its birthday celebration in Cleveland, the city where the iconic symbol was designed.
To mark the logo’s birthday, NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland will host a series of activities celebrating the city’s connection to one of the most recognized logos in the world from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET on July 15 at Great Lakes Science Center, home of Glenn’s visitor center. Admission to the Science Center will be free, and the event is open to the public.
A birthday celebration and cake-cutting ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. and feature remarks from center leadership, a visit from the logo designer’s family, and special presentations from the city and state. Other activities include:
History and Symbolism of NASA Insignia Presentation, noon and 2 p.m. NASA Creatives Presentation featuring Glenn’s award-winning photographers and videographers, 1 p.m. Coloring contest, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Coloring contest winners announced, 2 p.m. Eva the Astronaut mascot appearance and photo ops, 1 to 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. NASA Creatives Presentation featuring retired NASA Glenn photographer Marv Smith, 3 p.m. The round blue, white, and red logo affectionately nicknamed the “meatball” became official in 1959 and was designed by the late James Modarelli, a Cleveland Institute of Art graduate and employee of Lewis Research Center (now NASA Glenn).
Media interested in covering the event should contact Jacqueline Minerd at jacqueline.minerd@nasa.gov.
For more information on NASA Glenn events, visit:
https:www.nasa.gov/glenn-communityengagement/
-end-
Jacqueline Minerd
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland
216-433-6036
jacqueline.minerd@nasa.gov
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