Update to sol 2326 (sol 2320 location).
Fernando
 The_Martian_Way_MSL_Curiosity_Sol_2326_2019FEB21.kmz ( 652.29K ) Number of downloads: 303

Hi Phil,
Thank you for your timely posts. This new route seemed sufficiently different to warrant an update.
I always have to caution myself that although these afford us a glimpse of the future they are just planned routes: already the path in sol 2316 is deviating from it!
The ground truth input must have a big weight
Fernando

The paper "Exploring the Clay-Bearing Unit with the Curiosity Rover", linked to from Emily's Post on another thread - thanks Emily! - shows an update to the notional route depicted in the press release "Mid-2017 Map of NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Mission" mentioned in my Post.
So here is an update the route through the clay-bearing unit. Instead of changing the older route I added a new route (marked 2019-Feb) that only differs from the previous one on that section shown in the above mentioned paper.
As usual, the KMZ file contains all the previously mapped routes, so you can discard the older KMZ.
Fernando
 MSL_Planned_Routes_2019FEB10.kmz ( 183.61K ) Number of downloads: 285

Update to sol 2313. Really smooth terrain.
Fernando
 The_Martian_Way_MSL_Curiosity_Sol_2313_2019FEB09.kmz ( 650.81K ) Number of downloads: 275

Update to sol 2306.Slightly adjusted the point of view. It encompasses a little over one Earth year of Curiosity's activities.
She is really climbing Mt. Sharp!
Fernando
 The_Martian_Way_MSL_Curiosity_Sol_2306_2019FEB01.kmz ( 648.87K ) Number of downloads: 268

Quote from the ESA "Beckoning Moon" post at http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/20.../Beckoning_Moon
"... later this year, ESA tracking stations will provide critical support to China's Chang'e-5 lunar sample return mission, providing communications just after launch and helping Chinese mission controllers determine the precise trajectory of the return capsule."
Fernando

Update to sol 2300.
Lots of new names, courtesy of Phil, and the 20km mark is already on the rear mirror!
Fernando
 The_Martian_Way_MSL_Curiosity_Sol_2300_2019JAN25.kmz ( 646.85K ) Number of downloads: 250

1- Is there an official Chang'e 4 website? I've been combing the web and couldn't find any
2- Do we know if the landing will be transmitted live? All mentions I've seen say it will not

Andrew Jones of the gbtimes has been providing coverage of the mission. On that page is this interesting link
The Sun is reporting a Jan 3 landing at about 1:00 UTC, which matches with a tweet I've seen (but lost the reference to).
EDIT: techradar has a story about "how to watch live online" by visiting the CGTN site. But this site is unavailable to several European countries, including mine.

Here is a translation. Though I used Google for speed it then needs review and adjustments. It is a good and useful tool but still not good enough. I also attach a file with the translated text. The original page is here

Congratulations to the SEIS team!
Fernando
 SEIS_deployment.txt ( 6.78K ) Number of downloads: 181



The second landing of SEIS seismometer

Posted on December 19, 2018.

The seismometer SEIS has just been successfully deposited on the surface of Mars by the probe InSight

NASA has successfully deposited the seismometer of the probe InSight on Mars. This is the first time in the history of space conquest that an instrument is deployed by a robotic arm on the surface of another planet. The success of this critical step for the rest of the mission is the result of years of unceasing technical efforts by the American, French and European teams.

Photo 1 Legend: SEIS seismometer capture by the robotic arm grapple during sol 20 (© NASA / JPL)

The complex sequence of instructions commanding the deployment was sent yesterday (December 18, 2018 at 5:11 pm in California) to the red planet. At that moment, the probe InSight began its 22nd day of operations on the surface of Mars (it was then 5 o'clock in the morning on Elysium Planitia). For thermal considerations, the deployment was planned for the same day, but in the evening. On December 19, 2018, when the Sun had just disappeared behind the Martian horizon at 6:40 pm local time (while simultaneously rising in California on Los Angeles), InSight's arm went into action to place the 9,5 kg of the SEIS seismometer on the ground. For this high-risk operation, the instrument was completely powered off. Many tests have been previously done on Earth to validate the orders, the landing site having been faithfully reproduced for the occasion.

The automatic sequence actually started on Mars at 17:00 with the subsequent firing of the three frangibolts that kept SEIS securely attached to the probe deck. To carry out the deployment of the seismometer itself, the engineers had decided to wait a little, so that the IDA robot arm was cold enough: the latter is actually more efficient at low temperatures. Activation of the deployment sequence was therefore scheduled for 18:30, or ten minutes before the sunset on Mars.

To place SEIS on the ground, the robotic arm has performed a fairly complex series of movements. After lifting the 25 centimeter instrument vertically, the arm moved back to pull the cable off the deck, the latter being held by several velcro fasteners. He then made a 180° rotation on itself, before going forward again to continue tearing the velcro. The arm then stretched as far as possible to the south to remove the part of the cord attached to the outside of the TSB (the cylindrical case where the SEIS cable is wound), again with a velcro patch. This step inevitably induces a somewhat intimidating swing of SEIS at the end of the grapple. For the last part of the sequence, the arm goes back slightly towards the lander, then, thanks to arc movements, it gently places SEIS on the ground. The sequence did not provide for the opening of the grapple. This stage, which will mark the definitive release of the instrument, is planned in the coming days.

Photo 2 Legend: Image from the ICC camera showing SEIS seismometer on the ground just before sunset (© NASA / JPL)

The duration of the deployment sequence itself is quite short: only 10 minutes. The need to acquire images via the ICC camera (located under the deck) and the IDC camera (mounted on the arm), however, took the duration of the operation to about 20 minutes, spread over 45 minutes. The time at which the SEIS seismometer planted its three feet in the sand is estimated at 7:05 (in California), which is 18:54 Martian time.

In view of the night planning chosen for the deployment, the first Martian orbiter capable of relaying to Earth the data confirming the emplacement of SEIS on the ground could be in position only on 19 December in the evening (ie the beginning of the morning of sol 23 on Mars). A first X-band transmission around 6:00 pm had already given the deployment team a number of subtle indications that operations were running smoothly. But it was not until the overflight by Mars Odyssey at 9:00 pm (California time) that the images, absolutely beautiful, finally appeared on the screens of the control room at JPL. Between sending orders to the red planet and receiving the first telemetry data, the engineers had, thus, to wait 24 hours. A long wait punctuated with doubt and worry, given the complexity of the maneuver involved and the interests a stake.

The area where SEIS now rests is directly in front of the robotic arm (to ensure that the umbilical cord connecting the instrument to the undercarriage rests flat on the ground), and as far away as possible (1,65 meters) from the probe, so as to minimize disturbances. The speed with which the engineers and geologists chose this placement site is related to the appropriateness of the area where the probe landed on November 26th. With a very small slope (only 2 to 3 degrees of inclination) and a striking absence of pebbles, almost all of the terrain located south of the lander and within reach of the robotic arm was suitable for the deployment of the seismometer.

Photo 3 Legend: The SEIS seismometer of the InSight probe, as seen by the robotic arm's IDC camera, after its deployment during sol 22 (© NASA / JPL).

Operations are however far from being completed for SEIS. Many critical steps must now take place in the coming weeks before scientists can start tracking down Martian quakes. Engineers will actually first have to align the seismometer with the horizontal, thanks to the motorized leveling cradle. Once this step is completed, sensors for the very wide band (VBB), inactive for the moment, contrary to the short period sensors SP, will be refocused and calibrated. The totality of the data transmitted by the six seismic sensors will then be used to characterize the noise level of the emplacement site (which should be as low as possible), as well as the level of disturbances induced by the cable connecting the instrument to the lander.

When performance is deemed acceptable, the cable in the TSB unwinder will be fully unwound. If the engineers notice that the cable is injecting too much noise into the instrument the pyrotechnic opening of the service loop (LSA) will be performed. Depending on the result of this step, the cable may possibly be re-positioned using a hook located on a pinning mass. The final placement, over the instrument, of the imposing WTS wind and thermal protection shield can then take place.

As we can see, on Earth and on the Red Planet, engineers and scientists still have a lot of work to do before the first Mars geophysical station is fully operational. But the emplacement of the first seismometer on Mars is already a great success, that the members of the team will celebrate with according dignity, probably by allowing themselves a few days of rest for the Christmas holidays!

Pasadena, 19 December 2018 (update of the paragraphs concerning arm movements and subsequent operations on 20 and 21 December)

ESA announced that BepiColombo has initiated its first thrust arc, which will last 2 months.
The ion thrusters' maximum planed thrust for the entire journey is 250 mN, equivalent to the pull of 250 ants (!)
Fernando

Thank you for the feedback Paul. If anyone runs into problems or finds any error please let me know, I'll do my best to correct it.
Fernando

Here is, ready for Google Mars, an orbital map of the InSight landing area. It is a rectangle of roughly 2.82x2.56 km cropped from HiRISE image ESP_036761_1845, specifically from the Merged RGB (MRGB) product.

I registered it using the coordinates tweeted by Livio Tornabene, thank you Livio! The MRGB image has a resolution of 0.5m and Livio's coordinates' accuracy is about 6m, meaning there is room for relocation...

Since the map is 34MB big I can't post it here. Instead I placed it in Google Drive, here is the link: InSight_Orbital_Map_ESP_036761_1845.kmz

I also added the three hardware cutouts from ESP_058005_1845 to InSight EDL kml file. So if you dowload the above file and install it, then download and install this file
 InSight_EDL_Sim.kmz ( 1.3MB ) Number of downloads: 1246

you will be able to see the hardware superimposed on the orbital map, like this:



You will notice some misadjustments between the HW cutouts and the base map, despite having spent several hours doing location adjustments. I think this is because, as Phil pointed out, the cutouts are not map projected. So, once the full ESP_058005_1845 image is available I may revisit this. Enjoy

Fernando

Update to sol 2257. Hopefully "the hunt for Red Jura" will be successful here!
Fernando
 The_Martian_Way_MSL_Curiosity_Sol_2257_2018DEC16.kmz ( 643.62K ) Number of downloads: 331

Thank you Paul. I have created a workflow which saves me time and provides consistency. But then there is the verification part that sometimes is, as with this release, easy, which is why I managed to do it sooner.
Fernando

Update to sol 2252.
This update includes the location data from PDS Release 19. The path data for sols 0-2166 has been reviewed and updated as well as Analyst's Notebook data for sols 1-2127.

Fernando
 The_Martian_Way_MSL_Curiosity_Sol_2252_2018DEC07.kmz ( 642.55K ) Number of downloads: 213

It seems that the name was to be decided by an on-line vote, similarly to Chang'e-3 rover, and the most popular was 光明 - guangming ("Brightness"). However a committee was supposed to have made a final choice by late October.

See https://gbtimes.com/online-vote-decides-top...ide-of-the-moon

The article has other interesting info on the mission and links to many relevant pages. In here it says that live coverage of the launch seems unlikely.
Fernando
Edit: Liftoff was successful and Andrew Jones has tweeted an unofficial video stream

Mars Science Laboratory Release 19

The NASA Planetary Data System announces the 19th release of data from the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, covering data acquired from
Sol 2004 through Sol 2127 (March 26, 2018, to August 1, 2018).

This release consists of raw and derived data sets from the following
instruments:
Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS)
Chemistry & Micro-Imaging (ChemCam)
Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin)
Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN)
Hazard Avoidance Cameras (Hazcam)
Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI)
Mars Descent Imager (MARDI)
Mast-mounted Cameras (Mastcam)
Navigation Cameras (Navcam)
Position Localization and Attitude Correction Estimate Storage (PLACES)
Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD)
Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS)
Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM)
Spacecraft, Planet, Instrument, Pointing C-Matrix, and Event kernels (SPICE)

To access the above data, please visit the following link:
https://pds.nasa.gov/datasearch/subscriptio...-20181205.shtml

Links to all MSL data sets may be found on the PDS Geosciences Node web
site http://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/msl/. The data may also
be reached from the main PDS home page, https://pds.nasa.gov/. MSL data
are archived at the PDS Atmospheres, Planetary Plasma Interactions
(PPI), Geosciences, Imaging, and Navigation and Ancillary Information
Facility (NAIF) Nodes.

PDS offers two services for searching the MSL archives:
The Planetary Image Atlas at the Imaging Node allows selection of MSL
image data by specific search criteria.
http://pds-imaging.jpl.nasa.gov/search/

The MSL Analyst's Notebook at the Geosciences Node allows searching and
downloading of all MSL data in the context of mission events.
http://an.rsl.wustl.edu/msl

The PDS Team

Mailto: pds_operator@jpl.nasa.gov
Phone: (818) 393-7165

The testing of BepiColombo's four electric propulsion thrusters went well, as reported by ESA here.
This was a critical procedure that had to be executed during a window when the spacecraft was continuously in full view of the ground antennas.
The first thrust arc will begin in mid-December.
The above mentioned article also contains a short movie of BepiColombo's seven year journey to Mercury, highlighting all the gravity assist planetary encounters.

Here is the update to sol 2222. It looks like Curiosity will be moving again soon!
Fernando
 The_Martian_Way_MSL_Curiosity_Sol_2222_2018NOV30.kmz ( 644.11K ) Number of downloads: 255

Thank you Paolo. I am aware of this "image flip", I believe it is not it. I really do not know what is causing it, but several of the PlanetFour:Terrains project's volunteers (myself included) are heavy users of the viewer. It is quite handy to view the CTX in context in order to find near ones and overlaps. The CTXs used by the project are from the south pole area, so we were surprised to be taken to the north polar area!
Fernando

It seems that the correction to MRO CTX Viewer problems I mentioned in Post #142 did not catch everything.
The "View this image in the context of an interactive map" button now works almost perfectly. It does open a map, but it is centered on the wrong coordinates.
For instance, for image F13_041029_0968_XN_83S057W the map opens centered on 83.3º N / 302.5º E. North when it should have been South.
The absolute value of the latitude is used to position the map.
It would seem the code is parsing the image ID but fails to take the N or S indication into consideration.
Perhaps some viewer of this forum knows someone able to fix it? Thanks.

Fernando

But it is! The cover is transparent and will come out later. Just as has happened with Curiosity.

Now waiting for the post landing conference at 22:00 UTC. Congratulations to the whole team! What a great job they've done!
Fernando

It was already late (so I couldn't do an update) when I found in YouTube the press conference video. At about 9:30 minutes into the video Tom Hoffman describes how the successive TCMs adjusted the landing ellipse ever closer to the intended target and shows (at about 10:25) the ellipse after TCM 5, which (center) was about 11 miles (ENE) away from the desired target location. So it was decided to perform another TCM, which has already been discussed in this thread.

For what it is worth, here is the InSight EDL file again (I have merged the two files from posts #87 and #93) including the target, the landing ellipse after TCM 5, and the EDL path now leading to the target.

Less than 5 hours now... GO, GO INSIGHT!

 InSight_EDL_Sim.kmz ( 18.87K ) Number of downloads: 996

Here is a new version of the EDL simulation. Just a few tweaks, really, all I had time to do, but it includes the original ellipse and the new one that was presented at today's briefing. I could be wrong because I had just a few seconds to see it and it seemed to me its center was ENE and 11 km from the old. nprev says 11nm SE.
Anyway, here it is.
Fernando
 InSight_EDL_Sim.kmz ( 17.32K ) Number of downloads: 275

The press kit says "mid afternoon on a winter day" (see page 13)
Fernando