Curiosities wheels are not tied down.

Until the skycrane maneuver, the wheels are infact bolted 'up' onto brackets extending out from the rover chassis itself that tie in to the top of the suspension system just inboard of the front and rear wheels.. Then as it drops from the backshell on the ropes, they wheels are deployed. The holes in the wheels are to let the dust and pebbles out, and to leave marks in the soil for slip checking.

I think the reference is to the red straps on a couple of the wheels in the clean room.

I have to admit, the open architecture of the wheels made me a little nervous when I first saw it, thinking of potato -- and larger -- size rocks moving in and out and through the wheels as the rover rolls along. I guess it's better than moving in and not out.

But really, deep inside me something cries out for hubcaps. (I never said my guts were an expert rover designer.)

A bit OT...
It has been pointed out in a French astronautics forum that this image of a "skycrane" was published in Courtlandt Canby's "A History of Rockets and Space" in 1964!

I was indeed referring to the red straps in the clean room, I saw 2 of them.

They are just to hold it onto that inclined stand so they could do arm tests with the rover tilted over without the rover moving.

Rule of thumb... Bright red stuff is remove-before-flight.

That is a delightful image Paolo! - I guess now the race is on to find even earlier space sky-crane illustrations

I was looking for differences between MSL's MARDI and Phoenix's. Regarding microphone, we know that Phoenix MARDI microphone was not purpose-built to record sounds on Mars... but I can't get back the answer why it was there for and/or why there is none on MSL?

Phoenix MARDI microphone was there because its electronics were off-the-shelf and designed for cell phone applications, so the electronic board also happened to carry microphone inputs. See here. I don't think there's anything common between MSL and Phoenix MARDI except the name.

SAM is completed, and ready to be installed into Curiosity.

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/moonmars/featur...-configure.html

By the way, I'm wondering how they are going to install SAM without taking everything off the deck of MSL? Do they remove the bottom panel of the WEB and fit SAM in?

Take the wheels off, flip the chassis over, take the bottom off, and install from, essentially, underneath.

Comparing these photos of SAM with the the diagram given here: http://msl-scicorner.jpl.nasa.gov/Instruments/SAM/ ,
is it "upside down" in the photo?

Looks like it - the tunable laser and sample handing components are big, cylindrical and identifiable in the images and the cad rendering. I'd say the sample inlet is on the 'bottom' in those photos. Note the handling frame the instrument's mounted on - it's got a means to pivot the instrument over.

Watch live footage of Curiosity being assembled (or disassembled...as the wheels and robotic arm were removed again)

http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl

Actually - the rover's looking more rover-like than it did last week. Last week the mast was stowed, the rover was upside down and the belly pan was off

As of right now (11:28 PM PDT), engineers are still working on Curiosity. And a message at the top of the UStream page mentions that the wheels will go back on tomorrow

Anyword on the status of the zoom lens for MastCam? Will they be complete in time before the end of this year?