MSL at Rocknest, First scoop samples - sols 57-101 |
MSL at Rocknest, First scoop samples - sols 57-101 |
Oct 3 2012, 12:30 AM
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#1
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Administrator Group: Admin Posts: 5172 Joined: 4-August 05 From: Pasadena, CA, USA, Earth Member No.: 454 |
Curiosity has put more than 400 meters on the odometer and tosol (sol 56) she bumped up to a sand drift that we now know (via Twitter) is named Rocknest and will be the site of the first sample grab. In last week's press briefing, John Grotzinger warned that we will be here for "what seems like a very long time," 2-3 weeks. They will have to run several samples through the SA-SPaH (Sample Acquisition, Processing and Handling subsystem, pronounced "Saw-spa") and in particular CHIMRA (Collection and Handling for In situ Martian Rock Analysis, pronounced "chimera") in order to "clean" it of any remaining Earthly contamination with good Mars dirt before they deliver the first sample to SAM or Chemin. So this seems like a good place to start a new thread.
As usual, discuss stuff that happened through sol 56 in the previous thread. -------------------- My website - My Patreon - @elakdawalla on Twitter - Please support unmannedspaceflight.com by donating here.
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Oct 7 2012, 12:46 AM
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#2
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Member Group: Members Posts: 276 Joined: 11-December 07 From: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Member No.: 3978 |
MAHLI took a shot of the left middle and back wheels after inspecting the undisturbed ripple.
MAHLI sol 60 image Lots of small dents and scratches. Just caught scott's tweet saying the image above was to check if the mid wheel had been raised which would have made scooping an unstable process. -------------------- |
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Oct 7 2012, 07:23 PM
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#3
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1465 Joined: 9-February 04 From: Columbus OH USA Member No.: 13 |
MAHLI took a shot of the left middle and back wheels after inspecting the undisturbed ripple. There are some vertical lines in that image: ...wonder what that's from? -------------------- |
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Oct 7 2012, 08:10 PM
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#4
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2542 Joined: 13-September 05 Member No.: 497 |
There are some vertical lines...wonder what that's from? It's excess column charge from a hot pixel. Hot pixels are always forming from neutron hits from the RTG. If somebody wants to do part of my job for me, you can find and track these as they develop in all four MSSS cameras. -------------------- Disclaimer: This post is based on public information only. Any opinions are my own.
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Oct 7 2012, 08:16 PM
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#5
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3648 Joined: 1-October 05 From: Croatia Member No.: 523 |
Hot pixels are always forming from neutron hits from the RTG. Interesting, I thought these were "acquired" during cruise. Are there any rough estimates on the rate new ones are expected to occur due to the RTG? -------------------- |
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Oct 7 2012, 08:27 PM
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#6
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2542 Joined: 13-September 05 Member No.: 497 |
Are there any rough estimates on the rate new ones are expected to occur due to the RTG? Yes. The typical rate is [ever heard of ITAR?] The images are all out there, one can amuse oneself by looking for new hot pixels. -------------------- Disclaimer: This post is based on public information only. Any opinions are my own.
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