Along the base of Vera Rubin Ridge, (Sites 64-65, Sols 1726-1812, Jun 14-Sep 11 2017) |
Along the base of Vera Rubin Ridge, (Sites 64-65, Sols 1726-1812, Jun 14-Sep 11 2017) |
Jun 15 2017, 07:09 AM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 362 Joined: 13-April 06 From: Malta Member No.: 741 |
Time for a new topic in line with Curiosity's new location.
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Jun 22 2017, 06:57 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 541 Joined: 17-November 05 From: Oklahoma Member No.: 557 |
In regards to the drill, Emily Lakdawalla posted on the Planetary Society's blog last week:
Curiosity Update QUOTE A problem with the brake on the rover's drill feed mechanism that occurred back in December is still preventing its use, and there's currently no estimate of when (if ever) it will return to action. QUOTE As Curiosity approaches the top of the Murray formation and journeys into new rock units, it would be a really good time for the drill to come back into service. Unfortunately, there is no estimate for when that may happen. Engineers have been hard at work testing the drill, trying to develop methods to reliably advance the drill feed. Project scientist Ashwin Vasavada tells me that the experiments they've been performing have borne some fruit but have not led to a solution that allows the drill feed to function reliably. They're shifting now from trying electronic solutions to the balky drill feed (like adjusting voltages, using one or the other or both brake coils) to mechanical solutions (experimenting with the orientation of the drill and with the use of vibration and percussion at different levels). And because it's been so long since the last successful drill attempt, on sol 1495 at Sebina, the project is beginning to expend some effort to explore some "less standard uses of the drill" that would bypass the use of the drill feed altogether for sampling activity. Let's all hope it doesn't come to that, but I'm glad they're preparing for the possibility that the drill feed mechanism might be unrecoverable. In regards to the current situation facing the wheels, and the blocky terrain ... QUOTE One piece of good news about the changing terrain: despite the increasing blockiness of the Murray, there's been no acceleration in wheel damage. Rover drivers can steer around many of the blocks. Even when wheels have to confront rock, Murray formation rock is soft enough that Curiosity's wheels tend to crush it, unlike the Bradbury rocks that used to puncture the wheels' thin skin. |
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