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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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 3 2012, 10:59 AM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 813 Joined: 29-December 05 From: NE Oh, USA Member No.: 627 |
Putting this here because assume they will discuss future plans....
NASA HOSTS OCT. 4 TELECONFERENCE ABOUT MARS CURIOSITY ROVER PROGRESS NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. PDT (2 p.m. EDT) Thursday, Oct. 4, to provide a status update on the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars' Gale Crater. http://www.nasa.gov/news/media/newsaudio/index.html Craig |
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Oct 3 2012, 08:44 PM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1075 Joined: 21-September 07 From: Québec, Canada Member No.: 3908 |
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Oct 3 2012, 08:47 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 154 Joined: 19-September 12 Member No.: 6658 |
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Oct 3 2012, 09:48 PM
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Newbie Group: Members Posts: 16 Joined: 19-September 12 Member No.: 6656 |
Actually, this says a lot about the plasticity of the surface at Glenelg.
Oops no it doesn't. That's a tire....not a print. But what are the fibers? Renee |
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Oct 3 2012, 09:58 PM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3516 Joined: 4-November 05 From: North Wales Member No.: 542 |
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Oct 3 2012, 10:12 PM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1619 Joined: 12-February 06 From: Bergerac - FR Member No.: 678 |
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Oct 3 2012, 10:14 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 154 Joined: 19-September 12 Member No.: 6658 |
Actually, this says a lot about the plasticity of the surface at Glenelg. Oops no it doesn't. That's a tire....not a print. But what are the fibers? Renee Just looking at the images as an amateur I would suppose that there is coarser material on top of much finer material. And no - its not a tire and the "fibers" are just cracks or fractions in the "sand". |
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Oct 3 2012, 10:26 PM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1619 Joined: 12-February 06 From: Bergerac - FR Member No.: 678 |
I can recall that the martian soil is acting like a wet sand, but it's actually very dry. The consequence of a material named "maghemite" (imagine a magnet, but in powder, it's pretty much like that). At the surface of this dune, there is a crust, where the sand particles have got some cohesion because of the alternance of wetting and drying. So then, when you walk on it, its like you're walking on snow, with a surface which became hard due to sunlight. And under, you have some wet-but-yet-dry soil.
I hope I was clear -------------------- |
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Oct 3 2012, 10:29 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 154 Joined: 19-September 12 Member No.: 6658 |
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Oct 3 2012, 11:41 PM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1619 Joined: 12-February 06 From: Bergerac - FR Member No.: 678 |
Oh no, that's not a problem. But yes, with jpeg compression and brightening, the stereoscopic effect is reduced.
PS : Panos updated. -------------------- |
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Oct 4 2012, 12:12 AM
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Newbie Group: Members Posts: 16 Joined: 19-September 12 Member No.: 6656 |
"Just looking at the images as an amateur I would suppose that there is coarser material on top of much finer material. And no - its not a tire and the "fibers" are just cracks or fractions in the "sand"."
Thar being the case, isn't the'surface" pretty unexpected? Renee |
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Oct 4 2012, 12:57 AM
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 87 Joined: 17-May 08 Member No.: 4114 |
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Oct 4 2012, 01:14 AM
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14434 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
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Oct 4 2012, 02:24 AM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2173 Joined: 28-December 04 From: Florida, USA Member No.: 132 |
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