However on March 18, the mission group saw an unforeseen terrain modification ahead and recognized they would need to turn around: The course before Curiosity was carpeted with more wind-sharpened rocks, or ventifacts, than they have ever seen in the rovers almost 10 years on the Red Planet.
NASAs Curiosity Mars rover used its Mast Camera, or Mastcam, to take this 360-degree panorama on March 23, 2022, the 3,423 th Martian day, or sol, of the objective. The group has informally explained the wind-sharpened rocks seen here as “gator-back” rocks because of their flaky appearance. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Ventifacts chewed up Curiositys wheels earlier in the objective. Given that then, rover engineers have discovered ways to slow wheel wear, consisting of a traction control algorithm, to decrease how regularly they need to assess the wheels. And they also plan rover routes that avoid driving over such rocks, including these latest ventifacts, which are made of sandstone– the hardest kind of rock Curiosity has actually come across on Mars.
The team nicknamed their scalelike appearance “gator-back” surface. The mission had searched the location utilizing orbital images, it took seeing these rocks close-up to reveal the ventifacts.
” It was apparent from Curiositys pictures that this would not benefit our wheels,” said Curiosity Project Manager Megan Lin of NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which leads the objective. “It would be slow going, and we wouldnt have had the ability to implement rover-driving finest practices.”
NASAs Curiosity Mars rover utilized its Mast Camera, or Mastcam, to survey these wind-sharpened rocks, called ventifacts, on March 15, 2022, the 3,415 th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The group has actually informally described these patches of ventifacts as “gator-back” rocks because of their scaly appearance. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
The gator-back rocks arent blockaded– they simply wouldnt have deserved crossing, thinking about how hard the path would be and just how much they would age the rovers wheels.
The objective is mapping out a new course for the rover as it continues to check out Mount Sharp, a 3.4-mile-tall (5.5-kilometer-tall) mountain that Curiosity has actually been rising given that 2014. As it climbs up, Curiosity has the ability to study various sedimentary layers that were formed by water billions of years back. These layers assist scientists comprehend whether tiny life could have survived in the ancient Martian environment.
Why Greenheugh?
The Greenheugh Pediment is a broad, sloping plain near the base of Mount Sharp that extends about 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) across. Interests researchers first saw it in orbital imagery before the rovers landing in 2012. The pediment protrudes as a standalone feature on this part of Mount Sharp, and scientists desired to comprehend how it formed.
Low-angle self-portrait of NASAs Curiosity Mars rover. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
It also sits close by the Gediz Vallis Ridge, which may have been created as debris streamed down the mountain. Interest will constantly remain in the lower foothills of Mount Sharp, where theres evidence of ancient water and environments that would have been habitable in the past. Driving across about a mile (1.5 kilometers) of the pediment to collect images of Gediz Vallis Ridge would have been a way to study product from the mountains uppermost reaches.
” From a range, we can see car-sized stones that were transported down from greater levels of Mount Sharp– possibly by water reasonably late in Mars wet era,” said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiositys job researcher at JPL. “We do not truly know what they are, so we wanted to see them up close.”
The Road Less Traveled
Over the next couple weeks, Curiosity will climb down from the pediment to a place it had actually formerly been checking out: a shift zone in between a clay-rich area and one with larger quantities of salt minerals called sulfates. The clay minerals formed when the mountain was wetter, dappled with ponds and streams; the salts may have formed as Mars environment dried out in time.
” It was truly cool to see rocks that protected a time when lakes were drying up and being changed by streams and dry dune,” said Abigail Fraeman, Curiositys deputy job scientist at JPL. “Im really curious to see what we find as we continue to get on this detour.”
Interests wheels will be on more secure ground as it leaves the gator-back surface behind, but engineers are focused on other signs of wear on the rovers robotic arm, which brings its rock drill. Braking systems on 2 of the arms joints have stopped working in the previous year. However, each joint has redundant parts to make sure the arm can keep drilling rock samples. The team is studying the very best ways to utilize the arm to ensure these redundant parts keep working as long as possible.
NASAs Curiosity Mars rover used its Mast Camera, or Mastcam, to take this 360-degree panorama on March 23, 2022, the 3,423 th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. And they also plan rover paths that avoid driving over such rocks, consisting of these latest ventifacts, which are made of sandstone– the hardest type of rock Curiosity has experienced on Mars.
NASAs Curiosity Mars rover used its Mast Camera, or Mastcam, to survey these wind-sharpened rocks, called ventifacts, on March 15, 2022, the 3,415 th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The mission is mapping out a brand-new course for the rover as it continues to check out Mount Sharp, a 3.4-mile-tall (5.5-kilometer-tall) mountain that Curiosity has been ascending given that 2014. Curiositys wheels will be on safer ground as it leaves the gator-back surface behind, however engineers are focused on other signs of wear on the rovers robotic arm, which carries its rock drill.
To avoid patches of knife-edged rocks, the mission has taken an alternative path up Mount Sharp.
NASAs Curiosity Mars rover invested many of March climbing the “Greenheugh Pediment”– a mild slope topped by rubbly sandstone. The rover briefly summited this functions north face 2 years ago; now on the pediments southern side, Curiosity has actually browsed back onto the pediment to explore it more completely.
