NASAs Curiosity rover recently took on a tough climb up to the crater-rich site, “Jau,” on its way to Mount Sharp. On August 5, NASAs Curiosity rover will notch its 11th year on Mars by doing what it does best: studying the Red Planets surface area. Hale is one of 15 “rover organizers” who write hundreds of lines of code to command Curiositys mobility system and robotic arm each day. Interest Views a Crater at Jau: NASAs Curiosity utilized its Mastcam to capture this impact crater in an area nicknamed “Jau” on July 25, the 3,899 th Martian day, or sol, of the objective. Interest was never ever in risk while climbing to Jau: The team does not plan anything that might harm the rover, and the organizers compose commands so that Curiosity will stop moving if it experiences any surprises.
Interest Views Its Tracks Using Its Navcam: NASAs Curiosity left several sets of tracks where the rover experienced a fault, or unanticipated blockage mid-drive, while trying the most challenging climb the mission has faced: a slope with a sharp 23-degree slope, slippery sand, and wheel-size rocks. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The course up the mountain over the last a number of months required the most tough climb Curiosity has actually ever made. There have actually been steeper climbs up and riskier terrain, but the objective has actually never ever faced the trifecta of challenges positioned by this slope: a sharp 23-degree slope, slippery sand, and wheel-size rocks. This trifecta left the rover coping a half-dozen drives in May and June, vexing Curiositys motorists back in the world.
” If youve ever attempted running up a sand dune on a beach– and thats basically what we were doing– you understand its difficult, however there were stones in there as well,” stated Amy Hale, a Curiosity rover chauffeur at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California.
Curiositys Big Climb: Find out how NASAs Curiosity Mars rover dealt with among the hardest climbs of the mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
How to Drive a Rover
Hale is one of 15 “rover coordinators” who write numerous lines of code to command Curiositys mobility system and robotic arm every day. (They do not run the rover in real time; guidelines are sent out to Mars the night previously, and data returns to Earth only after the rover has finished the work.) These engineers team up with researchers to figure out where to direct the rover, what pictures to take, and which targets to study utilizing the instruments on its 7-foot (2-meter) robotic arm.
Rover planners are likewise constantly on the lookout for hazards. They have to compose commands to steer around pointy rocks and lessen wear on Curiositys battered wheels.
Curiosity Views a Crater at Jau: NASAs Curiosity used its Mastcam to catch this impact crater in a location nicknamed “Jau” on July 25, the 3,899 th Martian day, or sol, of the objective. This was among lots of impact craters Curiosity visited after finishing among its most challenging climbs up ever. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Six-Wheeled Ascent to Jau
Interest was never ever in risk while climbing to Jau: The group doesnt plan anything that might harm the rover, and the planners compose commands so that Curiosity will stop moving if it encounters any surprises. Unexpected blockages– described as “faults”– can take place when the wheels slip excessive or a wheel is raised too high by a big rock. On the route to Jau, the rover found itself in both situations on numerous celebrations.
” We were essentially playing fault bingo,” stated Dane Schoelen, Curiositys strategic path planning lead at JPL. “Each day when we was available in, we d discover out we faulted for one factor or another.”
The Detours Success
Rather of continuing to have a hard time with the initial course, Schoelen and his coworkers assembled a lateral detour, considering a spot roughly 492 feet (150 meters) away where the incline leveled out. A minimum of, it seemed to: Planners count on imagery from NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to get a rough sense of the terrain, but images captured from area cant reveal precisely how steep a slope is or whether boulders are there.
A Map of Curiositys Difficult Climb: This map shows the path NASAs Curiosity Mars rover took from May into July 2023 to complete the most hard climb of the objective. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS-Flagstaff/ University of Arizona
The detour would add a couple of weeks to the journey to Jau– unless the surface was concealing more surprises. If that were the case, the detour might have been for nothing, and the teams researchers would have to keep trying to find another course up Mount Sharp.
Fortunately, the detour paid off, allowing Curiosity to crest the slope.
” It felt terrific to lastly get over the ridge and see that fantastic vista,” Schoelen said. “I get to take a look at pictures of Mars all day, so I really get a sense of the landscape. I typically feel like Im standing right there beside Curiosity, recalling at how far it has actually climbed.”
Because the tough climb, Curiositys scientists have wrapped an investigation of the Jau crater cluster. Typical on Mars, clusters can form when a meteor breaks up in the worlds atmosphere or when pieces are tossed by a big, more remote meteoroid impact. Researchers desire to comprehend how the reasonably soft rocks of the salt-enriched terrain impacted the method the craters formed and altered with time.
Regardless of all that Mars has tossed at Curiosity, the rover isnt decreasing. Itll quickly venture off again to check out a brand-new area higher up on Mount Sharp.
More About the Mission
Curiosity was built by JPL, which is handled by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the objective on behalf of NASAs Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
NASAs Curiosity rover just recently dealt with a difficult climb up to the crater-rich website, “Jau,” on its method to Mount Sharp. The rover continues its expedition of Mars landscape greater up on Mount Sharp.
Soon before the rovers 11th anniversary on the Red Planet, Curiositys team assisted assist it up a high, slippery slope to examine meteor craters.
On August 5, NASAs Curiosity rover will notch its 11th year on Mars by doing what it does finest: studying the Red Planets surface. The intrepid bot recently examined a location nicknamed “Jau” that is pockmarked with lots of impact craters.
Overcoming Terrain Challenges
Jau is a pit stop on the rovers journey into the foothills of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain that was covered with streams, lakes, and rivers billions of years ago. Each layer of the mountain formed in a different era of Mars ancient environment, and the higher Curiosity goes, the more scientists learn more about how the landscape altered with time.