Sol 2155 update by Ryan Anderson: What a Dump (29 August 2018)
Our second attempt at a dump was successful! The plan for Sol 2155 starts with a whole slew of Mastcam images to check out various components of the arm turret, plus a MAHLI observation of the dump pile.
After that, Navcam will look toward the crater rim to measure the amount of dust in the air, and ChemCam will analyze the targets “Ben Macdui” and “Tarskavaig,” both of which appear to be interesting features where the bedrock chemistry and mineralogy may have been altered. Mastcam will take pictures of these two targets once ChemCam is done with them, and will also document the previous ChemCam targets “Laig Bay” and “Bealach na Ba.” Mastcam will also take a high-resolution mosaic around the Stoer drill hole. In the late evening, MAHLI will take some pictures of the CheMin inlet funnel, and then we will place APXS over the tailings pile for an overnight analysis.
If all goes well, this will be the last full day at the Stoer location, and tomorrow Curiosity will start driving toward the south!
Sol 2156 update by Abigail Fraeman: The Story of Stoer (30 Aug 2018)
After an extremely productive couple of weeks, we are finishing up our work at Stoer! We'll take some quick ChemCam and Mastcam observations of the tailings dump pile tosols before packing up and starting our drive up the ridge towards our next drill location. As we leave Stoer, I'd like to take some time to share the story of how and why we came to drill this particular location.
We first attempted to drill Vera Rubin Ridge back on sol 2112 at the "Voyageurs" target. However, the drill made only a few millimeters of progress into that target before stopping because the rate of downward progress was so slow. The drill itself performed exactly as it was designed but the Voyageurs rock was simply too hard! It was pretty interesting from a science perspective to see this result, but it also meant we had to work quickly to figure out a plan B.
The science team agreed it was scientifically important enough to get a drill sample from the lower part of Vera Rubin Ridge that we should try again. But how could we improve our chances of finding a rock that would be softer and easier to drill than Voyageurs? It was time to think like geologists.
In the absence of direct data on rock mechanical properties, we came up with three criteria that we could use to try to find a softer rock. (1) Did the bristles of the DRT brush leave scratches on the rocks' surfaces? While not necessarily a direct indicator of what the rock strength would be when we drilled into it, we could at least say rocks that got scratched with the DRT had a softer surface than those that didn't. (2) How well exposed are the white calcium sulfate veins? On some rock targets, like Stoer, we clearly see veins. On other targets, like Voyageurs, the veins are recessed into the rock. Recessed veins erode much faster than the surrounding bedrock because the surrounding bedrock is harder. Non-recessed veins tells us the bedrock may be similar in strength to the veins, or, if the veins stick out, the bedrock may be lower in strength. (3) What does the large-scale topography tell us? Broadly, Vera Rubin Ridge is a ridge because it is composed of hard rocks that are more resistant to erosion than their surroundings. We realized we might use this same logic to find softer rocks within the ridge by trying to drill in local topographic lows or at bases of scarps where the bottom of the scarp is eroding more quickly than the hard rocks on top.
Fortunately, because we had already explored a lot of Vera Rubin Ridge, we already had lots of data in hand to search for our next drill targets. Several members of the science team put in impressive efforts to quickly go through all of the images we'd taken in the last 200 sols, and we found just a handful of candidates than fit our criteria. The area near "Ailsa Craig" was close to Voyageurs and looked different enough that we thought it was worth a go. We made more progress drilling into this target than Voyageurs, but still not enough.
"Stoer" was our final choice, and it was initially chosen because it was near the base of a scarp and had more prominently expressed veins. We all had a really good feeling about this target when we saw the DRT had scratched it, and were thrilled when we saw a successful drill hole. Apparently third time really was the charm for us!
Looking back on all the drills over the course of the mission, I think Stoer has got to be one of my favorites. Not only have I been personally wondering about the rocks on Vera Rubin Ridge for six years, but the fact that the science team worked so hard to find this not-so-hard rock makes this particular drill extra sweet.
Sols 2157-2158 update by Brittney Cooper: I'll Take the Quela To Go, Please! (4 Sep 2018)
Today in Gale Crater, Curiosity begins with a short (but sweet) science block that utilizes ChemCam, Mastcam, and Navcam to observe the Martian surface and atmosphere. We start off with a ChemCam LIBS raster of the target "Cairntoul," and then Mastcam mosaics of the same target, as well as "Monar Dam."
The block is finished off with a Navcam line of sight (LOS) observation to continue monitoring dust in the crater as the optical depth slowly wanes. The Navcam LOS differs from the other dust-monitoring observation, the Mastcam tau, by looking at the amount of dust in Curiosity's line of sight to the crater rim. The Mastcam tau determines the amount of dust in the entire atmospheric column by looking at the Sun in a controlled and protected way.
The sol continues with a drive to the new workspace where contact science will be planned over the weekend, and ends with an over-night cleaning of the SAM "scrubbers" and "getters" in preparation for the SAM noble gas experiment in the early hours of sol 2159. Sol 2158 is spent sleeping and recharging, with only REMS environmental monitoring taking place.
After charging up the batteries, Curiosity will wake up in the wee hours of 2159 to run the noble gas experiment that will hopefully constrain the geochronology of the "Quela Doggie Bag" sample. Curiosity has actually been carrying these "Quela" leftovers from drilling that took place close to the Murray Buttes for almost two Earth years - appetizing, right? In fact, the sample is in a perfect state to be run through the noble gas experiment, which will help team members understand how recently the outcrop has been exposed from beneath eroding rocks. The Murray Buttes have been retreating due to erosion - but at what rate? Hopefully this experiment can help clue us in.
Sols 2159-2162 update by Dawn Sumner: Lots of Bits! (4 September 2018)
Curiosity's plan for the weekend is extra large - 4 sols and almost 3 gigabits of data! We planned 4 sols due to the Labor Day weekend, and the hefty data volume is courtesy of extra downlink from two special orbiters. Curiosity sends her data back to Earth through various orbiters around Mars. Usually, we use the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and Mars Odyssey (ODY) to transmit our data, and we get an average of 500 megabits of data per sol. (Note that 8 bits = 1 byte, so our average bandwidth is about 60 megabytes of data per sol. In contrast, DSL bandwidths are ~10 megabytes per second, so we get about 6 seconds worth of internet per sol!)
Recently, we have been getting lots of extra downlink. NASA's InSight mission will land in November, and MRO will be dedicated to relaying InSight data for its prime mission. Curiosity will shift to downlinking data through NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter and the European Space Agency's Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO). In preparation, we have been downlinking extra data using MAVEN and TGO. This has allowed us to downlink a backlog of images. In today's plan, we were able to take some large multispectral mosaics to fill an extra ~2 gigabits of downlink we expect next week. That's an extra 4 sols worth of bits!
Our activities include recharging the batteries on sol 2159. On the next three sols, Mastcam will take multispectral mosaics of "Tayvallich," "Rosie," "Rhinns of Galloway," and "Ben Haint" plus an image of "Ben Vorlich." ChemCam will analyze "Ben Vorlich" with LIBS, and ChemCam, APXS, and MAHLI will analyze "Tayvallich." It's time to check our instrument calibrations, and APXS will integrate overnight on its calibration target to better constrain dust that settled during the recent dust storm. MAHLI will image both the MAHLI and APXS calibration targets on sol 2161. ChemCam then takes its turn for characterizing dust by observing the passive spectrum of the white part of the Mastcam calibration target with a magnet under it, followed by passively observing the sky. After all of this imaging, Curiosity will drive toward our next drill location, and we hope to end within 15 m of our next drill site. Mastcam will take multispectral images of that area to help us choose the exact spot. Sol 2162 focuses on collecting environmental data, including a sky survey and an image of the crater rim to compare dust levels in Gale Crater with those in the atmosphere as a whole.
It's an extra large plan! And we will enjoy the long weekend - planning doesn't resume again until Wednesday.
Our second attempt at a dump was successful! The plan for Sol 2155 starts with a whole slew of Mastcam images to check out various components of the arm turret, plus a MAHLI observation of the dump pile.
After that, Navcam will look toward the crater rim to measure the amount of dust in the air, and ChemCam will analyze the targets “Ben Macdui” and “Tarskavaig,” both of which appear to be interesting features where the bedrock chemistry and mineralogy may have been altered. Mastcam will take pictures of these two targets once ChemCam is done with them, and will also document the previous ChemCam targets “Laig Bay” and “Bealach na Ba.” Mastcam will also take a high-resolution mosaic around the Stoer drill hole. In the late evening, MAHLI will take some pictures of the CheMin inlet funnel, and then we will place APXS over the tailings pile for an overnight analysis.
If all goes well, this will be the last full day at the Stoer location, and tomorrow Curiosity will start driving toward the south!
Sol 2156 update by Abigail Fraeman: The Story of Stoer (30 Aug 2018)
After an extremely productive couple of weeks, we are finishing up our work at Stoer! We'll take some quick ChemCam and Mastcam observations of the tailings dump pile tosols before packing up and starting our drive up the ridge towards our next drill location. As we leave Stoer, I'd like to take some time to share the story of how and why we came to drill this particular location.
We first attempted to drill Vera Rubin Ridge back on sol 2112 at the "Voyageurs" target. However, the drill made only a few millimeters of progress into that target before stopping because the rate of downward progress was so slow. The drill itself performed exactly as it was designed but the Voyageurs rock was simply too hard! It was pretty interesting from a science perspective to see this result, but it also meant we had to work quickly to figure out a plan B.
The science team agreed it was scientifically important enough to get a drill sample from the lower part of Vera Rubin Ridge that we should try again. But how could we improve our chances of finding a rock that would be softer and easier to drill than Voyageurs? It was time to think like geologists.
In the absence of direct data on rock mechanical properties, we came up with three criteria that we could use to try to find a softer rock. (1) Did the bristles of the DRT brush leave scratches on the rocks' surfaces? While not necessarily a direct indicator of what the rock strength would be when we drilled into it, we could at least say rocks that got scratched with the DRT had a softer surface than those that didn't. (2) How well exposed are the white calcium sulfate veins? On some rock targets, like Stoer, we clearly see veins. On other targets, like Voyageurs, the veins are recessed into the rock. Recessed veins erode much faster than the surrounding bedrock because the surrounding bedrock is harder. Non-recessed veins tells us the bedrock may be similar in strength to the veins, or, if the veins stick out, the bedrock may be lower in strength. (3) What does the large-scale topography tell us? Broadly, Vera Rubin Ridge is a ridge because it is composed of hard rocks that are more resistant to erosion than their surroundings. We realized we might use this same logic to find softer rocks within the ridge by trying to drill in local topographic lows or at bases of scarps where the bottom of the scarp is eroding more quickly than the hard rocks on top.
Fortunately, because we had already explored a lot of Vera Rubin Ridge, we already had lots of data in hand to search for our next drill targets. Several members of the science team put in impressive efforts to quickly go through all of the images we'd taken in the last 200 sols, and we found just a handful of candidates than fit our criteria. The area near "Ailsa Craig" was close to Voyageurs and looked different enough that we thought it was worth a go. We made more progress drilling into this target than Voyageurs, but still not enough.
"Stoer" was our final choice, and it was initially chosen because it was near the base of a scarp and had more prominently expressed veins. We all had a really good feeling about this target when we saw the DRT had scratched it, and were thrilled when we saw a successful drill hole. Apparently third time really was the charm for us!
Looking back on all the drills over the course of the mission, I think Stoer has got to be one of my favorites. Not only have I been personally wondering about the rocks on Vera Rubin Ridge for six years, but the fact that the science team worked so hard to find this not-so-hard rock makes this particular drill extra sweet.
Sols 2157-2158 update by Brittney Cooper: I'll Take the Quela To Go, Please! (4 Sep 2018)
Today in Gale Crater, Curiosity begins with a short (but sweet) science block that utilizes ChemCam, Mastcam, and Navcam to observe the Martian surface and atmosphere. We start off with a ChemCam LIBS raster of the target "Cairntoul," and then Mastcam mosaics of the same target, as well as "Monar Dam."
The block is finished off with a Navcam line of sight (LOS) observation to continue monitoring dust in the crater as the optical depth slowly wanes. The Navcam LOS differs from the other dust-monitoring observation, the Mastcam tau, by looking at the amount of dust in Curiosity's line of sight to the crater rim. The Mastcam tau determines the amount of dust in the entire atmospheric column by looking at the Sun in a controlled and protected way.
The sol continues with a drive to the new workspace where contact science will be planned over the weekend, and ends with an over-night cleaning of the SAM "scrubbers" and "getters" in preparation for the SAM noble gas experiment in the early hours of sol 2159. Sol 2158 is spent sleeping and recharging, with only REMS environmental monitoring taking place.
After charging up the batteries, Curiosity will wake up in the wee hours of 2159 to run the noble gas experiment that will hopefully constrain the geochronology of the "Quela Doggie Bag" sample. Curiosity has actually been carrying these "Quela" leftovers from drilling that took place close to the Murray Buttes for almost two Earth years - appetizing, right? In fact, the sample is in a perfect state to be run through the noble gas experiment, which will help team members understand how recently the outcrop has been exposed from beneath eroding rocks. The Murray Buttes have been retreating due to erosion - but at what rate? Hopefully this experiment can help clue us in.
Sols 2159-2162 update by Dawn Sumner: Lots of Bits! (4 September 2018)
Curiosity's plan for the weekend is extra large - 4 sols and almost 3 gigabits of data! We planned 4 sols due to the Labor Day weekend, and the hefty data volume is courtesy of extra downlink from two special orbiters. Curiosity sends her data back to Earth through various orbiters around Mars. Usually, we use the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and Mars Odyssey (ODY) to transmit our data, and we get an average of 500 megabits of data per sol. (Note that 8 bits = 1 byte, so our average bandwidth is about 60 megabytes of data per sol. In contrast, DSL bandwidths are ~10 megabytes per second, so we get about 6 seconds worth of internet per sol!)
Recently, we have been getting lots of extra downlink. NASA's InSight mission will land in November, and MRO will be dedicated to relaying InSight data for its prime mission. Curiosity will shift to downlinking data through NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter and the European Space Agency's Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO). In preparation, we have been downlinking extra data using MAVEN and TGO. This has allowed us to downlink a backlog of images. In today's plan, we were able to take some large multispectral mosaics to fill an extra ~2 gigabits of downlink we expect next week. That's an extra 4 sols worth of bits!
Our activities include recharging the batteries on sol 2159. On the next three sols, Mastcam will take multispectral mosaics of "Tayvallich," "Rosie," "Rhinns of Galloway," and "Ben Haint" plus an image of "Ben Vorlich." ChemCam will analyze "Ben Vorlich" with LIBS, and ChemCam, APXS, and MAHLI will analyze "Tayvallich." It's time to check our instrument calibrations, and APXS will integrate overnight on its calibration target to better constrain dust that settled during the recent dust storm. MAHLI will image both the MAHLI and APXS calibration targets on sol 2161. ChemCam then takes its turn for characterizing dust by observing the passive spectrum of the white part of the Mastcam calibration target with a magnet under it, followed by passively observing the sky. After all of this imaging, Curiosity will drive toward our next drill location, and we hope to end within 15 m of our next drill site. Mastcam will take multispectral images of that area to help us choose the exact spot. Sol 2162 focuses on collecting environmental data, including a sky survey and an image of the crater rim to compare dust levels in Gale Crater with those in the atmosphere as a whole.
It's an extra large plan! And we will enjoy the long weekend - planning doesn't resume again until Wednesday.
Curiosity update, sols 2093-2162: Three tries to successful drill atop Vera Rubin Ridge--8
![Curiosity update, sols 2093-2162: Three tries to successful drill atop Vera Rubin Ridge--8]()
Reviewed by Reshaper
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October 15, 2018
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