{"id":771313,"date":"2023-11-06T14:31:49","date_gmt":"2023-11-06T18:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=771313"},"modified":"2023-11-06T14:31:49","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T18:31:49","slug":"nasas-curiosity-rover-clocks-4000-days-on-mars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=771313","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Curiosity Rover Clocks 4,000 Days on Mars"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NASA\u2019s Curiosity Mars rover captured this 360-degree panorama using its black-and-white navigation cameras, or Navcams, at a location where it collected a sample from a rock nicknamed \u201cSequoia.\u201d The panorama was captured on Oct. 21 and 26, 2023.<\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The mission team is making sure the roboti<\/em>c scientist,\u00a0now in its fourth extended mission,\u00a0is staying strong, despite wear and tear from its 11-year journey.<\/em><\/p>\n

Four thousand Martian days after setting its wheels in Gale Crater on Aug. 5, 2012, NASA\u2019s Curiosity rover remains busy conducting exciting science. The rover recently drilled its 39th sample then dropped the pulverized rock into its belly for detailed analysis.<\/p>\n

To study whether ancient Mars had the conditions to support microbial life, the rover has been gradually ascending the base of 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) Mount Sharp, whose layers formed in different periods of Martian history and offer a record of how the planet\u2019s climate changed over time.<\/p>\n

The latest sample was collected from a target nicknamed \u201cSequoia<\/a>\u201d (all of the mission\u2019s current science targets are named after<\/a> locations in California\u2019s Sierra Nevada<\/a>). Scientists hope the sample will reveal more about how the climate and habitability of Mars evolved as this region became enriched in sulfates \u2013minerals that likely formed in salty water that was evaporating as Mars first began drying up billions of years ago. Eventually, Mars\u2019 liquid water disappeared for good.<\/p>\n

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NASA\u2019s Curiosity Mars rover used the drill on the end of its robotic arm to collect a sample from a rock nicknamed \u201cSequoia\u201d on Oct. 17, 2023, the 3,980th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The rover\u2019s Mastcam captured this image.<\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/MSSS<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe types of sulfate and carbonate minerals that Curiosity\u2019s instruments have identified in the last year help us understand what Mars was like so long ago. We\u2019ve been anticipating these results for decades, and now Sequoia will tell us even more,\u201d said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity\u2019s project scientist at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which leads the mission.<\/p>\n

Deciphering the clues to Mars\u2019 ancient climate requires detective work. In a recent paper published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets<\/a>, team members used data from Curiosity\u2019s Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin<\/a>) instrument to discover a magnesium sulfate mineral called starkeyite, which is associated with especially dry climates like Mars\u2019 modern climate.<\/p>\n

The team believes that after sulfate minerals first formed in salty water that was evaporating billions of years ago, these minerals transformed into starkeyite as the climate continued drying to its present state. Findings like this refine scientists\u2019 understanding of how the Mars of today came to be.<\/a><\/p>\n

Time-Tested Rover<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Despite having driven almost 20 miles (32 kilometers) through a punishingly cold environment bathed in dust and radiation since 2012, Curiosity remains strong. Engineers are currently working to resolve an issue with one of the rover\u2019s main \u201ceyes\u201d \u2013 the 34 mm focal length left camera of the Mast Camera, or Mastcam, instrument. In addition to providing color images of the rover\u2019s surroundings, each of Mastcam\u2019s two cameras helps scientists determine from afar the composition of rocks by the wavelengths of light, or spectra, they reflect in different colors.<\/p>\n

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This anaglyph version of Curiosity\u2019s panorama taken at \u201cSequoia\u201d can be viewed in 3D using red-blue glasses.<\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

To do that, Mastcam relies on filters arranged on a wheel that rotates under each camera\u2019s lens. Since Sept. 19, the left camera\u2019s filter wheel has been stuck between filter positions<\/a>, the effects of which can be seen on the mission\u2019s raw, or unprocessed, images<\/a>. The mission continues to gradually nudge the filter wheel back toward its standard setting.<\/p>\n

If unable to nudge it back all the way, the mission would rely on the higher resolution 100 mm focal length right Mastcam as the primary color-imaging system. As a result, how the team scouts for science targets and rover routes would be affected: The right camera needs to take nine times more images than the left to cover the same area. The teams also would have a degraded ability to observe the detailed color spectra of rocks from afar.<\/p>\n

Along with efforts to nudge the filter back, mission engineers continue to closely monitor the performance of the rover\u2019s nuclear power source<\/a> and expect it will provide enough energy to operate for many more years. They have also found ways to overcome challenges from wear on the rover\u2019s drill system<\/a> and robotic-arm joints. Software updates<\/a> have fixed bugs and added new capabilities to Curiosity, too, making long drives easier for the rover and reducing wheel wear that comes from steering (an earlier addition of a traction-control algorithm<\/a> also helps reduce wheel wear from driving over sharp rocks).<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the team is preparing for a break of several weeks in November. Mars is about to disappear behind the Sun, a phenomenon known as solar conjunction<\/a>. Plasma from the Sun can interact with radio waves, potentially interfering with commands during this time. Engineers are leaving Curiosity with a to-do list from Nov. 6 to 28, after which period communications can safely resume.<\/p>\n

More About the Mission<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Curiosity was built by NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Mastcam.<\/p>\n

For more about Curiosity, visit:
http:\/\/mars.nasa.gov\/msl<\/a>
https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/msl\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n

News Media Contacts<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

Karen Fox \/ Alana Johnson
NASA Headquarters, Washington
301-286-6284 \/ 202-358-1501
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov<\/a> \/ alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

2023-160<\/p>\n

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