The calibration target for MAHLI includes color references, a metric bar graphic, a 1909 VDB Lincoln penny, and a stair-step pattern for depth calibration. The remaining mass was discarded in the process of transport and landing. [86], ChemCam is a suite of two remote sensing instruments combined as one: a laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and a Remote Micro Imager (RMI) telescope. From the lab to your inbox. Curiosity is a car-sized rover designed to explore the Gale crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. "In the process of drilling, Curiosity broke the rock, which can sometimes happen when we are close to an edge, but still collected enough sample to perform detailed analyses," said NASA-JPL mission operations engineer Ashley Stroupe in a rover update on Friday. U.S. Lincoln penny on Mars (Curiosity; September 4, 2018). The investigative team is led by Javier Gómez-Elvira of the Spanish Astrobiology Center and includes the Finnish Meteorological Institute as a partner. Curiosity's tracks on first test drive (August 22, 2012), after parking 6 m (20 ft) from original landing site[10], Comparison of color versions (raw, natural, white balance) of Aeolis Mons on Mars (August 23, 2012), Curiosity's view of Aeolis Mons (August 9, 2012; white-balanced image). [101] Detection of the ball of luminous plasma is done in the visible, near-UV and near-infrared ranges, between 240 nm and 800 nm. It’s not a big deal, and the hole is still useful for scientists to investigate, but it’s not something you see every day. Huge NASA Rover Lands on Mars", "NASA Mars Rover Begins Driving at Bradbury Landing", "Impressive' Curiosity landing only 1.5 miles off, NASA says", "Mars Science Laboratory: Mission Science Goals", "Curiosity's mission extended indefinitely", "Five Years Ago and 154 Million Miles Away: Touchdown! 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[156][157], On August 13, 2012, U.S. President Barack Obama, calling from aboard Air Force One to congratulate the Curiosity team, said, "You guys are examples of American know-how and ingenuity. It consists of instruments developed by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the Laboratoire Inter-Universitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA) (jointly operated by France's CNRS and Parisian universities), and Honeybee Robotics, along with many additional external partners. The general sample analysis strategy begins with high-resolution cameras to look for features of interest. [102][103][104] The ChemCam team expects to take approximately one dozen compositional measurements of rocks per day. [142] It was designed, built, and tested by MDA US Systems, building upon their prior robotic arm work on the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander, the Phoenix lander, and the two Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. [100], ChemCam has the ability to record up to 6,144 different wavelengths of ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light. It once met a rock too hard to drill into and the team worked through some pesky mechanical problems in 2018, but were able to save the drill. As for Curiosity’s next moves, the rover will continue to explore the immediate area while also making distant observations of the massive crater in which it lives. Curiosity's first image after landing (August 6, 2012). Quad 51, a 1-mile-by-1-mile section of the crater Gale - Curiosity landing site is noted. "[152] (Video (07:20)), Scientists at the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles, California, viewed the CheMin instrument aboard Curiosity as a potentially valuable means to examine ancient works of art without damaging them. It’s hard to believe, but it’s now been eight years since NASA’s incredibly capable Curiosity rover touched down on the Red Planet, and NASA is celebrating the incredible accomplishment while looking forward to the rover’s still-bright future. This is all in addition to the fact that when the rover reaches one of its several destinations, it conducts science experiments and observations that can take a long time to complete. Groken marks the 29th successful drill hole on Mars. Despite the unfortunate crack in the rock, Curiosity was able to grab a sample and have it analyzed using its onboard hardware. [86] The cameras have an autofocus capability that allows them to focus on objects from 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) to infinity. Mars rock drilled and cracked by Curiosity. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. [122], On October 17, 2012, at "Rocknest", the first X-ray diffraction analysis of Martian soil was performed. [86] Malin also developed a pair of MastCams with zoom lenses,[92] but these were not included in the rover because of the time required to test the new hardware and the looming November 2011 launch date. U.S. Lincoln penny on Mars (Curiosity; September 10, 2012)(3-D; October 2, 2013). The ChemCam instrument suite was developed by the French CESR laboratory and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. [130], The role of the RAD instrument is to characterize the broad spectrum of radiation environment found inside the spacecraft during the cruise phase and while on Mars. [15][16] (Videos: Curiosity's First Five Years (02:07); Curiosity's POV: Five Years Driving (05:49); Curiosity's Discoveries About Gale Crater (02:54)), As reported in 2018, drill samples taken in 2015 uncovered organic molecules of benzene and propane in 3 billion year old rock samples in Gale.[166][167][168]. If a particular surface is of interest, Curiosity can vaporize a small portion of it with an infrared laser and examine the resulting spectra signature to query the rock's elemental composition. Curiosity's drilling work has had its ups and downs (mostly ups). The descent stage then flew away to a crash landing, and the rover prepared itself to begin the science portion of the mission.[80]. [76][77][78][79] After the rover touched down it waited 2 seconds to confirm that it was on solid ground then fired several pyrotechnic fasteners activating cable cutters on the bridle to free itself from the spacecraft descent stage. Engineers created a smaller, portable version named the X-Duetto. [91], One MastCam camera is the Medium Angle Camera (MAC), which has a 34 mm (1.3 in) focal length, a 15° field of view, and can yield 22 cm/pixel (8.7 in/pixel) scale at 1 km (0.62 mi). A beam of X-rays is then directed at the powder and the crystal structure of the minerals deflects it at characteristic angles, allowing scientists to identify the minerals being analyzed. These measurements have never been done before from the inside of a spacecraft in interplanetary space. Curiosity's landing site is on Aeolis Palus near Mount Sharp (north is down). [22], Curiosity is 2.9 m (9.5 ft) long by 2.7 m (8.9 ft) wide by 2.2 m (7.2 ft) in height,[23] larger than Mars Exploration Rovers, which are 1.5 m (4.9 ft) long and have a mass of 174 kg (384 lb) including 6.8 kg (15 lb) of scientific instruments. Rover tracks, drill tailings and broken bits of rock could be prime material for future space archeologists to study far in the future when humans are looking back on our early Mars explorations. Curiosity stopped by its current location to grab rock samples from areas that were covered in dark nodules. It makes me get out of bed in the morning and wonder what surprises life will throw at me that day. These experiments, like drilling and analyzing rock samples, have to be done very carefully, and NASA has had to struggle with some downtime of its drilling instrument along the way as well. Get the latest science stories from CNET every week. [5][6][9] The Bradbury Landing site was less than 2.4 km (1.5 mi) from the center of the rover's touchdown target after a 560 million km (350 million mi) journey. Elsewhere on the rover is the autograph of Clara Ma, the 12-year-old girl from Kansas who gave Curiosity its name in an essay contest, writing in part that "curiosity is the passion that drives us through our everyday lives. 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