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P020_NELE_JAN12.qxp:Layout 1 6/1/10 12:27 Page 20 Built to last Well beyond their ‘best by’ dates, Spirit and Opportunity continue to collect data from the surface of Mars. By Graham Pitcher. hen NASA sent the Spirit and put together and flown in Pathfinder. Opportunity Rovers to Mars in There were similar sensing elements, a W2003, the plan was for the camera and in situ investigation vehicles to operate for 90 days; anything equipment. It was just a matter of more would be a bonus. But six years putting it all together on a new platform.” later, the Rovers are still working; even if NASA had wanted to include sample one of them is currently bogged down in storage, but that element dropped from the equivalent of a Martian sand trap. the mission because there wasn’t Bearing in mind that Mars is not the enough funding. friendliest of environments for such Matijevic said the Rovers ‘decide’ devices to work in, what was so special what to look at using input from their about their design? Why are the Rovers remote sensing instruments. “They work still in action? out what looks like an interesting target. Jake Matijevic, chief engineer for the Once in position, local instruments – Mars Rovers with NASA’s Jet Propulsion such as a spectrometer and an alpha Laboratory (JPL), said there is no particle analyser – are deployed and difference between the two vehicles. work together.” “They’re identical in that they were built These operations are controlled by a using the same environmental central computer. -
The Rock Abrasion Record at Gale Crater: Mars Science Laboratory
PUBLICATIONS Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets RESEARCH ARTICLE The rock abrasion record at Gale Crater: Mars 10.1002/2013JE004579 Science Laboratory results from Bradbury Special Section: Landing to Rocknest Results from the first 360 Sols of the Mars Science Laboratory N. T. Bridges1, F. J. Calef2, B. Hallet3, K. E. Herkenhoff4, N. L. Lanza5, S. Le Mouélic6, C. E. Newman7, Mission: Bradbury Landing D. L. Blaney2,M.A.dePablo8,G.A.Kocurek9, Y. Langevin10,K.W.Lewis11, N. Mangold6, through Yellowknife Bay S. Maurice12, P.-Y. Meslin12,P.Pinet12,N.O.Renno13,M.S.Rice14, M. E. Richardson7,V.Sautter15, R. S. Sletten3,R.C.Wiens6, and R. A. Yingst16 Key Points: • Ventifacts in Gale Crater 1Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, USA, 2Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, USA, 3Department • Maybeformedbypaleowind of Earth and Space Sciences, College of the Environments, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA, 4U.S. • Can see abrasion textures at range 5 6 of scales Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA, LPGNantes, UMR 6112, CNRS/Université de Nantes, Nantes, France, 7Ashima Research, Pasadena, California, USA, 8Universidad de Alcala, Madrid, Spain, 9Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Supporting Information: Austin, Texas, USA, 10Institute d’Astrophysique Spatiale, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France, 11Department of • Figure S1 12 fi • Figure S2 Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA, Centre National de la Recherche Scienti que, Institut 13 • Table S1 de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, CNRS-Université Toulouse, Toulouse, France, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Science; College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, Correspondence to: 14Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA, 15Lab N. -
Chemical Variations in Yellowknife Bay Formation Sedimentary Rocks Analyzed by Chemcam on Board the Curiosity Rover on Mars N
Chemical variations in Yellowknife Bay formation sedimentary rocks analyzed by ChemCam on board the Curiosity rover on Mars N. Mangold, O. Forni, G. Dromart, K. Stack, R. C. Wiens, O. Gasnault, D. Y. Sumner, M. Nachon, P. -Y. Meslin, R. B. Anderson, et al. To cite this version: N. Mangold, O. Forni, G. Dromart, K. Stack, R. C. Wiens, et al.. Chemical variations in Yel- lowknife Bay formation sedimentary rocks analyzed by ChemCam on board the Curiosity rover on Mars. Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets, Wiley-Blackwell, 2015, 120 (3), pp.452-482. 10.1002/2014JE004681. hal-01281801 HAL Id: hal-01281801 https://hal.univ-lorraine.fr/hal-01281801 Submitted on 12 Apr 2021 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. PUBLICATIONS Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets RESEARCH ARTICLE Chemical variations in Yellowknife Bay formation 10.1002/2014JE004681 sedimentary rocks analyzed by ChemCam Special Section: on board the Curiosity rover on Mars Results from the first 360 Sols of the Mars Science Laboratory N. Mangold1, O. Forni2, G. Dromart3, K. Stack4, R. C. Wiens5, O. Gasnault2, D. Y. Sumner6, M. Nachon1, Mission: Bradbury Landing P.-Y. -
The Goddard Memorial Mrs
March 2004 Issue 3 Vol 1 NASA Remembers Columbia Crew with Dedications By Dewayne Washington Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA On February 2, Remembering Columbia ... Page 1 NASA paused to Women History ................ Page 2 commemorate and honor lives lost in the Columbia Supporters ........ Page 3 continuing efforts of space exploration. A What Turns Hurricanes Into memorial to the Monsters .......................... Page 4 fallen heroes of Can We Talk? ................... Page 4 Space Shuttle Columbia was Why Go? ......................... Page 5 unveiled during a ceremony early in the Explorer Schools Visits ..... Page 7 day at Arlington Blind Can Reach ............... Page 8 National Cemetery. Family members of The Goddard Memorial Mrs. Sandy Anderson, wife of Columbia astronaut Michael Anderson, the STS-107crew Symposium ...................... Page 9 looks at the memorial along with astronauts Steve Robinson (right) were the first to see and Carlos Noriega (left). another permanent Goddard in the News ....... Page 9 marker of the dangers of space flight. The new memorial is just a few feet from one Black History Activities .. Page 10 honoring the crew of Space Shuttle Challenger, lost on January 28, 1986. Employee Spotlight ........ Page 11 In his remarks, Administrator O’Keefe stated that future visitors to the site will learn that these space heroes came from all parts of the United States and from the lands Goddard Meet CFC Goal .. Page 12 of India and Israel. “They were pilots, engineers and scientists, all motivated by a fire Gay/Straight Alliance ..... Page 12 within, a passionate eternal flame within each of their souls that compelled them to live lives of distinction, and to bring the heavens ever closer to our grasp.” Movie Days .................... -
Chemical Variations in Yellowknife Bay Formation Sedimentary Rocks
PUBLICATIONS Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets RESEARCH ARTICLE Chemical variations in Yellowknife Bay formation 10.1002/2014JE004681 sedimentary rocks analyzed by ChemCam Special Section: on board the Curiosity rover on Mars Results from the first 360 Sols of the Mars Science Laboratory N. Mangold1, O. Forni2, G. Dromart3, K. Stack4, R. C. Wiens5, O. Gasnault2, D. Y. Sumner6, M. Nachon1, Mission: Bradbury Landing P.-Y. Meslin2, R. B. Anderson7, B. Barraclough4, J. F. Bell III8, G. Berger2, D. L. Blaney9, J. C. Bridges10, through Yellowknife Bay F. Calef9, B. Clark11, S. M. Clegg5, A. Cousin5, L. Edgar8, K. Edgett12, B. Ehlmann4, C. Fabre13, M. Fisk14, J. Grotzinger4, S. Gupta15, K. E. Herkenhoff7, J. Hurowitz16, J. R. Johnson17, L. C. Kah18, N. Lanza19, Key Points: 2 1 20 21 12 16 2 • J. Lasue , S. Le Mouélic , R. Léveillé , E. Lewin , M. Malin , S. McLennan , S. Maurice , Fluvial sandstones analyzed by 22 22 23 19 19 24 25 ChemCam display subtle chemical N. Melikechi , A. Mezzacappa , R. Milliken , H. Newsom , A. Ollila , S. K. Rowland , V. Sautter , variations M. Schmidt26, S. Schröder2,C.d’Uston2, D. Vaniman27, and R. Williams27 • Combined analysis of chemistry and texture highlights the role of 1Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique de Nantes, CNRS, Université de Nantes, Nantes, France, 2Institut de Recherche diagenesis en Astrophysique et Planétologie, CNRS/Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, Toulouse, France, 3Laboratoire de Géologie de • Distinct chemistry in upper layers 4 5 suggests distinct setting and/or Lyon, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA, Los Alamos National 6 source Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA, Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Davis, California, USA, 7Astrogeology Science Center, U.S. -
Evidence for Thermal-Stress-Induced Rockfalls on Mars Impact Crater Slopes
Icarus 342 (2020) 113503 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Icarus journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/icarus Evidence for thermal-stress-induced rockfalls on Mars impact crater slopes P.-A. Tesson a,b,*, S.J. Conway b, N. Mangold b, J. Ciazela a, S.R. Lewis c, D. M�ege a a Space Research Centre, Polish Academy of Science, Wrocław, Poland b Laboratoire de Plan�etologie et G�eodynamique UMR 6112, CNRS, Nantes, France c School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: Here we study rocks falling from exposed outcrops of bedrock, which have left tracks on the slope over which Mars, surface they have bounced and/or rolled, in fresh impact craters (1–10 km in diameter) on Mars. The presence of these Thermal stress tracks shows that these rocks have fallen relatively recently because aeolian processes are known to infill Ices topographic lows over time. Mapping of rockfall tracks indicate trends in frequency with orientation, which in Solar radiation � � turn depend on the latitudinal position of the crater. Craters in the equatorial belt (between 15 N and 15 S) Weathering exhibit higher frequencies of rockfall on their north-south oriented slopes compared to their east-west ones. � Craters >15 N/S have notably higher frequencies on their equator-facing slopes as opposed to the other ori entations. We computed solar radiation on the surface of crater slopes to compare insolation patterns with the spatial distribution of rockfalls, and found statistically significant correlations between maximum diurnal inso lation and rockfall frequency. -
Surface Sediment Characteristics and Distribution
United States Department of the Interior United States Geological Survey Inner West-Central Florida Continental Shelf: Surface Sediment Characteristics and Distribution by: Gregg R. Brooks \ Larry J. Doyle 2, Nancy T. DeWitt 2'3, and Beau C. Suthard 1 Open File Report: 98-37 1 Eckerd College, Department of Marine Science, Saint Petersburg, FL 2 University of South Florida, Department of Marine Science, Saint Petersburg, FL 3 United States Geological Survey, Saint Petersburg, FL This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with United States Geological Survey editorial standards and stratigraphic nomenclature. Any use of trade names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the United States Geological Survey. TABLE OF CONTENTS page List of Figures iii Introduction 1 Methods 5 Results and Discussion 13 Sediment Distribution 45 References Cited 47 Appendix 1. Sedimentologic data for all sample sites A1 Ill List of Figures page Fig 1. Location map of west-central Florida 3 showing study area. Fig. 2. Map of entire study area showing sites of 7 samples collected at 1/2-hour intervals during seismic survey. Fig. 3. Map showing sample sites of area of 9 concentration off Sarasota Bay (see Fig. 1). Fig. 4. Map of entire study area showing mean 15 grain size values in 0 units. Fig 5. Map of entire study area showing mean 17 grain size distribution. Fig. 6. Map of area of concentration showing 19 mean grain size values in 0 units. Fig. 7. Map of area of concentration showing 21 mean grain size distribution. -
Mars Global Simulant MGS-1: a Rocknest-Based Open Standard For
1 Mars Global Simulant MGS-1: A Rocknest-based open standard for 2 basaltic martian regolith simulants 3 Kevin M. Cannon1,*, Daniel T .Britt1, Trent M. Smith2, Ralph F. Fritsche2, and Daniel 4 Batcheldor3 5 1University of Central Florida, Department of Physics, Orlando, Florida 32816 6 2NASA Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, FL 32899 7 3Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901 8 *Corresponding author: [email protected] 9 4111 Libra Drive 10 Physical Sciences Building 430 11 Orlando, FL 32816 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Abstract 25 The composition and physical properties of martian regolith are dramatically 26 better understood compared to just a decade ago, particularly through the use of X-ray 27 diffraction by the Curiosity rover. Because there are no samples of this material on Earth, 28 researchers and engineers rely on terrestrial simulants to test future hardware and address 29 fundamental science and engineering questions. Even with eventual sample return, the 30 amount of material brought back would not be enough for bulk studies. However, many 31 of the existing regolith simulants were designed 10 or 20 years ago based on a more 32 rudimentary understanding of martian surface materials. Here, we describe the Mars 33 Global Simulant (MGS-1), a new open standard designed as a high fidelity mineralogical 34 analog to global basaltic regolith on Mars, as represented by the Rocknest windblown 35 deposit at Gale crater. We developed prototype simulants using the MGS-1 standard and 36 characterized them with imaging techniques, bulk chemistry, spectroscopy, and 37 thermogravimetric analysis. -
Mars Science Laboratory: Curiosity Rover Curiosity’S Mission: Was Mars Ever Habitable? Acquires Rock, Soil, and Air Samples for Onboard Analysis
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Mars Science Laboratory: Curiosity Rover www.nasa.gov Curiosity’s Mission: Was Mars Ever Habitable? acquires rock, soil, and air samples for onboard analysis. Quick Facts Curiosity is about the size of a small car and about as Part of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission, Launch — Nov. 26, 2011 from Cape Canaveral, tall as a basketball player. Its large size allows the rover Curiosity is the largest and most capable rover ever Florida, on an Atlas V-541 to carry an advanced kit of 10 science instruments. sent to Mars. Curiosity’s mission is to answer the Arrival — Aug. 6, 2012 (UTC) Among Curiosity’s tools are 17 cameras, a laser to question: did Mars ever have the right environmental Prime Mission — One Mars year, or about 687 Earth zap rocks, and a drill to collect rock samples. These all conditions to support small life forms called microbes? days (~98 weeks) help in the hunt for special rocks that formed in water Taking the next steps to understand Mars as a possible and/or have signs of organics. The rover also has Main Objectives place for life, Curiosity builds on an earlier “follow the three communications antennas. • Search for organics and determine if this area of Mars was water” strategy that guided Mars missions in NASA’s ever habitable for microbial life Mars Exploration Program. Besides looking for signs of • Characterize the chemical and mineral composition of Ultra-High-Frequency wet climate conditions and for rocks and minerals that ChemCam Antenna rocks and soil formed in water, Curiosity also seeks signs of carbon- Mastcam MMRTG • Study the role of water and changes in the Martian climate over time based molecules called organics. -
The Pancam Instrument for the Exomars Rover
ASTROBIOLOGY ExoMars Rover Mission Volume 17, Numbers 6 and 7, 2017 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. DOI: 10.1089/ast.2016.1548 The PanCam Instrument for the ExoMars Rover A.J. Coates,1,2 R. Jaumann,3 A.D. Griffiths,1,2 C.E. Leff,1,2 N. Schmitz,3 J.-L. Josset,4 G. Paar,5 M. Gunn,6 E. Hauber,3 C.R. Cousins,7 R.E. Cross,6 P. Grindrod,2,8 J.C. Bridges,9 M. Balme,10 S. Gupta,11 I.A. Crawford,2,8 P. Irwin,12 R. Stabbins,1,2 D. Tirsch,3 J.L. Vago,13 T. Theodorou,1,2 M. Caballo-Perucha,5 G.R. Osinski,14 and the PanCam Team Abstract The scientific objectives of the ExoMars rover are designed to answer several key questions in the search for life on Mars. In particular, the unique subsurface drill will address some of these, such as the possible existence and stability of subsurface organics. PanCam will establish the surface geological and morphological context for the mission, working in collaboration with other context instruments. Here, we describe the PanCam scientific objectives in geology, atmospheric science, and 3-D vision. We discuss the design of PanCam, which includes a stereo pair of Wide Angle Cameras (WACs), each of which has an 11-position filter wheel and a High Resolution Camera (HRC) for high-resolution investigations of rock texture at a distance. The cameras and electronics are housed in an optical bench that provides the mechanical interface to the rover mast and a planetary protection barrier. -
EGU2015-6247, 2015 EGU General Assembly 2015 © Author(S) 2015
Geophysical Research Abstracts Vol. 17, EGU2015-6247, 2015 EGU General Assembly 2015 © Author(s) 2015. CC Attribution 3.0 License. From Kimberley to Pahrump_Hills: toward a working sedimentary model for Curiosity’s exploration of strata from Aeolis Palus to lower Mount Sharp in Gale crater Sanjeev Gupta (1), David Rubin (2), Katie Stack (3), John Grotzinger (4), Rebecca Williams (5), Lauren Edgar (6), Dawn Sumner (7), Melissa Rice (8), Kevin Lewis (9), Michelle Minitti (5), Juergen Schieber (10), Ken Edgett (11), Ashwin Vasawada (3), Marie McBride (11), Mike Malin (11), and the MSL Science Team (1) Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom ([email protected]), (2) UC, Santa Cruz, CA, USA, (3) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, USA, (4) California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA, (5) Planetary Science INstitute, Tucson, AZ, USA, (6) USGS, Flagstaff, AZ, USA, (7) UC, Davis, CA, USA, (8) Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USA, (9) Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, (10) Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA, (11) Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, CA, USA In September 2014, NASA’s Curiosity rover crossed the transition from sedimentary rocks of Aeolis Palus to those interpreted to be basal sedimentary rocks of lower Aeolis Mons (Mount Sharp) at the Pahrump Hills outcrop. This transition records a change from strata dominated by coarse clastic deposits comprising sandstones and conglomerate facies to a succession at Pahrump Hills that is dominantly fine-grained mudstones and siltstones with interstratified sandstone beds. Here we explore the sedimentary characteristics of the deposits, develop depositional models in the light of observed physical characteristics and develop a working stratigraphic model to explain stratal relationships. -
JSC-Rocknest: a Large-Scale Mojave Mars Simulant (MMS) Based Soil Simulant for In-Situ
1 JSC-Rocknest: A large-scale Mojave Mars Simulant (MMS) based soil simulant for in-situ 2 resource utilization water-extraction studies 3 Clark, J.V.a*, Archer, P.D.b, Gruener, J.E.c, Ming, D.W.c, Tu, V.M.b, Niles, P.B.c, Mertzman, 4 S.A.d 5 a GeoControls Systems, Inc – Jacobs JETS Contract at NASA Johnson Space Center, 2101 6 NASA Pkwy, Houston, TX 77058, USA. [email protected], 281-244-7442 7 b Jacobs JETS Contract at NASA Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Pkwy, Houston, TX 8 77058, USA. 9 c NASA Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Pkwy, Houston, TX 77058, USA. 10 d Department of Earth and Environmental, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA 17604, 11 USA. 12 *Corresponding author 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Keywords: Simulant, Mars, In-situ resource utilization, evolved gas analysis, Rocknest 1 20 Abstract 21 The Johnson Space Center-Rocknest (JSC-RN) simulant was developed in response to a 22 need by NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) 23 project for a simulant to be used in component and system testing for water extraction from Mars 24 regolith. JSC-RN was designed to be chemically and mineralogically similar to material from the 25 aeolian sand shadow named Rocknest in Gale Crater, particularly the 1-3 wt.% low temperature 26 (<450 ºC) water release as measured by the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument on the 27 Curiosity rover. Sodium perchlorate, goethite, pyrite, ferric sulfate, regular and high capacity 28 granular ferric oxide, and forsterite were added to a Mojave Mars Simulant (MMS) base in order 29 to match the mineralogy, evolved gases, and elemental chemistry of Rocknest.