The Curiosity On Mars Thread.

shedweller

http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/mars/ask/atmosphere/Feel_of_Wind_on_Mars.txt

shedweller

This is the opening into the CheMin. Looks clean!:)

shedweller

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-09/11/curiosity-bacteria-mars

When searching for life on another world, the most fundamental precaution that any space agency needs to take with any probe or rover is to ensure it doesn't carry Earth microbes. However, if reports are to be believed, Nasa may have screwed up -- and is hoping that it doesn't find any water when it drills into the Martian soil.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the possible contamination occurred six months before the rover's launch in November 2011. Curiosity's drillbits were designed to be stored in a sealed box, separate from the drill mechanism -- however, a Nasa engineer worried that a rough landing might make assembling the drill on Mars impossible (and thus rendering one of the rover's most important tools impotent), and opened the sealed unit to install one drill bit as a kind of backup. This happened without consulting Nasa's team dedicated to avoiding contaminating Mars with Earth bacteria.

:eek: Without consulting????? In NASA?????

Mickeroo

Yea i read that yesterday, pretty crazy stuff. It would have been a disaster if the rover couldn't get to the drill after landing but I'm pretty sure the potential disaster from what they did might be a bit worse! Still, if nothing else he could be the guy who seeded life on mars :eek:

shedweller

Zap the drill with the ChemCam maybe? The laser will both sterilise the drill AND ChemCam will tell if anything organic is or was on the drill!

Dibs on the idea!

shizz

shedweller wrote: »

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-09/11/curiosity-bacteria-mars


:eek: Without consulting????? In NASA?????

Wasn't this problem realised pretty soon after it launched? I recall reading this many months ago.

shedweller

shizz wrote: »

Wasn't this problem realised pretty soon after it launched? I recall reading this many months ago.

I do recall the issue with grease from the drills gearbox contaminating samples but this latest thing is new to me.

Ardent

Jernal wrote: »

Shamelessy stolen from YLYl.



Puts a lot of things in perspective.:)

Not really. Avatar took IN 2.78 billion at the box office most likely, it surely didn't cost 2.78b to make?!

Mickeroo

Ardent wrote: »

Not really. Avatar took IN 2.78 billion at the box office most likely, it surely didn't cost 2.78b to make?!

I think it means the public spent $2.78 billion on going to see it.

slade_x

shizz wrote: »

Wasn't this problem realised pretty soon after it launched? I recall reading this many months ago.

May be a hoax as of yet.

shedweller

slade_x wrote: »

May be a hoax as of yet.

Drumming up publicity ya reckon? Wouldn't rule it out to be fair.

shedweller

shedweller wrote: »

This is the opening into the CheMin. Looks clean!:)

Edit: thats the SAM
Here's something else to ogle:

shedweller

Rock and soil samples? How do they plan on getting the bits that stick in the mesh out? Please dont tell me that there won't be any large bits going near it! They haven't heard of Murphys Law have they??!!:D
Aaaanyway, here's a portrait of the APXS:


Looks like they have zeroed in their arm skillz.
Is this brightness simulated or actual?

Hotblack Desiato

shedweller wrote: »

Anyway, has anybody noticed the dents in the wheels?

Maybe happened on touchdown?

Regarding sound on Mars - at about 0.6%% of Earth's atmospheric density, there's not much gas to carry sound, even if the ear listening to it wasn't encased in a pressure suit.

shedweller

Ah yes but....

The dents are on opposite sides and indeed, randomly around the wheel i highlighted above.
In fairness, the dents i highlighted are in a straight line across the wheel so they may well be the ones caused by touchdown.
They have a g-meter onboard so there is data somewhere on the loads sustained upon touchdown. Now, where to look.....

Mickeroo

Might have been mentioned before, and relates more to Opportunity than Curiosity but I thought it was pretty exciting anyway: http://www.lifescientist.com.au/article/436306/iron_blueberries_may_sign_microbial_life_mars/

shizz

Brilliant

ronan45

I wonder if they put a microphone on the rover would one hear thunder and howling wind? I know its a thin atmosphere but i wonder is there some sort of sound even from the dust devils

shizz

ronan45 wrote: »

I wonder if they put a microphone on the rover would one hear thunder and howling wind? I know its a thin atmosphere but i wonder is there some sort of sound even from the dust devils

I remember hearing a sound from a different Mars lander. Can't find the audio but it IIRC it was a high pitched white noise sort of sound.

Turtwig

ronan45 wrote: »

I wonder if they put a microphone on the rover would one hear thunder and howling wind? I know its a thin atmosphere but i wonder is there some sort of sound even from the dust devils

On my phone at the moment so I'll grab the full linky later, I linked to "sound from mars" in a different post in this or a similar thread somewhere. It is quite frankly awful noise to listen to.

Chuck Stone

I was just imagining supply ships being filmed from a Martian base landing Curiosity style by Martianauts.

One can dream.

shedweller

Sol 38 (Sept. 13, 2012) was destined to be a driving day for NASA's latest edition to the Martian landscape. Curiosity perambulated over 105 feet (32 meters) of unpaved Gale Crater during yesterday's drive. The rover's odometer now clocks in at 466 feet (142 meters) covered since the landing on Aug. 5.

The sol's activities also included pre- and post-drive imaging of the road ahead by both Mastcam and Hazcam, and science measurements from the DAN and REMS instruments.

The Sol 38 Navcam image of the surface in front of the rover can be found at: (raw image at: http://1.usa.gov/QLCB15 ).

In addition, Curiosity's science instruments performed observations and measurements, including Mastcam observations of the Martian moon Phobos passing in front of the sun.

Curiosity continues to work in good health. Sol 38, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 8:34 a.m. on Sept. 14, PDT.

shizz

I know it will take forever, but I hope some guy puts together all the images that the rover takes as its travelling and somehow puts them into a video of its journey similar to the landing video.

Mountainsandh

interesting them rocky bits to the side... Are we gonna pew pew them ?

ThatDrGuy

I think it was the phoenix lander that had the microphone. All they got was white noise / static from it.

shedweller

I did a bit of looking and the Mars Polar Lander was the one with a microphone. But contact was lost with it during the landing i think.
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/lander/fact.html
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/lidar/microphone/index.html

shedweller

It's a bit late now but here is some more reading on the whole EDL.
http://www.spaceflight101.com/msl-landing-special.html
For example, the skycrane winch:

And a worst case scenario:

2 stroke

shizz wrote: »

Brilliant

There is audio in this video, is this added during editing or is there a microphone on board?

shedweller

All computer generated and superimposed over the video. I think it's the same soundtrack they used in the animated version of the video.

shedweller

Here's the BUD:
That is, the Bridle Umbilical and Descent Rate Limiter.