Mars Science Laboratory

Transcription

1 Mars Science Laboratory Assembly, Test and Launch Vehicles Mars Operations Select Image Status Reference Information 1

2 Three Generations of Mars Rovers at JPL 2 Spirit/Opportunity Test Rover Sojourner Flight Spare Curiosity Test Rover Curiosity and Spirit/Opportunity test rovers are shown with the Mars Pathfinder flight spare rover (first to operate on Mars in July 1997) at the Mars Yard testing area at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. Curiosity is about the size of a small SUV - 10 ft long (not including the arm), 9 ft wide and 7 ft tall, and weighs about 2,000 lbs on Earth.

3 Curiosity Rover Mobility Testing at JPL This photograph of the Curiosity rover was taken during mobility testing on June 3, 2011 inside the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. The rover was shipped to Kennedy Space Center, FL in late June

4 Curiosity's Heat Shield and Back Shell Connected Back Shell Powered Descent Vehicle Curiosity Rover Heat Shield The back shell powered descent vehicle, containing the Curiosity rover, is being placed on the spacecraft's heat shield at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, FL. The heat shield and the spacecraft's back shell form an encapsulating aeroshell that will protect the rover from the intense heat that will be generated as the flight system descends through the Martian atmosphere. 4

5 5 MSL Assembled into Atlas V Payload Fairing Sections of an Atlas V rocket payload fairing enclose the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, FL. The two halves of the fairing come together protecting the spacecraft from the impact of aerodynamic pressure and heating during ascent. - The blocks on the interior of the fairing are the acoustic protection system, designed to protect the payload by dampening the sound created by the rocket during liftoff. Atlas V Payload Fairing (2 Sections) MSL Launch Vehicle Adapter

6 6 MSL Spacecraft Stack-up on Atlas V The Atlas V rocket Payload Fairing containing the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft is lifted up the side of the Vertical Integration Facility on November 3, The payload fairing was subsequently attached to the Atlas V already stacked inside the facility. MSL Spacecraft with Curiosity Rover in Payload Fairing Centaur Upper Stage Atlas V Core Stage Atlas V Solid Rocket Motors (4 Places)

7 MSL/Curiosity Rover Launch The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL on November 26, 2011 with the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover. Credit: United Launch Alliance 7

8 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Spacecraft During the MSL spacecraft cruise phase, the vehicle is propelled from Earth to final approach to Mars. The spacecraft includes a disc-shaped cruise stage attached to the aeroshell. The Curiosity rover and descent stage are tucked inside the aeroshell. Along the way to Mars, the cruise stage will perform several trajectory correction maneuvers to adjust the spacecraft's path toward its final, precise landing site on Mars The cruise stage is jettisoned before atmospheric entry. The mission's approach phase begins 45 minutes before the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere. It lasts until the spacecraft enters the atmosphere The mission's entry, descent and landing (EDL) phase begins when the spacecraft with a velocity of about 13,200 miles per hour reaches the top of the Martian atmosphere about 81 miles above the surface. The friction with the Martian atmosphere slows the spacecraft's descent and heats the heat shield. This friction with the atmosphere before the opening of the spacecraft's parachute will accomplish more than nine-tenths of the deceleration of the EDL phase. 8

9 9 MSL Spacecraft and Curiosity Rover The descent stage s bridle extends to a full length of about 25 ft as the stage continues descending. Seconds later, when touchdown is detected, the bridle is cut at the rover end, and the descent stage flies off to stay clear of Curiosity s landing site. The rover will study whether the landing region has had environmental conditions favorable for supporting microbial life and preserving clues about whether life existed. 4. After a 51 ft diameter parachute deploys, the MSL spacecraft s heat shield is jettisoned. The parachute is attached to the top of the backshell portion of the spacecraft's aeroshell. The spacecraft's descent stage and the Curiosity rover can be seen inside the backshell. When the backshell drops away, a radar system on the descent stage begins determining the spacecraft's altitude and velocity The descent stage controls its own rate of descent with four of its eight rocket engines and begins lowering Curiosity on a bridle. The rover is connected to the descent stage by three nylon tethers and by a power and communication umbilical. 6.

10 Curiosity Rover Note: CheMin and SAM are inside the rover. Only visible instruments are labeled. Mastcam Observation Tray ChemCam REMS Organic Check Material Drill Bit Boxes Ultra-High Frequency Antenna Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator Robot Arm APXS & MAHLI Select for Curiosity Parts Interactive: 10

11 Curiosity Telecommunications Network Organic Check Material This chart illustrates how Curiosity talks with Earth. The rover can send direct messages. However, it communicates more efficiently with the help of Mars orbiting spacecraft, including NASA's Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the European Space Agency's Mars Express (backup). NASA's Deep Space Network of antennae across the globe receive the transmissions and send them to the Mars Science Laboratory mission operations center at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. 11

12 MSL Descends to Martian Surface August 6, The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) with the Curiosity rover and its parachute were photographed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) as the spacecraft descended through the Martian atmosphere to its landing site. MSL and its parachute are in the center of the white box; the inset image is a cutout of the MSL (bottom) and the parachute. The heat shield had jettisoned prior to the time that the picture was taken. The MRO High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera captured this image while the orbiter was listening to transmissions from MSL. 12

13 First Look from Curiosity on Mars August 6, The image is one of the first that Curiosity captured shortly after the rover landed on Mars. Rising up in the distance is the tallest peak of Mount Sharp at a height of about 3.4 miles, higher than Mount Whitney in California. The Curiosity team hopes to drive the rover to the mountain to investigate its lower layers which scientists think holds clues to past environmental change. The image was taken by the rover's front left Hazard-Avoidance camera at full resolution. - Two of Curiosity s front wheels can be seen in the left and right foreground. 13

14 Scene of a Martian Landing August 7, The four main pieces of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) that arrived on Mars with the Curiosity rover on August 6, 2012 were spotted by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The heat shield was the first piece to hit the ground, followed by the back shell attached to the parachute, then the rover touched down, and finally, after the cables were cut, the sky crane flew away to the northwest and crashed. The MRO High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera captured this image about 24 hours after the landing. - Relatively dark areas in all four spots are from disturbances of the bright dust on Mars, revealing the darker material below the surface dust. 14

15 Curiosity Lands in Target The rover landed in a 96 mile diameter Gale Crater near a large mountain that lies in the crater. A red dot shows where the rover landed, well within its targeted 4 by 12 miles landing ellipse, outlined in blue. Stratification on Mount Sharp suggests the mountain is a surviving remnant of an extensive series of deposits that were laid down after a massive impact that excavated the crater more than 3 billion years ago. The southeast looking image combines elevation data from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter, image data from the Context Camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and color information from Viking Orbiter imagery. There is no vertical exaggeration in the image. 15

16 Mineral Layer Key in Landing Site Selection This artist's impression of Gale Crater depicts a cross section through Mount Sharp in the middle of the crater looking toward the southeast. Landing Target Ellipse Alluvial Fan Layer of Clay Minerals The landing site is near the base of Mount Sharp and its layered rock represents a frozen record of the planet's changing environment and evolution. A key factor in the selection of Gale Crater as the mission's landing site was the existence of clay minerals in a layer near the base of the mountain, within driving range of the landing site. - The location of the clay minerals is indicated as the green band through the cross section of the mountain. The image uses two-fold vertical exaggeration to emphasize the area's topography. The image combines elevation data from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter, image data from the Context Camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and color information from Viking Orbiter imagery. 16

17 First Panorama of Gale Crater in Color August 8, Curiosity takes the first panorama in color of the Gale Crater landing site. Scientists took a close look at several splotches in the foreground that appear gray. These areas show the effects of the descent stage's rocket engines blasting the ground. - The soil was blown away by the thrusters; the excavation of the soil reveals probable bedrock outcrops. The panorama was made from thumbnail versions of images taken by the Mast Camera. Curiosity can be seen along the bottom of this mosaic. The color images reveal additional shades of reddish brown around the dunes, likely indicating different textures or materials. The images in this panorama were brightened in the processing. - Mars only receives half the sunlight Earth does and this image was taken in the late Martian afternoon. 17 Replace with JPL image when available adding text and websites. Change Ref Info when available.

18 Mount Sharp Geology Highlight August 27, Data revealed a strong discontinuity in the strata above and below the line of white dots in this image of Mount Sharp. This provided evidence that the absence of hydrated minerals on the upper reaches of Mount Sharp may coincide with a very different formation environment than lower on the slopes. - Hydrated minerals have water molecules or water-related ions bound into the mineral's crystalline structure. 330 Feet Prior to Curiosity landing on Mars, observations from orbiting satellites indicated that the lower reaches of Mount Sharp, below the line of white dots, were composed of relatively flat-lying strata of hydrated minerals. Those orbiter observations also did not reveal hydrated minerals in the higher, overlying strata. The image was taken by the rover s Mast Camera. 18

19 Remnants of Ancient Streambed Found 4 inches Gravel Pile Gravel Clast September 14, Curiosity found evidence for an ancient, flowing stream at a few sites, including the rock outcrop pictured here, which the science team has named Hottah after Hottah Lake in Canada's northwest territories. It may look like a broken sidewalk, but this geological feature is actually exposed bedrock made up of smaller fragments cemented together, or what geologists call a sedimentary conglomerate. Scientists theorize that the bedrock was disrupted in the past, giving it the tilted angle, most likely via impacts from meteorites. The key evidence for the ancient stream comes from the size and rounded shape of the gravel in and around the bedrock. Hottah has pieces of gravel embedded in it, called clasts, up to a couple inches in size and located within a matrix of sand-sized material. - Some of the clasts are round in shape, leading the science team to conclude they were transported by a vigorous flow of water. Erosion of the outcrop results in the gravel pile. This image mosaic was taken by the Mastcam telephoto lens. 19

20 Radiation Dose During Cruise and on Surface This graphic (left) shows the level of natural radiation detected by the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) shielded inside the Mars Science Laboratory on the trip from Earth to Mars from December 2011 to July The five spikes in radiation levels occurred because of large solar energetic particle events caused by solar activity. The radiation dose variation measured by the rover s RAD on the surface is shown (right) from Sol 10 (August 15) through Sol 60 (October 6, 2012). The dose rate of charged particles is in black and total dose rate (from both charged particles and neutral particles) is in red. The findings indicate radiation exposure for human explorers could exceed NASA's career limit for astronauts if current propulsion systems are used. 20

21 Curiosity at Rocknest The image shows the rover at the "Rocknest" site where the rover scooped up samples of windblown dust and sand. The view is centered toward the south. Curiosity used three cameras to take the component images on several different days between October 5 and November 16, The full-circle view is a mosaic using 850 frames from the telephoto camera of the rover's Mast Camera instrument, supplemented with 21 frames from the Mastcam's widerangle camera, and 25 black-and-white frames (mostly of the rover) from the Navigation Camera. 21

22 Traverse into Different Terrain FEET The image maps Curiosity s traverse from Bradbury Landing to Yellowknife Bay with an inset graphing the range change in the ground temperature recorded by the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS). The rover crossed over a terrain boundary, marked by the green dashed line, between Sol (Martian day) 120 (December 7, 2012) and Sol 121 of the mission on Mars. The arrival of the rover onto the lighter-toned terrain corresponds with an abrupt shift in the range of ground temperatures to a consistently smaller spread in values. The higher thermal inertia of Yellowknife Bay is most likely due to the greater abundance of exposed bedrock relative to the soil or sand in the area the rover left. The same transition was seen from orbit by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter marking the arrival at the well-exposed, stratified bedrock. The base image of the map is from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment Camera. 22

23 Shaler Unit's Evidence of Stream Flow 0 10 Inches December 7, This image shows inclined layering known as crossbedding in an outcrop called Shaler on a scale of a few tenths of a yard. The superimposed scale bar is about 20 inches. This stratigraphic unit is called the Shaler Unit. The image was taken by the Mast Camera and it has been white-balanced to show what the rock would look like if it were on Earth. Scales of this magnitude of cross-bedding in the Shaler Unit is indicative of sediment transport in stream flows. Currents mold the sediments into small underwater dunes that migrate downstream. - When exposed in cross-section, evidence of this migration is preserved as strata that are steeply inclined relative to the horizontal, thus the term cross-bedding. - The grain sizes here are coarse enough to exclude wind transport. The image was taken by the Mast Camera and it has been white-balanced to show what the rock would look like if it were on Earth

24 Mineral Veins Found in Sheepbed Outcrop Vein (Typical) December 13, This image, covering an area of about 16 inches across an outcrop, shows welldefined veins filled with whitish minerals, interpreted as calcium sulfate. The veins are Curiosity's first look at minerals that formed within water that percolated within a subsurface environment. - These veins form when water circulates through fractures, depositing minerals along the sides of the fracture, to form a vein. The outcrop is part of a geologic layer, known as Sheepbed, which is a mudstone with abundant evidence for ancient aqueous processes. The vein fills are characteristic of the stratigraphically lowest unit in the Yellowknife Bay area known as the Sheepbed Unit. The right Mast Camera obtained this mosaic of images. 24

25 Evidence for Past Mars Microbial Life Found Turret 2 Holes The site is on a patch of flat rock called John Klein in the Yellowknife Bay area of Mars Gale Crater. The two 0.63 inch diameter holes are where Curiosity used its drill on the rock target John Klein. The self-portrait combines dozens of exposures taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on February 3, 2013 plus three exposures taken on May 10, 2013 to update the appearance of part of the ground beside the rover. MAHLI is mounted on the turret at the end of the robotic arm. Analysis of the collected John Klein rock sample by the Chemistry and Mineralogy and Sample Analysis at Mars instruments inside Curiosity produced evidence of an ancient wet environment that provided favorable conditions for microbial life. This included elemental ingredients for life plus a chemical energy gradient such as some terrestrial microbes exploit as an energy source. 25

26 John Klein Rock Sample Drilled and Transferred The left image shows the first holes into rock drilled by Curiosity with drill tailings around the holes plus piles of powdered rock collected from the deeper hole. The sample was later discarded after other portions of the sample had been delivered to analytical instruments inside the rover. The image was taken by the Mast Camera on March 29, The right image shows the first sample of powdered rock extracted by the rover's drill. The image was taken after the sample was transferred from the drill to the rover's 1.8 inch wide scoop. In planned subsequent steps, the sample was sieved, and portions of it delivered to the Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument and the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument. The image was photographed by the Mast Camera on February 20, 2013.

27 John Klein Drill Site Located in Alluvial Fan The John Klein outcrop is part of a geologic layer known as Sheepbed and it is located in an alluvial fan. It seems likely that sediments were transported downhill from the eroding crater rim and became part of the alluvial fan systems. The materials then flowed out where water and sediments accumulated to form a habitable environment represented by the Sheepbed mudstone. The alluvial fan, or fan-shaped deposit where the debris spread out down slope, has been highlighted in lighter colors for better viewing. Red indicates a surface material that retains its heat longer into the evening than other areas, suggesting differences relative to its surroundings. The black oval indicates the targeted landing area for the rover and the black cross shows where the rover touched down at the landing site. The blue circle indicates where the John Klein drill site is within the Yellowknife Bay area. This image was obtained by the Thermal Emission Imaging System on the Odyssey orbiter. 27

28 Variations of DAN Measurements Along Traverse ,312 1,968 Odometry (feet) March 18, This chart graphs measurements made by the rover s Russian-built Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument against the distance Curiosity had driven. In the active data mode (blue), DAN shoots neutrons into the ground and senses how they are reflected. In the passive data mode (red), DAN does not shoot neutrons into the ground, but relies on galactic cosmic rays, as a source of neutrons, that are reflected by subsurface hydrogen and detected by DAN. DAN provided evidence of subsurface water, amounting to as much as 4% water content, down to a depth of 2.0 ft, in the rover's traverse from the Bradbury Landing site to the Yellowknife Bay area in the Glenelg terrain. At the rover s very dry study area on Mars, the detected hydrogen was mainly in water molecules bound into minerals. Signal variation along the traverse from the landing point to Yellowknife Bay had been identified by DAN. - More water had been detected at Yellowknife Bay than earlier on the route. -- Even within Yellowknife Bay, significant variation had been seen. 28

29 29 Curiosity s Second Drilling at Cumberland May 14, The left image depicts Curiosity s location when it was driven into position for drilling into the second rock target at Cumberland. This image also shows the proximity of Cumberland to John Klein, which is about 9 ft. - The outline of the rover is from the Rover Sequencing and Visualization Program software, with ground imagery from a mosaic of images taken by the Navigation cameras. Cumberland Drill Hole John Klein Drill Hole 1 May 21, The right image shows a row of small pits created by firing the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument s laser at the tailings near the 0.6 inch diameter drill hole. ChemCam was used to check the composition of the gray tailings from the hole in the rock target at Cumberland that the rover drilled on May 19, The image was taken by the Mast Camera. The tailings from Cumberland were used to confirm the findings at the mission's first drilling target, John Klein. Drill Hole with Tailings ChemCam Pits (Typical)

30 More Evidence for Mars Atmospheric Loss April 8, New evidence has strengthened past findings that Mars has lost much of its original atmosphere by a process of gas escaping from the top of the atmosphere. NASA reported that much of the atmosphere has been lost based on argon isotope ratios studies. - The atmosphere has about four times as much of a lighter stable isotope (argon-36) compared to a heavier one (argon-38). The chart shows the ratio of the argon isotope argon-36 to the heavier argon isotope argon-38, in various measurements. The point farthest to the right designates a new (2013) measurement of the ratio in the atmosphere of Mars, made by the quadrupole mass spectrometer in the Curiosity Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) suite of instruments. - For comparison, the previous measurement at Mars by the Mars Viking project in 1976 is also shown. -- The SAM result is at the lower end of the range of uncertainty of the Viking data, but compares well with ratios of argon istotopes from some Mars meteorites. -- The value determined by SAM is significantly lower than the value in the sun, Jupiter and Earth, which implies loss of the lighter isotope compared to the heavier isotope over geologic time. The argon isotope fractionation provides clear evidence of the loss of Mars atmosphere. 30

31 First Leg of Long Trek Toward Mount Sharp July 8, This view looks back at wheel tracks made during the first drive away from the last science target in the Glenelg area. The drive commenced a long trek toward the mission's long-term destination, Mount Sharp. Curiosity took this image looking back toward the target sedimentary outcrop called Shaler. Near Shaler during the first half of 2013, the rover found evidence of a past Martian environment with conditions favorable for microbial life. Wheel tracks in the right foreground of the image were left by the rover's earlier passage through this area on its way toward Glenelg targets seven months earlier. The mission's main destination remains the lower layers of Mount Sharp, where researchers anticipate finding evidence about how the ancient Martian environment changed and evolved. The trek to the entry point for lower layers of Mount Sharp is about 5 miles away and will take many months. The image was taken by the left Navigation Camera. 31

32 Wheel Wear Considered in New Route The accumulation of punctures and rips in the Curiosity wheels (left) increased in the fourth quarter of Among the responses to the wheel wear, the team now drives the rover with added precautions, thoroughly checking the condition of the wheels frequently. 744 The team also evaluated routes and driving methods that could avoid some wheel damage. - The image to the left shows the rover s old and new routes to lower Mount Sharp. -- The green star marks Curiosity s position on the September 9, 2014 (744th Martian day after landing). - This new route provided excellent access to many features in the Murray Formation and passed by the Murray Formation's namesake, Murray Buttes, previously considered to be the entry point to Mount Sharp. - The image is composed of color strips taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. 32

33 Future Route from Dingo Gap Sand Dune January 30, The team operating Curiosity chose this valley as the route toward mid-term and long-term science destinations. The foreground dune, at a location called Dingo Gap, is about 3 feet high in the middle and tapered at south and north ends onto low scarps on either side of the gap. - The largest of the dark rocks on the sand in the right half of the scene are about 2 feet across. This view combines several frames taken by the Mast Camera, looking into a valley to the west from the eastern side of a dune at the eastern end of the valley during early afternoon of the 528th Martian day, or sol. - The center of the view is about 10 degrees south of straight west. - The left edge is about 20 degrees west of straight south; the right edge is northwest. - The image has been white-balanced to show what the rocks would look like if they were on Earth. 33

34 Curiosity Arrives at Base of Mount Sharp September 11, Curiosity reached Mount Sharp, the Mount Rainier-size mountain at the center of the vast Gale Crater and the rover mission's longterm prime destination. Curiosity crossed into this terrain and is on the Mount Sharp side of the transition zone that represents a boundary between the plains of Gale Crater, named Aeolis Palus, and the layered slopes of Mount Sharp, or Aeolis Mons. This view shows the Amargosa Valley on the slopes leading up to Mount Sharp. The image was taken by the rover's Mast Camera. - It has been white-balanced to show how the scene would appear under Earth's lighting conditions. The rover headed toward the Pahrump Hills outcrop, seen at the image upper center. 34

35 Detection of Organics in Atmosphere Note: The Enrichment process removes about 96% of the carbon dioxide resulting in smaller error bars. December 16, NASA reported Curiosity detected a tenfold spike, likely localized, in the amount of methane in the Martian atmosphere. Sample measurements taken a dozen times over 20 months showed increases in late 2013 and early 2014, averaging 7 parts of methane per billion in the atmosphere. - Before and after that, readings averaged around one-tenth that level. The measurements were made using the Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) instrument in the rover's Sample Analysis at Mars laboratory suite. - The TLS measurements are indicated by small black squares on the graph, each with a vertical bar representing the margin of uncertainty in that sol s measurement. -- The graph covers a span of time from August 2012 to September 2014, labeled on the horizontal axis by the number of sols (Martian days since landing on Mars - sols 1 to 750). Methane concentration in the Martian atmosphere samples climbed to several parts per billion by volume (ppbv, meaning several methane molecules per billion molecules of Martian atmosphere) during a short portion of that period. - It averaged about 7 ppbv in those measurements. 35

36 Panorama from Sol 1000 Location Mount Sharp Marias Pass May 30, This 360-degree panorama from the Navigation Camera shows the surroundings of a site on lower Mount Sharp where the rover spent its 1,000th Martian day, or sol. The center of the scene is toward the south, with north at both ends. - Tracks from the rover s drive to this site are visible at the right. The rover team chose this location near Marias Pass because images from orbit showed what appeared to be a contact between two types of bedrock. - The bedrock close to the rover is pale mudstone similar to what Curiosity examined in 2014 and early 2015 at Pahrump Hills. - The darker, finely bedded bedrock above it is sandstone that the rover team calls the Stimson unit. -- The largest-looking slab of Stimson sandstone in the image, in the lower left quadrant, is a target called Ronan, selected for close-up inspection. 36

37 Curiosity Looks Back after 1000 Sols 37 May 30, The Navigation Cameras show the surroundings of a site on lower Mount Sharp where the rover spent its 1,000th sol. The panorama view looks back towards where the rover had been with the hazy rim of Gale Crater looming in the distance. The panoramic mosaic was constructed with images from navigation cameras taken on sol 997.

38 Rover Self-Portrait at Buckskin Drilling Site Sieved No Pass Sample Patch 0.6 Inch Diameter Hole Patch Robotic Arm Not Shown August 5, This low-angle selfportrait shows the vehicle above the Buckskin rock target, where the mission collected its seventh drilled sample during sol 1,065. The scene combines images taken by the Hand Lens Imager on the end of the robotic arm. - The rover is facing northeast, looking out over the plains from the crest of a 20 ft hill that it climbed to reach the Marias Pass area. - The upper levels of Mount Sharp are visible behind the rover, while Gale Crater s northern rim is on the horizon on the right. The patch of pale, powdered rock material closer to the rover is where the samplehandling mechanism on the robotic arm dumped collected material that did not pass through a sieve in the mechanism. - Sieved sample material was delivered to laboratory instruments inside the rover. The other patch shows where fresh tailings spread downhill from the drilling process. The findings of elevated levels of silicon as well as hydrogen were derived from Chemistry & Camera and Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons instruments on local area rocks. - Silica is a rock-forming compound containing silicon and oxygen, commonly found on Earth as quartz. -- High levels of silica could indicate ideal conditions for preserving ancient organic material, if present. --- The rover science team wants to take a closer look. 38

39 Rover Team Confirms Ancient Lakes October 8, A study from the Curiosity team has confirmed that Mars was once capable of storing water in lakes over an extended period of time. Observations from the rover suggest that a series of long-lived streams and lakes existed at some point about 3.3 to 3.8 billion years ago, delivering sediment that slowly built up the lower layers of Mount Sharp. Finely laminated mudstones are in abundance that look like lake deposits. - The mudstone indicates the presence of bodies of standing water in the form of lakes that remained for long periods of time, possibly repeatedly expanding and contracting during hundreds to millions of years. - These lakes deposited the sediment that eventually formed the lower portion of the mountain. The image is the Kimberley formation taken by the Mast Camera on March 25, 2014 (sol 580). - The strata in the foreground dips toward the base of Mount Sharp, indicates a flow of water toward a basin that existed before the larger bulk of the mountain formed. - The colors are adjusted so that rocks look approximately as they would if they were on Earth, to help geologists interpret the rocks. -- This adjustment for the lighting overly compensates for the absence of blue on Mars, making the sky appear light blue and sometimes giving dark, black rocks a blue cast. 39

40 Panorama beside Namib Dune December 18, This view of the downwind face of Namib Dune was taken on Sol 1,197 by the Mast Camera and covers 360 degrees. Examination of dunes in the Bagnold field, along the rover s route up the lower slope of Mount Sharp, is the first close look at active sand dunes anywhere other than Earth. - Images taken from orbit indicate that dunes in the Bagnold field move as much as about 3 ft per Earth year. The site is part of the dark-sand Bagnold Dunes field along the northwestern flank of Mount Sharp. - A portion of Mount Sharp can be seen on the horizon. The center of the scene is toward the east; both ends are toward the west. The bottom of the dune nearest the rover is about 23 ft from the camera. - This downwind face of the dune rises at an inclination of about 28 degrees to a height of about 16 ft above the base. A color adjustment has been made so that rocks and sand appear approximately as they would appear under Earth s sky to help geologists interpret the rocks. 40

41 Murray Buttes September 4, The 360-degree panorama was taken by the Mast Camera while the rover was in an area called Murray Buttes on lower Mount Sharp. The rover recorded this scene when it reached its Sol 1448 drive. This area is one of the most scenic landscapes any Mars rover has visited. North is at both ends and south is in the center. The dark, flat-topped mesa near the center of the scene rises to about 39 ft. - From the rover s position, the top of this mesa is about 131 ft away, and the beginning of the debris apron at the base of the mesa is about 98 ft away. In the left half of the image, the dark butte that appears largest sits eastward from the rover and about 33 ft high. - An upper portion of Mount Sharp appears on the horizon to the right of it. The relatively flat foreground is part of a geological layer called the Murray formation, which includes lakebed mud deposits. - The buttes and mesas rising above the surface are eroded remnants of ancient sandstone originating when winds deposited sand after lower Mount Sharp was formed. 41

42 Color Variations on Lower Mount Sharp 11.2 miles distance 8,858 ft above rover 2.3 miles distance Sulfate Unit 1,640 ft above rover Hematite Unit Murray Formation 1.9 miles distance 1,115 ft above rover November 10, This Sol 1,516 scene from the Mast Camera shows purplehued rocks near the rover s late 2016 location on lower Mount Sharp as well as middle distance higher layers that are future destinations for the mission. The view spans about 15 compass degrees, with the left edge toward southeast. - The rover's planned direction of travel from this location is generally southeastward. - The triangles indicate distance and elevation relative to the rover s location. Variations in color of the rocks hint at the diversity of their composition. - The orange-looking rocks just above the purplish foreground ones are in the upper portion of the Murray formation, which is the base section of Mount Sharp, extending up to a ridge-forming layer called the Hematite Unit. - Beyond that is the Clay Unit, which is relatively flat and hard to see from this viewpoint. - The next rounded hills are the Sulfate Unit, Curiosity's highest planned destination. The most distant slopes in the scene are higher levels of Mount Sharp, beyond where Curiosity will drive. 42

43 Rover Examines Possible Mud Cracks Inches December 20, This view of a Martian rock slab called "Old Soaker," which has a network of cracks that may have originated in drying mud, comes from the Mast Camera. Several images from the Mast Camera were combined into this mosaic view taken during Sol 1,555. The location is within an exposure of Murray formation mudstone on lower Mount Sharp. Mud cracks would be evidence of a time more than 3 billion years ago when dry intervals interrupted wetter periods that supported lakes in the area. - Curiosity has found evidence of ancient lakes in older, lower-lying rock layers and also in younger mudstone that is above Old Soaker. The Old Soaker slab is about 4 ft long. The scale bar is 12 inches (about 30 centimeters) long. 43

44 Curiosity Status (as of December 21, 2016) North East This map shows the route driven by Curiosity starting where the rover landed, named Bradbury Landing, through Sol 1555 (December 21, 2016) of the mission. The yellow line from Bradbury Landing is the rover's path and the white line is the path on the small map. - Numbering of the dots along the line indicate the sol number (Martian day after landing) of each drive. The scale bar is 1 kilometer (~0.62 mile) on the large map and 20 meters (~65.6 ft) on the small map. The base image from the map is from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment Camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. On December 21, 2016, Curiosity had passed 9.34 miles of total driving since landing. 44

45 Curiosity s Planned Route This mosaic shows the planned route (in yellow) of the rover from Pahrump Hills at the base of Mount Sharp, through the "Murray Formation," and south to Hematite ridge further up the flank of Mount Sharp. The image was taken with the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. (0.62 Miles) Curiosity reached the base of Mount Sharp on September 11, 2014 (the green star) after investigating outcrops closer to its landing site and then travelling to Mount Sharp. The rover is driving toward uphill destinations as part of its two-year mission extension that commenced October 1,

46 46 Reference Information Images: Courtesy of NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, and credited End Text: Curiosity Parts Interactive:

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49 49 MSL Atlas V Launch Vehicle The United Launch Alliance Atlas V-541 vehicle was selected for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission because it had the right liftoff capability for the heavy weight requirements, and rockets in the same family have successfully lifted NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and New Horizons missions. Atlas V rockets are expendable launch vehicles meaning they are only used once. The numbers in the 541 designation signify a payload fairing that is approximately 5 meters (16.4 ft) in diameter; 4 solid-rocket boosters fastened alongside the central common core booster; and a one-engine Centaur upper stage. The major elements of the Atlas V-541 rocket that will be used for the MSL mission are: Core Stage - includes the fuel and oxygen tanks that feed an engine for the ascent and powers the spacecraft into Earth orbit. Solid Rocket Motors - 4 motors increase engine thrust during ascent. Upper Stage - a Centaur upper stage with fuel and oxidizer and the vehicle's brains. It fires twice, once to insert the vehicle-spacecraft stack into low Earth orbit and then again to accelerate the spacecraft out of Earth orbit and on its way towards Mars. Payload Fairing - a thin composite or nose cone protects the spacecraft during the ascent through Earth's atmosphere.

50 Curiosity Rover - Page 1 of 3 Engineering cameras: Hazard Avoidance Cameras (Hazcams) - four pairs of black and white cameras, mounted on the lower portion of the rover (front and rear), capture 3-D imagery that safeguards against Curiosity getting lost or inadvertently crashing into unexpected obstacles. Navigation Cameras (Navcams) - two pairs of black and white cameras are mounted on the rover mast to gather panoramic, 3-D imagery that supports ground navigation planning by scientists and engineers. The Navcams work in cooperation with the Hazcams to provide a complementary view of the terrain. Primary science cameras: Mast Camera (Mastcam) - a two camera system that takes color images and color video footage of the terrain. Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) - a camera that provides close-up views of the minerals, textures, and structures in Martian rocks and the surface layer of rocky debris and dust. Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) - a camera that produces a video stream of high-resolution, overhead views of the landing site. It will continue acquiring images until the rover lands, storing the video data in digital memory. The MARMDI also provides information about the surrounding the landing site. Primary science instruments: Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) - measures the abundance of chemical elements in rocks and soils. Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) - a spectrometer that looks at rocks and soils from a distance, firing a laser and analyzing the elemental composition of the vaporized materials from very small areas on the surface of rocks and soils. 50

51 Curiosity Rover - Page 2 of 3 Primary science instruments (Continued): Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) - a suite of three instruments that searches for compounds of the element carbon, including methane, that are associated with life and explores ways they are generated and destroyed in the Martian ecosphere. Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) - measures and identifies all high-energy radiation on the surface, such as protons, energetic ions of various elements, neutrons, and gamma rays. Dynamics of Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) - a pulsing neutron generator sensitive enough to detect very low water content and resolve layers of water and ice beneath the surface. Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) - identifies and measures the abundances of various minerals on Mars. Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) - measures and provides daily and seasonal reports on atmospheric pressure, humidity, ultraviolet radiation at the surface, wind speed and direction, air temperature, and ground temperature around the rover. MSL Entry, Descent and Landing Instrumentation (MEDLI) - collects engineering data during the spacecraft's high-speed, extremely hot entry into the Martian atmosphere. The data will help engineers design systems for entry into the Martian atmosphere that are safer, more reliable, and lighter weight. Miscellaneous components: Organic Check Material (OCM) - five bricks of OCM mounted in canisters on the front of the rover used to assess the characteristics of organic contamination at five different times during the mission. - Steps have been taken to ensure that measurements of soil and rocks on Mars do not contain terrestrial contaminants; however, a slight amount of contamination may be present. 51

52 Curiosity Rover - Page 3 of 3 Miscellaneous components (Continued): Robot Arm (RA) - the arm extends the rover s reach and collects rock and soil samples. - Much like a human arm, the 7.5 ft robotic arm has flexibility through the shoulder, elbow and wrist (5 degrees-of-freedom). - At the end of the arm is a turret, shaped like a cross. This turret, a hand-like structure, holds 5 devices that can spin through a 350 degree turning range. -- The 5 turret-mounted devices include a drill, brush, soil scoop, sample processing device, and the mechanical and electrical interfaces to the two contact science instruments APXS and MAHLI. --- The drill is capable of exchanging bits with the extra spare bits located in Bit Boxes. Observation Tray - soil and rock samples that have passed through the 150-micron sieve of CHIMRA can be deposited on the tray and observed by the APXS and MAHLI. - The CHIMRA (Collection and Handling for Interior Martian Rock Analysis), located on the arm turret, sieves and portions the samples from the scoop and the drill which are then distributed to the analytical instruments, SAM and CheMin. Instrument Inlet Covers - deck mounted covers near the front protect the SAM and CheMin solid sample inlets from being contaminated by particulates from the atmosphere or rover deck. Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) - produces the rover s electricity from the heat of plutonium-238 s radioactive decay. - Solid-state thermocouples convert the heat energy to electricity. - Warm fluids heated by the generator s excess heat are plumbed throughout the rover to keep electronics and other systems at acceptable operating temperatures. - The MMRTG will provide reliable power to operate the Curiosity rover for at least one Martian year or 687 Earth days. 52

53 Curiosity Telecommunications - Page 1 of 2 During Mars surface operations, the rover has multiple options available for receiving commands from mission controllers on Earth and for returning rover science and engineering information. Curiosity has the capability to communicate directly with Earth via X-band links with the Deep Space Network. - This capability will be used routinely to deliver commands to the rover each morning. The rover can also be used to return information to Earth, but only at relatively low data rates, on the order of kilobits per second, due to the rover s limited power and antenna size, and to the long distance between Earth and Mars. - Curiosity will return most information via UHF relay links, using one of its two redundant Electra- Lite radios to communicate with a Mars orbiter passing overhead. -- In their trajectories around Mars, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey orbiter each fly over the Curiosity landing site at least once each afternoon and once each morning before dawn. --- While these contact opportunities are short in duration, typically lasting only about 10 minutes, the proximity of the orbiters allows Curiosity to transmit at much higher data rates than the rover can use for direct-to-earth transmissions. --- The rover can transmit to Odyssey at up to about 0.25 megabit per second and to the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter at up to about 2 megabits per second. --- The orbiters, with their higher-power transmitters and larger antennas, then take the job of relaying the information via X-band to the Deep Space Network on Earth. Mission plans call for the return of 250 megabits of Curiosity data per Martian day over these relay links. --- The links can also be used for delivering commands from Earth to Curiosity. 53

54 54 Curiosity Telecommunications - Page 2 of 2 Mars surface operations telecommunications (Continued): While not planned for routine operational use during the rover s surface mission, the European Space Agency s Mars Express orbiter will be available as a backup communications relay asset should NASA s relay orbiters become unavailable for any period of time. Curiosity has three telecommunications antennas that serve as both its voice and its ears. The antennas are located on the rover equipment deck (top surface). The multiple antennas provide backup options. The three antennas are: 1) Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) Antenna - Most often, Curiosity will likely send radio waves through its UHF antenna (about 400 Megahertz) to communicate with Earth through NASA's Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiters. 2) High-Gain Antenna (HGA) - Curiosity will likely use its high-gain antenna to receive commands for the mission team back on Earth. - The HGA can send a beam of information in a specific direction and it is steerable, so the antenna can move to point itself directly to any antenna on Earth. 3) Low-Gain Antenna (LGA) - Curiosity will likely use its LGA primarily for receiving signals. - The LGA can send and receive information in every direction; that is, it is omni directional. - The LGA transmits radio waves at a low rate to the Deep Space Network antennas on Earth.

55 Curiosity Rover Timeline - Page 1 of 3 Nov. 26, Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) with Curiosity was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL. Dec to July MSL s Radiation Assessment Detector documents natural radiation on the trip from Earth to Mars. Aug. 6, Curiosity lands in Gale Crater. The rover touched down well within the targeted landing area. The landing site, named Bradbury Landing, is near the 3.4 mile high Mount Sharp located in Gale Crater. Aug. 14, Engineers successfully updated the rover's computer software. Aug. 19, Curiosity successfully test fired the ChemCam laser at a nearby rock, blasting it with rapid-fire million-watt pulses that vaporized the outer layers for spectroscopic analysis. Aug. 22, The rover took its first baby steps. It moved about 15 ft forward, performed a slow 120-degree pirouette and then backed up 8 ft to prove it is mobile. Sept. 14, Curiosity finds evidence for an ancient, flowing stream. Oct. 2, The rover has driven a total distance of about 1,590 ft. March Curiosity obtains evidence of an ancient wet environment that provided favorable conditions for microbial life. April 8, New evidence from the rover strengthens past findings that Mars has lost much of its original atmosphere. 55

56 56 Curiosity Rover Timeline - Page 2 of 3 July 8, The rover begins the drive from the Glenelg area to the mission s main destination, the lower layers of Mount Sharp. August 6, Curiosity completes one Earth year of operations on Mars. The rover has transmitted back more than 190 gigabits of data, including 70,000 images (36,700 full images and 35,000 thumbnails), and its laser has fired more than 75,000 times at 2,000 targets. Fourth Quarter An accumulation of punctures and rips in the rover wheels increases. The Curiosity team now drives the rover with added precautions as well as evaluates routes and driving methods that could avoid some wheel damage. September 11, Curiosity arrives at the base of Mount Sharp. December 16, The rover detects a tenfold spike in the amount of methane in the Martian atmosphere. Before and after readings averaged about one-tenth the spike level. May 31, Curiosity celebrates 1000 sols (Martian days) on Mars. October 8, Rover observations suggest a series of long-lived streams and lakes existed about billion years ago. The streams and lakes delivered sediment that slowly built up the lower layers of Mount Sharp. December 18, Examination of Bagnold field is the first close look at active sand dunes anywhere other than Earth.

57 57 Curiosity Rover Timeline - Page 3 of 3 November 10, Curiosity takes an image of middle distance, higher layers of lower Mount Sharp showing future destinations for the mission. December 20, The rover examines Murray formation mudstone cracks. Mud cracks would provide evidence of a time more than 3 billion years ago when dry intervals interrupted wetter periods that supported lakes in the area.

58 Major Gases Released from John Klein Samples February 27, An analysis of a John Klein drilled rock sample by the rover s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument showed the presence of water, carbon dioxide, oxygen, sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide released on heating. The results from analyzing the high temperature water release are consistent with smectite clay minerals. - Smectites help preserve organics if present. Analysis Steps and Results: First step was to heat a portion of the sample in a quartz oven to 1,535 degrees Fahrenheit and analyze the gases as they were released using the quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS). Five are shown in the graph. These traces are diagnostic of water, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and two forms of sulfur (sulfur dioxide, the oxidized form, and hydrogen sulfide, the reduced form) measured by the QMS. Second step was to send a portion of gas released from the sample to the tunable laser spectrometer to measure isotopes of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen, in both water and carbon dioxide. Third step was to inject gas trapped during the heating process into the gas chromatograph (a prime tool in the search for organic compounds). Results indicated a significant amount of available chemical energy because oxidized and less oxidized versions of molecules are present. This result, combined with suitable aqueous conditions at this site in the distant past, made this a potentially habitable environment. 58

59 Possible Mars Methane Sources and Sinks Sun This illustration portrays possible ways that methane might be added to the atmosphere (sources) and removed from the atmosphere (sinks). The rover has detected fluctuations in methane concentration in the atmosphere, implying both types of activity occur in the modern Martian environment. A molecule of methane (CH 4 ) consists of one atom of carbon and four atoms of hydrogen. CH 4 can be generated by microbes and can also be generated by processes that do not require life, such as reactions between water and olivine (or pyroxene) rock. Ultraviolet radiation (UV) can induce reactions that generate CH 4 from other organic chemicals produced by either biological or non-biological processes, such as comet dust falling on Mars. CH 4 generated underground in the distant or recent past might be stored within latticestructured CH 4 hydrates called clathrates, and released by the clathrates at a later time, so that CH 4 being released to the atmosphere today might have formed in the past. Winds on Mars can quickly distribute CH 4 coming from any individual source, reducing localized concentration of CH 4. CH 4 can be removed from the atmosphere by sunlight-induced reactions (photochemistry). 59

60 Hematite on Mount Sharp November 4, Curiosity has bored into the Martian surface at the base of Mount Sharp (left) and detected a higher concentration of hematite than found elsewhere on Mars. Hematite is an iron-oxide mineral that gives clues about ancient environmental conditions from when it was formed. The finding confirms data from an orbiting Inches remote sensor on the Mars Reconnaissance 0 2 Orbiter and is important for understanding the geological history of Mars. The sample is from a target called Confidence Hills within the Pahrump Hills outcrop. - It is only partially oxidized, and preservation of magnetite and olivine indicates a gradient of oxidation levels. -- That gradient could have provided a chemical energy source for microbes. The rover spent time investigating Pahrump Hills before it proceeded farther up the stack of geological layers forming Mount Sharp. - The higher layers include an erosion-resistant band of rock higher on Mount Sharp with such a strong orbital signature of hematite, it is called Hematite Ridge. -- The Pahrump Hills sample is much softer and more deeply eroded than Hematite Ridge and different from the hematite-rich spherules that the Opportunity rover found in Data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter instruments also detected Hematite Ridge. 60