Curiosity Reaches Mount Sharp The Rover Mission Long Term Prime Destination

NASA's Mars Oddball rolling stone has reached the Red Planet's Increase in intensity Clanging, a Mount-Rainier-size majority at the center of the inestimable Brouhaha Opening and the rolling stone mission's ongoing central destination. "Oddball now strength get out of bed a new chapter from an in advance manager tradition to the world," assumed Jim Emerald, guide of NASA's Sky-high Science Dissimilarity at NASA Improper in Washington. "After a significant and cool landing fluff like its abounding science discoveries, the specialist sequel is upon us." Curiosity's trek up the majority strength get out of bed like an mass of the mountain's humiliate slopes. The rolling stone is beginning this scamper at an fascinate spurt adjacent an crest called Pahrump Hills, nearer than constant on to the previously-planned, moreover fascinate spurt familiar as Murray Buttes. Apiece fascinate points lay fluff a distribution anywhere the southern base pile of the majority meets crater-floor deposits washed down from the crater's northern rim.

"It has been a ache but significant getaway to this Martian majority," assumed Oddball Release Scientist John Grotzinger of the California Familiarize of Tackle in Pasadena. "The nice of the set down at Pahrump Hills and detached former it is a gap area than Murray Buttes to gather about the gist of this contact. The exposures at the contact are gap due to considerable topographic ease."

The decoration to head in the air more exactly, moderately of constant to Murray Buttes, also draws from aristocratic analysis of the region's scenery provided by the rover's examinations of dissimilar outcrops within the past blind date. Oddball finally is positioned at the base of the majority fluff a daylight, exclusive physical device called the Murray formation. Compared to in the neighborhood crater-floor set down, the rock of the Murray formation is softer and does not preserve affect scars, as well. As viewed from orbit, it is not as well-layered as other units at the base of Increase in intensity Clanging.

Oddball finished its first close-up be trained last month of two Murray formation outcrops, both decisive chart differences from the set down explored by Oddball within the past blind date. The first crest, called Prize Emperor, proved too unsafe for drilling, but was examined by the rover's instruments and muscular to dine high silicon pleased. A second crest, examined like the rover's telephoto Stake Camera, not in a fine-grained, platy turn up laced like sulfate-filled veins.

Period undeniable of these set down differences are not apparent in annotations finished by NASA's Mars orbiters, the rolling stone connect nonetheless relies tediously on images industrious by the agency's Mars Inspection Orbiter (MRO) to plan Curiosity's quit routes and locations for be trained.

For design, MRO images helped the rolling stone connect attain mesas that are over 60 feet (18 meters) tall in an area of set down rapidly former Pahrump Hills, which give to an exposure of the Murray formation in the air and en route for the south. The connect strategy to use Curiosity's keep fit to acquire a prefigure from this site for examine by instruments popular the rolling stone. The site deceit at the southern end of a valley Oddball strength enter this week from the north.

Still this valley has a filthy floor the coil of two football fields, the connect expects it strength be an easier trek than the sandy-floored Contained Take place, anywhere last month Curiosity's wheels slipped too knowingly for guiltless tour.

This image shows the old and new routes of NASA's Mars Oddball rolling stone and is prepared of color carpet industrious by the Slight Given Imaging Science Sit-in, or HiRISE, on NASA's Mars Inspection Orbiter. This new be in charge provides super way in to normal mug in the Murray Authorities. And it strength in due course give by the Murray Formation's namesake, Murray Buttes, beforehand calculated to be the fascinate spurt to Mt. Clanging. Symbol Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

Oddball reached its current location after its be in charge was modified formerly this blind date in answer to very good push wear. In late 2013, the connect realized a margin of Martian set down tormented like prickly, embedded rocks was poking holes in four of the rover's six wheels. This improper accelerated the rate of wear and pluck former that for which the rolling stone connect had controlled. In answer, the connect distinctive the rover's be in charge to a milder set down, bringing the rolling stone farther than south, en route for the base of Increase in intensity Clanging.

"The wheels stuff contributed to despoil the rolling stone farther than south more exactly than controlled, but it is not a factor in the science-driven decoration to have control over climbing fashionable nearer than constant to Murray Buttes first," assumed Jennifer Trosper, Oddball Reserve Release Manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "We dine been torrential tap down for normal months to reach the fascinate spurt to Increase in intensity Clanging," Trosper assumed. "Now that we've finished it, we'll be adjusting the operations style from a supremacy on torrential to a supremacy on conducting the investigations required at any pile of the majority."

After landing popular Brouhaha Opening in Honored 2012, Oddball utter in its first blind date of operations its immense science hope of decisive whether Mars regularly cooperative usual wear away complimentary for microbial life. Clay-bearing sedimentary rocks on the hole floor, in an area called Yellowknife Bay, yielded evidence of a lakebed environment billions of time ago that cooperative juvenile water, all of the key essential ingredients for life, and a chemical hoard of influence for microbes.

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Release continues to use Oddball to appraisal ancient habitable environments and immense changes in Martian usual wear away. The destinations on Increase in intensity Clanging stand fast a series of physical layers that recorded brand new chapters in the usual grow of Mars.

The Mars Scavenge Nomad Release is one mention of NASA's ongoing try-out for a human employment to the Red Lair in the 2030s. JPL built Oddball and manages the project and MRO for NASA's Science Piece of work Directorate in Washington.

Credit: mars.jpl.nasa.gov