Latest selfie, sent to Earth by the Mars vehicle Curiosity, shows a cosmic laboratory on a background of dark sand dunes, which is the current object of his research. Published by NASA image is actually placing much as 57 photos taken on January 19 with the aid of a camera MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager).
/ NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS / press materials
Curiosity two months investigating a group of active sand dunes in the area Bagnold Dune Field, located at the foot of the north-western slopes of Mount Sharp. Jeep collected and sieved sample the local sand. Pictures were taken after taking the first sample of the Namib dunes, 19 and 22 January robot retrieved another. In this third try came after irregularities in the operation, management mission will try this week to determine what was the cause.
As a result of this failure, the tunnel sampler arm CHIMRA (Collection and Handling for In- situ Martian Rock Analysis), there were some Martian material, the tunnel does not open as expected. Jeep responded to the unexpected problem of properly – says the deputy head of the mission Curiosity, Steve Lee from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. Poll halted operation of the module sampler – he added.
Jeep continues to lead another type of observations, checks to see whether any Martian wind gusts lead to move grains of sand. It continues a test material from a second, earlier sample taken. Namib dunes of active research is the first such close examination of such dunes beyond Earth. The researchers expect on the basis of a number of information concerning the process of their formation under gravity smaller and much smaller than the Earth’s atmospheric density. Leadership of the mission, after coping with failure, will plan the place where the probe will take care of further drilling, this time in the rocky ground.
(MPW)
No comments:
Post a Comment