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Curiosity drives to examine Scours & sends interplanetary Voicemail |
August 27, 2012
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The Curiosity Rover continues to perform flawlessly on the surface of Gale Crater as the early surface mission phase progresses as planned.
Following last week's first drive of Curiosity, teams were busy completing more instrument commissioning operations. The focus of checkouts was the SAM Instrument which stands for Sample Analysis at Mars.
SAM is comprised of three individual instruments: a Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (QMS), a Gas Chromatograph (GC) and a Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS). The instrument will focus on determining elemental and molecular chemistry that is relevant to life. It will address the present and past habitability of planet Mars. SAM can analyze atmospheric gases and such that are being extracted from surface samples which are heated up in an on-board oven. The instrument is relatively complex featuring the three individual instruments and the sample handling subsystem as well as tubes and pumps to distribute the gases, so that instrument commissioning for SAM is fairly time-consuming.
Following last week's first drive of Curiosity, teams were busy completing more instrument commissioning operations. The focus of checkouts was the SAM Instrument which stands for Sample Analysis at Mars.
SAM is comprised of three individual instruments: a Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (QMS), a Gas Chromatograph (GC) and a Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS). The instrument will focus on determining elemental and molecular chemistry that is relevant to life. It will address the present and past habitability of planet Mars. SAM can analyze atmospheric gases and such that are being extracted from surface samples which are heated up in an on-board oven. The instrument is relatively complex featuring the three individual instruments and the sample handling subsystem as well as tubes and pumps to distribute the gases, so that instrument commissioning for SAM is fairly time-consuming.
Photo: NASA/JPL/Caltech
SAM Instrument
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The instrument completed initial electrical checkouts and health assessments shortly after landing to obtain a basic instrument status before beginning in-depth instrument checkouts after the first drive. SAM completed an aliveness test during which first sensor data was gathered for several minutes to make sure the basic functions of the instrument can be performed. Also, SAM completed a one-hour testing activity, turning on its heaters and checking the sample handling system. The pumps of the instrument were activated on Saturday to try and take a first 'sniff' of the Martian atmosphere for QMS and TLS to make an engineering data acquisition. A pump exceeded a current level and the instrument shut it down after detecting the high current resulting in residual Earth atmosphere and calibration gas being analyzed which was still inside the instrument. However, analyzing this air was of some use as well, enabling the instrument team to look at a sample that is well known to assess the performance of SAM which was found to be pristine. "As a test of the instrument, the results are beautiful confirmation of the sensitivities for identifying the gases present," said SAM principal investigator Paul Mahaffy.
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"We're happy with this test and we're looking forward to the next run in a few days when we can get Mars data." The first real sampling of Martian Atmosphere is planned in several Sols and GC will also undergo checkouts and commissioning in a few Sols.
Aside from SAM, the other Remote Sensing Instruments have continued science operations at the landing site. The Rover Environmental Monitoring Station continued its operation of acquiring weather data and RAD (Radiation Assessment Detector) has also completed more data acquisition.
Aside from SAM, the other Remote Sensing Instruments have continued science operations at the landing site. The Rover Environmental Monitoring Station continued its operation of acquiring weather data and RAD (Radiation Assessment Detector) has also completed more data acquisition.
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The focus of Sols 19 through 21 was the characterization of the MastCam instruments on the Rover's Remote Sensing Mast. Both, MastCam-34 and -100, obtained several hundred images of surrounding soil and Mount Sharp that will be downlinked over an extended period of time. Part of the MastCam characterization period are focus assessments as the cameras provide autofocus capabilities. In addition, stereo imaging will be practiced to obtain three dimensional views of long-range images in order to characterize the distant environment of the Rover. Images that were already downlinked have shown the camera's capabilities. "This is an area on Mount Sharp where Curiosity will go," said Mastcam principal investigator Michael Malin, of Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego. "Those layers are our ultimate objective. The dark dune field is between us and those layers. In front of the dark sand you see redder sand, with a different composition suggested by its different color. The rocks in the foreground show diversity -- some rounded, some angular, with different histories. This is a very rich geological site to look at and eventually to drive through."
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Image: NASA/JPL/MSSS
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In addition, MSL has completed Communication Systems commissioning. The Rover began nominal communication session with Mars Odyssey and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that pass overhead multiple times per day. MSL has initiated adaptive communications with MRO which optimizes data rates based on the geometry of the communication pass - increasing UHF data rates when MRO is making its close approach and decreasing the rate when the distance increases and MRO is low above the horizon. In addition, Curiosity's and ESA's Mars Express Spacecraft completed a communications session to confirm MEX as a backup communication asset. Direct to Earth communications at 1,000bps have also been stable as Curiosity's High Gain Antenna tracks Earth when it moves through the Martian Sky. In total, MRO and ODY have relayed more than 7Gbits of data over the MSL surface mission to date.
On Sol 21, Curiosity performed a short drive to place it directly above one of the four Scour marks, presumably Goulburn Scour since that is the most prominent of these features. The scours were created back during landing when the Mars Landing Engines picked up surface material and revealed sub-surface features. Inside Goulburn Scour, a large amount of sub-surface material was revealed showing fragments of rock that are embedded in a matrix of finer material as well as a larger clast protruding up from the layer in which it is embedded in.
Photo Gallery: MSL Sol 21
On Sol 21, Curiosity performed a short drive to place it directly above one of the four Scour marks, presumably Goulburn Scour since that is the most prominent of these features. The scours were created back during landing when the Mars Landing Engines picked up surface material and revealed sub-surface features. Inside Goulburn Scour, a large amount of sub-surface material was revealed showing fragments of rock that are embedded in a matrix of finer material as well as a larger clast protruding up from the layer in which it is embedded in.
Photo Gallery: MSL Sol 21
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On Sol 22, the DAN instrument (Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons) will be used to look beneath the surface. DAN is an active/passive neutron spectrometer that measures the abundance and depth distribution of materials that include Hydrogen or OH-Groups (Absorbed water, hydrated minerals, etc.) in a shallow layer of Mars’ subsurface along the path of the rover. With Curiosity right above the scour, DAN can take a deep look beneath the surface as part of its first targeted science observation.
ChemCam will also be used to analyze more targets inside the scours. The instrument had already been used to analyze several samples inside Goulburn Scour, refer to our first ChemCam Science Report for more information. When these measurements are complete, Curiosity will make its initial departure of Bradbury Landing in the afternoon of Sol 22 performing a 10-meter drive. At the new location, the MastCams will be used for stereo imaging as part of their characterization period. When that is complete, Curiosity will begin the trip to Glenelg, the mission's first medium drive-range science target which represents an intersection of three different geological surface features that are of interest to scientists. Glenelg is located 400 meters east-south-east of the landing site. The initial traverse increments will be relatively small - about 10 to 20 meters per Sol followed by analysis performed by the MSL Mobility Team to evaluate Curiosity's driving capabilities before increasing driving distances to about 40 meters per Sol which represents the edge of the horizon of the NavCams of the Rover which are used to identify hazards along the path of the rover that need to be identified to plan driving operations. The driving distances will be increased as the Rover's autonomous driving and hazard detection capabilities are checked and validated. During longer traverses, the rover acquires HazCam images that are analyzed by on-board algorithms to identify hazards that the Rover is approaching. The autonomous system will then stop motion to wait for inputs from Earth. Also, Curiosity uses visual odometry to calculate how far it is moving to indicate whether the vehicle is slipping. These functionalities have to be checked on Mars since there was no way of replicating the exact lighting and surface conditions on Earth during pre-flight operations. This is done to ensure the programs are adjusted properly and the Rover is able to keep itself safe at all times. Teams are confident that, with all the systems in place and running properly, Curiosity could make drives of up to 100 meters per Sol later into the mission. Currently, Curiosity remains in the Intermission Phase of early surface operations which is variable in duration and depends on mission events. As Curiosity heads out towards Glenelg, teams want to get at least 100 meters away from the landing site which has been contaminated with residual Hydrazine coming out of the Landing Engines. The next major milestone will be the first scoop sampling operation that will be performed as soon as fine grained materials are found along the way to Glenelg. This will likely mark the start of Commissioning Activity Phase 2 which will focus on the Robotic Arm of MSL and instruments & tools related to it. |
Photo: NASA/JPL/Caltech
Photo: NASA/JPL/Caltech
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In addition to its scientific procedures and engineering commissioning activities, Curiosity accomplished a different milestone. MSL became the first spacecraft to send a human voice back from another planet. The message from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden was loaded into the rover's mas storage earlier and was played back several Sols ago. This did not only serve a public relations purpose, because downlinking a larger file of about 4MB did give communications engineers insight into MSL's capabilities especially concerning the adaptive data rates with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Bolden's message was recorded to thank the Mars Science Laboratory Team for their efforts and to highlight the significance of MSL's accomplishments. This is the complete statement:
"Hello. This is Charlie Bolden, NASA Administrator, speaking to you via the broadcast capabilities of the Curiosity Rover, which is now on the surface of Mars.
Since the beginning of time, humankind’s curiosity has led us to constantly seek new life…new possibilities just beyond the horizon. I want to congratulate the men and women of our NASA family as well as our commercial and government partners around the world, for taking us a step beyond to Mars.
This is an extraordinary achievement. Landing a rover on Mars is not easy – others have tried – only America has fully succeeded. The investment we are making…the knowledge we hope to gain from our observation and analysis of Gale Crater, will tell us much about the possibility of life on Mars as well as the past and future possibilities for our own planet. Curiosity will bring benefits to Earth and inspire a new generation of scientists and explorers, as it prepares the way for a human mission in the not too distant future.
Thank you."
"Hello. This is Charlie Bolden, NASA Administrator, speaking to you via the broadcast capabilities of the Curiosity Rover, which is now on the surface of Mars.
Since the beginning of time, humankind’s curiosity has led us to constantly seek new life…new possibilities just beyond the horizon. I want to congratulate the men and women of our NASA family as well as our commercial and government partners around the world, for taking us a step beyond to Mars.
This is an extraordinary achievement. Landing a rover on Mars is not easy – others have tried – only America has fully succeeded. The investment we are making…the knowledge we hope to gain from our observation and analysis of Gale Crater, will tell us much about the possibility of life on Mars as well as the past and future possibilities for our own planet. Curiosity will bring benefits to Earth and inspire a new generation of scientists and explorers, as it prepares the way for a human mission in the not too distant future.
Thank you."
Curiosity drives on the Surface of Mars for the first Time |
August 22, 2012
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Curiosity has left its first tracks on the Martian Surface - successfully making its first drive on Sol 16 of the surface mission (August 22, 2012).
The day started for Curiosity with the nominal uplink of Commands that is done every morning, Mars Time. This time, these commands included those for the first drive after yesterday's successful Steering Actuator Checkout. MSL warmed up its actuators in preparation for the drive before motion began just after 13:30 Local Solar Time. The first drive had a duration of approximately 16 minutes, but the majority of that was spent taking images when the Rover made short stops. Pure driving time on Sol 16 was more in the order of four to five minutes. The Rover made a 4.5-meter drive forward, turned in place making a ~120-degree turn before driving back about 2.5 meters. The drive was a complete success, all actuators performed as expected, engineering images were acquired and the Rover ended up in the intended spot to set the stage for several more Sols of operations at the landing site, which has been officially named - forever to be known as "Bradbury Landing". The announcement to name Curiosity's landing site in honor of Ray Bradbury (1920-2012), American writer (The Martian Chronicles), was made on August 22. After driving to its new location on Sol 16, Curiosity has now completed Commissioning Activity Phase 1B and will enter Intermission on Sol 17. The exact duration of this phase is still unknown and depends on dynamic mission events and Rover activities. |
Photo: NASA/JPL/Caltech
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MSL is going to conduct more instrument checkouts and science operations at its landing site using the Remote Sensing Instruments such as MastCam and ChemCam to examine the Goulburn Scour which has already been the subject of analysis over the past several Sols. In addition, the SAM Instrument (Sample Analysis at Mars) will perform two Sols of atmospheric sampling as part of its checkouts and to provide initial instrument characterization data. SAM and CheMin (Chemistry and Mineralogy) have completed initial checkouts and will begin more advanced checks and science data acquisition over the coming weeks. During Intermission, the MastCam Payload will undergo more checkouts taking practice images to create long-range 3D images. Once all operations at the landing site are complete, Curiosity will start driving towards Glenelg - the first science target of the mission. Initially, driving increments will be small as mobility system and driving capability checkouts continue. For the first several Sols, traversing distances of 10 to 20 meters are planned before that number will slowly be increased as the Rover's autonomous driving and hazard detection capabilities are checked and validated. That is why the drive towards Glenelg that is 400 meters East of Bradbury Landing, is expected to take several weeks. Along its way to Glenelg, MSL will stop as soon as fine-grained material is detected to perform its first scoop sampling operation that is required to clean the sampling acquisition and processing system before actual sample analysis can take place later on. For more information on Curiosity's sampling system, visit our detailed overview.
Sol 16 - First Drive Panorama
--Sol 16 Photo Gallery--
"You can see in the tracks how we drive forward, and then you can see roughly a circle, which is where the rover did what we call its turn in place maneuver. So it steered all of its wheels and then performed a turn of a 120 degrees, pivoting about a point in the center of that circle, and then it backed up," MSL Lead Rover Planner Matthew Heverly said.
Photo: NASA/JPL/Caltech
MSL wiggles its Wheels to prepare for first Drive on Sol 16 |
August 21, 2012
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Image: NASA/JPL/Caltech
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The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover has completed all preparations for its first drive that will take place on August 22, 2012 (GMT).
After instrument checkouts and the deployment & testing of the Rover's Robotic Arm were the focus of the past several Sols, MSL completed its Steering Actuator Checkout. All actuators were put through a range of motions on Sol 15 to check their performance and set up for the first drive. One by one, the actuators turned the wheels into both directions to test the basic range of motion needed to steer the vehicle, not going through the entire range of the actuators. After each wheel was wiggled back and forth, the actuators were positioned in a configuration to point the wheels straight in preparation for the short drive on Sol 16. As part of nominal command uplink in the morning hours Mars Time at Gale Crater, the commands for the short drive sequence will be uplinked to Curiosity. Driving and actuator movements are performed in the afternoon hours to allow the components to be warmed up during the Martian Day so that the energy consumption of the Rover's heaters can be reduced. Curiosity's first drive is planned to start between three and four in the afternoon lasting for about 30 minutes. Curiosity will drive straight forward for about three or four meters, allowing more than one wheel revolution to take place. Then, Curiosity will turn in place, making a 90-degree turn to the right before going into reverse and driving backwards for another few meters to end up in a spot that was closely studied by the driving team. |
This spot, left of the landing site, has been chosen because it was determined to be safe after close examination of images taken by the Rover's NavCams and MastCams - making sure the terrain will not cause any trouble when Curiosity will be starting to move again a few Sols after the first drive.
Once at the new spot, Curiosity will complete more instrument and hardware checkouts before heading out towards its first science target to the East, an area called Glenelg. This targeted area is of high interest because it lies at the intersection of three different surface materials/geological features. The brighter terrain to the North is likely a type of bedrock which could be suitable for eventual drilling by Curiosity. To the East is the next type of terrain which is marked by numerous small craters. This could be material that represents and older or harder surface. The third kind of terrain at this intersection is the surface type Curiosity landed on. This is interesting because it will enable scientists to determine if the same kind of rock texture at Goulburn Scour also occurs at Glenelg - at some distance to the landing site. Curiosity is planned to start its trek towards Glenelg around Sol 20 - pending successful driving tests.
Once at the new spot, Curiosity will complete more instrument and hardware checkouts before heading out towards its first science target to the East, an area called Glenelg. This targeted area is of high interest because it lies at the intersection of three different surface materials/geological features. The brighter terrain to the North is likely a type of bedrock which could be suitable for eventual drilling by Curiosity. To the East is the next type of terrain which is marked by numerous small craters. This could be material that represents and older or harder surface. The third kind of terrain at this intersection is the surface type Curiosity landed on. This is interesting because it will enable scientists to determine if the same kind of rock texture at Goulburn Scour also occurs at Glenelg - at some distance to the landing site. Curiosity is planned to start its trek towards Glenelg around Sol 20 - pending successful driving tests.
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
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On Sol 14, Curiosity fired its ChemCam instrument for the second time at a Martian Rock after making the first successful target exercise one Sol earlier on a Rock close to the Rover that was named Coronation. This time, a sample inside Goulburn Scour was analyzed by the ChemCam instrument. Goulburn Scour is one of four excavation areas that were caused by Mars Landing Engine plume impingement during the Landing Phase. Inside Goulburn Scour, a large amount of sub-surface material was revealed showing fragments of rock that are embedded in a matrix of finer material as well as a larger clast protruding up from the layer in which it is embedded in. Currently, the ChemCam Team is busy analyzing the data from the two science data acquisition sessions and putting them into context with data acquired by performing spectroscopy on the Calibration Target - still evaluating instrument performance before starting to provide science data to the public. So far, ChemCam is working better as expected in terms of data quality and teams are confident that ChemCam will provide significant scientific results over the course of the surface mission. For more on ChemCam, refer to previous Mission Updates and our Instrument Overview.
The DAN Instrument - Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons, has also completed initial data return showing that it is operating as expected. One of the other environmental payloads, REMS (Rover Environmental Monitoring Station) has hit its first larger problems while going through checkouts. REMS features two booms at the Remote Sensing Mast of Curiosity. |
Image: NASA/JPL/LANL
ChemCam Remote-Micro Imager shot of the Goulburn Target
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REMS is located at three locations on the Rover: two instrument booms installed on the mast, an Ultraviolet Sensor (UVS) assembly on the rover deck and the Instrument Control Unit (ICU) inside the rover body. Boom 1 is equipped with a wind sensor and a ground temperature sensor while Boom 2 also has a wind sensor and a relative humidity sensor. The two booms are located at a separation of 120° around the boom axis, one facing forward, the other to the side - both were expected to be recording local wind speed and direction in the plane of the sensor so that wind direction and speed could be determined without having any shadowing by the mast. REMS uses sophisticated wind sensors that require delicate circuit boards to be exposed to the Martian Environment.
Image: NASA/JPL
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During REMS checkouts, it was found that the boom looking to the side was sending saturated data at either high or low levels which was not valid. The issue was traced back to the exposed circuit boards and it was determined that two of three boards on the boom in question had damaged wiring. Teams assessed the situation and came to the conclusion that this type of damage was permanent without a chance of recovery. The REMS instrument and its wind sensors were successfully checked during cruise so that instrument health following launch and ascent aboard the Atlas V rocket back in November 2011 was confirmed. With the instruments starting to send bad data after landing while functioning during cruise has led to teams assuming that the instrument's circuit boards were damaged during Entry, Descent and Landing. Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity deputy project scientist, has stressed that there is now way of finding out what exactly happened to the hardware, but that teams have developed the hypothesis of small rocks damaging the tiny wires of the circuit boards during the propulsive landing. Following landing, images have shown small pebbles on the Rover Deck that were picked up by the Mars Landing Engines while the Descent Stage was hovering above Curiosity during landing.
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Photo: NASA/JPL
REMS Boom Installation
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Possibly, these pebbles could have hit the fragile hardware on the mast which was in its stowed position with the REMS booms facing outward, leading to the damage teams are seeing.
With one damaged wind sensor, teams will have to learn how to put the one remaining sensor to best use to provide wind speed and direction data to support the science goals of REMS.
With all Rover operations being on track, teams are getting ready to close-out the Commissioning Activity Phase 1B and head into a mission phase called Intermission. This phase is variable in duration and includes more science data acquisition with the Remote Sensing Instruments before beginning Commissioning Activity Phase 2 featuring several Sols of Robotic Arm and Turret Instrument Commissioning that will include first science data acquisition by APXS (Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer) and MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager) before the tools of the Turret will be used for the first time - most likely at the Glenelg science target.
Photo Gallery: Sol 15 Steering Actuator Checkouts
With one damaged wind sensor, teams will have to learn how to put the one remaining sensor to best use to provide wind speed and direction data to support the science goals of REMS.
With all Rover operations being on track, teams are getting ready to close-out the Commissioning Activity Phase 1B and head into a mission phase called Intermission. This phase is variable in duration and includes more science data acquisition with the Remote Sensing Instruments before beginning Commissioning Activity Phase 2 featuring several Sols of Robotic Arm and Turret Instrument Commissioning that will include first science data acquisition by APXS (Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer) and MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager) before the tools of the Turret will be used for the first time - most likely at the Glenelg science target.
Photo Gallery: Sol 15 Steering Actuator Checkouts
Curiosity fires its Laser at Coronation & gets ready to Drive |
August 20, 2012
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NASA's Curiosity Rover has successfully used its ChemCam LIBS Laser for the first time on Mars. The laser was used to fire at both, the Calibration Target of the instrument and a rock near the Rover's Landing Site.
As part of Spacecraft Commissioning, each of the 10 science instruments of MSL is undergoing checkouts. ChemCam started with electrical checks to make sure the instrument made it to the Martian Surface without being damaged. ChemCam is an instrument package that consists of two remote sensing elements – The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectrometer (LIBS) and a Remote Micro-Imager (RMI). LIBS provides elemental compositions of samples while the RMI puts the analyses done by LIBS into a geomorphologic context. For more information on ChemCam, refer to our Instrument Overview Site.
After electrical checks were complete, the instrument was activated to complete more extensive tests such as acquiring images of the instrument's calibration target that is installed at the back on the rover Deck and includes different elements of known composition that are used to verify the performance of the spectrometer. When RMI and other ChemCam related tests were complete, the instrument was commanded to use its laser to fire at the Calibration Target - leaving a new visible mark:
As part of Spacecraft Commissioning, each of the 10 science instruments of MSL is undergoing checkouts. ChemCam started with electrical checks to make sure the instrument made it to the Martian Surface without being damaged. ChemCam is an instrument package that consists of two remote sensing elements – The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectrometer (LIBS) and a Remote Micro-Imager (RMI). LIBS provides elemental compositions of samples while the RMI puts the analyses done by LIBS into a geomorphologic context. For more information on ChemCam, refer to our Instrument Overview Site.
After electrical checks were complete, the instrument was activated to complete more extensive tests such as acquiring images of the instrument's calibration target that is installed at the back on the rover Deck and includes different elements of known composition that are used to verify the performance of the spectrometer. When RMI and other ChemCam related tests were complete, the instrument was commanded to use its laser to fire at the Calibration Target - leaving a new visible mark:
Image Credit: NASA/JPL/LANL/Spaceflight101
After zapping its Calibration Target, ChemCam was ready to perform its first real analysis and target exercise on a Martian Rock. The fist-sized rock was named 'Coronation', previously known as N165. On August 19, Curiosity fired 30 pulses of its laser at the rock during a 10-second period with the LIBS Telescope registering the wavelengths of the glowing plasma that is created when the high-energy laser pulses hit the target. Three spectrometers analyze the spectrum that is observed to deduce the elemental composition of the sample. The intensity of a total of 6,144 different wavelengths from infrared to ultraviolet light is recorded.
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"We got a great spectrum of Coronation -- lots of signal," said ChemCam Principal Investigator Roger Wiens of Los Alamos National Laboratory, N.M. "Our team is both thrilled and working hard, looking at the results. After eight years building the instrument, it's payoff time!" Spectra from all 30 pulses were acquired which will enable scientists to look for changes between the individual spectra to examine any composition changes which could represent the penetration of dust or surface material on the rock. "It's surprising that the data are even better than we ever had during tests on Earth, in signal-to-noise ratio," said ChemCam Deputy Project Scientist Sylvestre Maurice of the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planetologie (IRAP) in Toulouse, France. "It's so rich, we can expect great science from investigating what might be thousands of targets with ChemCam in the next two years." This marked the first use of laser-induced spectroscopy on any extraterrestrial planet.
The composite image to the right illustrates the ChemCam test. The background is a large NavCam frame that shows the context of the target. The Circular Inset is an image of the Coronation Rock that was taken by the Remote Micro Imager before the rock was hit with the laser.Tthe area shown in the inset is 6 centimeters in diameter. The square inset is also an RMI Image. It is a combined image of before and after shots with before shots being subtracted to make the small mark the laser left visible. The diameter of the area this inset is covering is 8 millimeters. This first target exercise of ChemCam was a complete success. |
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP
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Aside from all the laser-firing that was going on at the base of Gale Crater, Curiosity is making more preparations for nominal Surface Operations. On Sol 14 (August 20), the Rover was commanded to unstow and deploy its Robotic Arm which was completed successfully as indicated by NavCam images that were downlinked later during that Sol. Planned for Sol 15 is a steering actuator test followed by Curiosity's first drive which has been replanned for Sol 16. The plan called for a test of all actuators - running one at time. The test was designed to put the individual actuators through a profile of a basic range of motion (going back and forth to test motion in both directions, but not covering the complete range on each side) before placing them in a straight configuration to get ready for the first drive. This first drive is expected to be a 4-meter drive forward and a ~90-degree turn in place followed by a few meters backwards. During the drive, HazCam imagery will be acquired to allow engineers to assess the properties of the soil Curiosity is driving on - examining how deep the wheels sink into the surface when being in motion. This will enable teams to plan for future short drives before beginning the trip to Glenelg, the first medium-drive Science Target before Curiosity heads out to Mount Sharp.
Sol 14 HazCam Images
Note the two configurations the Remote Sensing Mast is in. When it is in use for imaging, it is placed in the required configuration to take the images with its different Cameras, NavCam, MastCam and ChemCam, but when its is not actively in use, the Upper Portion is tilted down to prevent any Martian Dust from setting onto the Camera Optics Assemblies.
Photo: NASA/JPL/Caltech
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Photo: NASA/JPL/Caltech
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Curiosity on track for first Drive, Initial Science Targets selected |
August 17, 2012
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Photo: NASA/JPL/MSSS
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The Curiosity Rover continues to run through its Initial Surface Operations without any major problems - allowing the science team to present its way forward, selecting initial targets, naming surface features and looking at the greater time-scale in terms of upcoming mission operations.
MSL is still going through its Commissioning Activity Phase 1B after 1A was completed with the successful software upgrade that took place earlier this week. The 1B phase includes more systems checkouts, science data acquisition and the first drive of the vehicle. With instrument checks on track, the steering actuator checkout remains planned for Sol 13 with the first short drive two Sols later. |
This first drive will be a short move forward, about 1 or two meters, followed by a turn and a short drive backwards, close to the original spot. This original spot has been getting a lot of attention by the science team of the mission lately to find initial science targets. The four excavation areas that were created by the Mars Landing Engines while the Descent Stage was hovering above Curiosity during landing, are of particular interest because sub-surface material was revealed by the engine plumes. It is common practice to name interesting objects a Rover encounters on Mars and this is no different on this mission. The science team picked four names for these excavation areas or scour marks: Burnside Scour, Goulburn Scour, Hepburn Scour and Sleepy Dragon Scour. The scours were named clockwise from the most north. The names were chosen by the science team from a list of rock formations in northern Canada that were related to heat or fire to represent their creation. The Goulburn scour is the excavation area that was featured in the first MastCam Science Report, is of particular interest to the science team because it features a large amount of sub-surface material. Goulburn Scour will be the first science target of the mission, but only for Remote Sensing procedures with ChemCam and MastCam that are currently undergoing checkouts.
Photo: NASA/JPL/Caltech/MSSS
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Instrument Checkouts are in full swing at this time and MSL has finished testing the ChemCam Instrument to a large extent with all tests being complete - except firing the laser of the instrument. ChemCam acquired images of its calibration target at the back of the Rover with passive spectroscopy and the combined ChemCam Team with operators from the US and France, determined that the instrument is in good shape and ready to start data acquisition with the use of its laser for active spectroscopy on Mars. Teams have selected a particular surface target for examination by ChemCam and its laser. N165 is the provisional name of the rock that will be ChemCam first surface target. When firing the laser at a target, plasma is released which can be analyzed spectroscopically via ChemCam's telescope and spectrometer. To learn more about ChemCam and its operation, visit our instrument overview.
The DAN (Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons) Instrument was activated for checkout as well. DAN is an active/passive neutron spectrometer that measures the abundance and depth distribution of materials that include Hydrogen or OH-Groups (Absorbed water, hydrated minerals, etc.) in a shallow layer of Mars’ subsurface along the path of the rover. During a 15-minute test, DAN used ten 1-millisecond pulses per second to acquire science data. The instrument checkout was successful and the RAD Instrument (Radiation Assessment Detector) was active simultaneously and detected DAN's pulses to confirm that is was functioning. |
Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/LANL
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REMS - the Rover Environmental Monitoring System has been actively gathering weather data over the course of a full Martian Day and the first science report for that instrument will be issued next week.
With Commissioning Activity Phase 1B proceeding nominally, teams are able to piece together more plans for operations in the future. The next phase after 1B is an intermission period which is variable in duration and includes more science data acquisition with the Remote Sensing Instruments and most likely a short drive to a nearby science target. Afterwards, the way is clear for Commissioning Activity Phase 2 which will focus on the Robotic Arm of MSL and instruments & tools related to it. The science team has also decided the plan to move forward in terms of long-term planning and science target selection.
With Commissioning Activity Phase 1B proceeding nominally, teams are able to piece together more plans for operations in the future. The next phase after 1B is an intermission period which is variable in duration and includes more science data acquisition with the Remote Sensing Instruments and most likely a short drive to a nearby science target. Afterwards, the way is clear for Commissioning Activity Phase 2 which will focus on the Robotic Arm of MSL and instruments & tools related to it. The science team has also decided the plan to move forward in terms of long-term planning and science target selection.
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MSL's first moderate duration drive goal is an area called Glenelg which is located east of Curiosity's landing site. That area is of high interest because it lies at the intersection of three different surface materials/geological features. The brighter terrain to the North is likely a type of bedrock which could be suitable for eventual drilling by Curiosity. To the East is the next type of terrain which is marked by numerous small craters. This could be material that represents and older or harder surface. The third kind of terrain at this intersection is the surface type Curiosity landed on. This is interesting because it will enable scientists to determine if the same kind of rock texture at Goulburn Scour also occurs at Glenelg - at some distance to the landing site. To reach Glenelg, Curiosity would require three to four weeks of pure traversing Sols. While traveling to Glenelg, the Rover would also be looking for fine-grained materials for scoop sampling and analysis by SAM and CheMin. Should such materials be found, the move to Glenelg would be as long as 1.5 months.
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Image: NASA/JPL/Caltech/University of Arizona
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Once arriving at Glenelg, MSL would perform about a month of science operations including the first use of its drill to examine rocks. "The science team thought the name Glenelg was appropriate because, if Curiosity traveled there, it would visit the area twice -- both coming and going -- and the word Glenelg is a palindrome. After Glenelg, the rover will aim to drive to the base of Mount Sharp," NASA said in a statement. After finishing science operations, MSL would turn South to start its long trek to Mount Sharp, the primary science target of the mission. Getting to Mount Sharp will take over a year. On its way, Curiosity will stop multiple times to examine soil samples of interesting geological features and terrains.
MSL receives Software Upgrade, resumes Rover Checkouts |
August 14, 2012 |
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After landing on the Martian Surface more than 8 days ago, Curiosity is now ready for nominal surface operations after a lengthy software transition was completed.
When initial checkouts were complete, the first images were downlinked and the general health of the Rover was verified, teams took a break of four sols to install the R10 Version of Curiosity's Flight Software on its two redundant flight computers. R10 is the software package optimized for surface operations while the R9.4 software was optimized for Entry, Descent and Landing and was only capable of supporting basic surface operations. The transition started on Sol 5 with Rover Compute Element A, the rover's prime onboard computer. R10 had been loaded into Curiosity back in June when the vehicle was still cruising to Mars to make sure the software was ready after landing. On Sol 5 of the landed mission, the prime computer made a so called 'toe-dip' into the new software to initialize it and send a signal via is High-Gain Antenna to tell the mission team that the software booted nominally. One Sol later, R10 was fully installed as part of a methodical process to make sure all steps were completed as planned. While the software transition was in progress, the Rover had to stand down on all complex activities such as science and imaging operations. On Sols 6 and 7, Rover Compute Element B underwent the same process to dump the R9.4 software and transition to R10. The software transition was completed nominally and all checks of the vehicle's computers indicate that all critical systems are working properly under the new flight software. |
Photo: NASA/JPL/Caltech
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The flight software transition was needed because the computers of the rover do not have the capabilities of modern computers found on Earth so that there was no chance of having a software that was optimized for both, landing on Mars and performing operations on the surface. The RAD750 PowerPC microprocessors that both MSL Rover Compute Elements are using, are built to provide stable services to the Rover for its lifetime and beyond, being designed to work in the radiation environment of Space and Mars where most consumer computers would fail rather quick. With R10 now on both RCEs, Curiosity has now been enabled to perform more advanced science instrument checkouts and start gathering data. With R10 up and running, the Rover can support the operation of its Robotic Arm as a sampling and science device. In addition, R10 has features that allow the vehicle to drive autonomously in terms of hazard detection.
With this major milestone checked off the list, the team is looking forward to upcoming operations.
With this major milestone checked off the list, the team is looking forward to upcoming operations.
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Over the course of the next few Sols, Curiosity will undergo more extensive checkouts of its instruments including the first check of DAN - Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons, as well as more extensive checks of the APXS Instrument, the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer that will perform a 20-minute data acquisition test. The CheMin Instrument will complete electrical checkouts to make sure its is in good condition and ready for operations. In addition, more high-resolution frames taken by the Mars Descent Imager during landing will be moved from the instrument memory to the Rover Computers in preparation for downlink. REMS - the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station will complete its first 24-hour cycle acquiring weather data as part of initial science operations. During upcoming Sols, Curiosity will obtain more images of Mount Sharp with its MastCams. In the first Panorama, the tip of the mound was missing because the instructions for the panorama were sent to the Rover before landing without knowing the exact surroundings of Curiosity after landing.
Curiosity is currently planned to undergo a steer actuator checkout on Sol 13 in order to test its mobility system before driving begins. |
Image: NASA/JPL/Caltech
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Around Sol 15, the Rover is planned to make its first drive which will be a rather short move and is designed to test the vehicle's driving capability and to ensure all systems related to mobility are in pristine condition. The first drive will be several meters forward, followed by a turn and a move back by a few meters. This will complete a major phase of MSL Commissioning and the Rover will be ready for advanced science operations - excluding operations using the Robotic Arm of the Rover which will be commissioned over a period of time during the next month.
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
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While the Software upgrade was in progress, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter followed up to its 'Crime Scene' Image of Curiosity's Landing Site. The HiRISE Instrument of the orbiter has acquired a color view of the landing site. This is an enhanced-color version that is used to characterize the geological features in Curiosity's vicinity. This color enhancement brings out subtle differences of surface features. The full-swath image shows that the landing region is not as diverse as the area to the south, closer to Mount Sharp where Curiosity's main science targets are located.
The blue colors in the image appear gray in reality with the dark blue colors likely representing surface material of basaltic origin. In the lower portion of the full frame, the dark dune fields lying between Curiosity and Mount Sharp are visible. Around the Rover, the blast pattern from the Mars Landing Engines appears in blue colors. Taking a very close look at Curiosity, the indication of the shadow of the Remote Sensing Mast can be seen. The MRO image was acquired at an angle of 30 degrees from straight down, looking west. The scale of the image cut-out is 31 centimeters per pixel. |
Sol 4: Curiosity is GO to start big Software Transition |
August 10, 2012 |
Photo: NASA/JPL/MSSS
Photo: NASA/JPL/MSSS
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Things to continue to go very well on Mars and Curiosity has received the 'Go ahead' for the big Software transition that will take place over the next four Sols.
This change is required to install the R10 Software Package that is optimized for Surface Operations on both Rover Compute Elements, the primary and backup computers. R10 holds features that allow the Rover to perform autonomous driving in terms of Hazard Detection and it enables Curiosity to use all features of its sampling system. The current software on-board the Rover is the R9.4 Package that is optimized for Entry, Descent and Landing and only has basic surface operation software. The R10 software package was uplinked to the Rover during cruise and was stored in Curiosity's Memory ever since. Early in the landed mission, the Rover received the instructions and commands it has to execute in order to install that R10 software and get rid of the old version. Installing the new software on both RCEs will take four Sols, because teams are taking a cautious approach at this crucial activity to make sure all steps are completed as expected. During the transition, science activities and imaging will stand down and no complex operations will be executed to make sure there are no conflicts or processor overloads. On Sol 5 of the mission, Curiosity will start the software transition of its main computer, RCE-A. On the first Sol, the R10 package will be booted as part of a 'toe-dip' into the new software to make sure it initializes as expected. When overnight (Mars time) analysis is complete and reveals no problems, Curiosity will go ahead and install the R10 software on RCE-A on Sol 6 committing to the new software and completing necessary checks. RCE-B will repeat that process on Sols 7 and 8, and by Sol 9, Curiosity will be optimized for operations on Mars - ready for full-swing surface operations. |
More information about the Rover's computers can be found on this site.
Our next mission update will be published as needed, with things being quiet for the R10 Transition, there is no need for daily updates. Follow us on Twitter for the latest news.
Our next mission update will be published as needed, with things being quiet for the R10 Transition, there is no need for daily updates. Follow us on Twitter for the latest news.
Sol 3: Curiosity gets ready for major Software Change |
August 9,2012 |
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The Curiosity Rover is steadily going through its initial surface operations inside Gale Crater and procedures are progressing on schedule without any problems.
On Sol 3, MSL used it High Gain Antenna to receive an important data package from Earth. Commands needed for the big software change starting on Sol 5 have been uplinked to make sure the Rover has all the instructions that are needed to initialize the R10 Surface Operations Software, first on the Main Rover Compute Element A followed by RCE-B. This transition is planned for Sols 5 to 8. Communications via the DTE Link (Direct To Earth) and the two Orbiters, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey, are stable and telecommunications systems are still being checked to make sure that this crucial system is stable. Data rates via MRO are still be increased before nominal communications with a variable bit-rate can get underway. MRO Communications Session will be returning the most data via a high rate compared with ODY and DTE. With its Remote Sensing Mast in position, Curiosity was able to start acquiring images with its MastCams. The Rover was instructed to take images for a panoramic view of its surroundings. Only MastCam 34 was tested, the 100mm focal-length MastCam will be checked later into the mission. The MastCam image is available here. The images of the NavCams taken during Sol 2 have returned some surprises for the Entry, Descent and Landing Team. The images show fairly large pebbles on the Rover Deck that have gotten their while the descent Stages and its Mars Landing Engines were picking up surface material during the touchdown sequence. Teams did not expect pebbles that large to be moved by the engine's exhaust plumes. These objects are not of concern to teams, as they are not blocking any equipment will likely fall off when the Rover starts moving, but teams want to understand who the material ended up on the Rover for future landings on Mars. Instrument checkouts continued throughout Sol 3. the following instruments were put through checkout operations: Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS), Chemistry & Mineralogy Analyzer (CheMin), Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM), and Dynamic Albedo Neutrons (DAN). Initial analysis of the data coming from the individual instruments has revealed no problems, but further testing will occur when the R10 Transition is complete. MSL Sol 4 will be quiet in terms of major vehicle events. It is used for data downlink and more instrument checkout activities. The upcoming days will also not include any large visible events as the software change is in progress. During the Software change, there will be no science operations since teams do not want to execute any complex commands while the software package is in transition. |
Photo: NASA/JPL/Caltech
Photo: NASA/JPL/Caltech
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August 9, 2012 - First Radiation Assessment Detector Science Report: Click here
Sol 2: MSL deploys Remote Sensing Mast & snaps NavCam Images |
August 8, 2012 |
Photo: NASA/JPL/Caltech
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Mars Science Laboratory Surface Operations have continued as planned throughout Sol 2 of Curiosity's Mission.
High Gain Direct To Earth Communications have been established successfully after the position of Curiosity's High Gain Antenna was adjusted to the correct configuration pointing towards Earth. After initial HGA Deploy on Sol 1, the antenna was not in the correct position to achieve DTE Communications and teams prepared the adjustment and sent the associated commands to the Rover which then executed the adjustment and is now providing a communications link via X-Band Signals to the Deep Space Network. All antennas and Communication Links have now been established and have been verified. As planned for Sol 2, the Remote Sensing Mast was deployed. The sequence was successful and Curiosity is now on Mars in the shape that was been depicted in almost all the animations that we have seen of the Rover. With its Mast in place, Curiosity started acquiring images with the two NavCams mounted on the RSM. In actuality, the Mast is equipped with four Navigation Cameras to provide redundancy to the System. The two prime cameras were used to acquire the initial images. Both String-A NavCams returned a number of thumbnail images of the calibration target on the Rover itself and thumbnails of terrain surrounding the Rover were also sent to Earth. The right NavCam returned two full frames and three full frames of the left NavCam were sent. |
All full frames are available here. The images clearly show that the cameras are in good shape without any major dust contamination on their optical assemblies. Downlinked NavCam footage shows the immediate terrain surrounding the rover and other photos show distant surface features. Teams were relieved to see that Curiosity was not covered in large amounts of dust which was a known concern that came with the propulsive landing sequence. The Thumbnail images were also used to produce a small 360-degree panorama view and a photo of the Rover's Deck. After image processing was complete, teams declared the NacCams operational.
Image: NASA/JPL/Caltech
The Photo showing the distant view of the North rim of Gale Crater was already subject to analysis since it showed the Alluvial Fan that is of interest to scientists because it is believed to be the result of water flowing on the surface of Mars. In the foreground, thruster impingement excavation areas are visible that were created by the Sky Crane during landing. The engine plumes revealed some sub-surface material which has been identified as bedrock indicating that the sub-surface of Gale is consisting of hard material.
Also during Sol 2, instrument checkouts and initial science operations continued. The REMS start-up issue reported in yesterday's mission update was investigated further and teams were able to confirm that the REMS (Rover Environmental Monitoring Station) hardware is in good condition and that the issue is associated with commanding. Corrections are being put in place by the REMS team to re-gain full functionality of their instrument. Also, RAD - the Radiation Assessment Detector took three and a half hours of measurements providing science data. The instrument saw several heavy ion events and was able to characterize the average radiation environment of Mars being well below the Radiation Dose Average observed the cruise phase.
For Sol 2, a number of measurements were made by Curiosity determining that its environment is warmer than expected that could turn out to be favorable for MSL operations since less energy will be consumed by its heaters. The MMRTG ( Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator) is providing 115 Watts of electrical power to the Rover - a value that is 10 Watts above predicted levels which will allow the Rover to operate for a longer duration each Sol and conduct more science activities later on.
Also during Sol 2, instrument checkouts and initial science operations continued. The REMS start-up issue reported in yesterday's mission update was investigated further and teams were able to confirm that the REMS (Rover Environmental Monitoring Station) hardware is in good condition and that the issue is associated with commanding. Corrections are being put in place by the REMS team to re-gain full functionality of their instrument. Also, RAD - the Radiation Assessment Detector took three and a half hours of measurements providing science data. The instrument saw several heavy ion events and was able to characterize the average radiation environment of Mars being well below the Radiation Dose Average observed the cruise phase.
For Sol 2, a number of measurements were made by Curiosity determining that its environment is warmer than expected that could turn out to be favorable for MSL operations since less energy will be consumed by its heaters. The MMRTG ( Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator) is providing 115 Watts of electrical power to the Rover - a value that is 10 Watts above predicted levels which will allow the Rover to operate for a longer duration each Sol and conduct more science activities later on.
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The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's CTX instrument has provided imagery that shows the crash site of the six Entry Ballast Masses that were jettisoned by MSL during Entry, Descent & Landing as part of the Straighten Up and Fly Right Maneuver that was carried out shortly before Parachute Deploy to eliminate the Center of Gravity Offset that was achieved prior to Entry to achieve an Angle of Attack for EDL. Six 25-Kilogram Tungsten Masses were ejected during SUFR with 2-second intervals - sending six objects towards the surface of Mars. The EBMs (Entry Ballast Masses) ended up 12 Kilometers from the MSL Landing Site and feature a 1-Kilometer dispersal.
After successfully wrapping up Sol 2, teams have given a GO for Sol 3 Operations. This will be another busy Sol in terms of instrument checkouts which are the primary focus on this Martian Day. Also, Curiosity will start acquiring a MastCam full-color Panorama to provide further insight in the terrain that is surrounding the rover giving a full 360-degree view of the inside of Gale Crater. The Panorama will be partially downlinked as resources permit. |
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Animated Image showing the Crash Site of the EBMs (before and after)
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Over the course of Sol 3, the High Gain Antenna will be used for a full communications pass tracking the Earth to characterize its performance because the HGA is blocked by equipment on the Rover Deck late in each pass of Earth. Teams want to characterize that occlusion to make further communications scheduling easier. DTE Communication on Sol 3 will be largely dedicated to the uplink of the sequence for the Rover's Computers that will be used during Sols 5 to 9 to transition the Rover Compute Elements to their main Surface Operations Software Package. The two RCEs, A and B, will complete that sequence with RCE-A being first to go through the change over a duration of about two Sols, followed by the backup RCE.
With Curiosity in good condition, the mission is shaping up very well with all major events occurring on a schedule that was put in place well before launch in November 2011. Our next Mission Update will be published tomorrow.
With Curiosity in good condition, the mission is shaping up very well with all major events occurring on a schedule that was put in place well before launch in November 2011. Our next Mission Update will be published tomorrow.
MSL deploys High Gain Antenna, MRO snaps Crime-Scene Photo |
August 7, 2012 |
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Sol 2 of the Mars Science Laboratory Mission has started at Gale Crater and teams are working no issues as Curiosity gets ready to wake up on Mars for the second full Sol of operations. The Rover remains in nominal Surface Mode and is in perfect health.
Sol 1 activities were successful but not across the board The High Gain Antenna was deployed as expected. Its mechanism worked as advertised and pointed the HGA in the direction that was programmed into the Rover's Computers, however, Direct to Earth Communications were not established as planned. This was due to the HGA being in an unfavorable position and not directly pointing at Earth. With more precise knowledge of MSL's Landing Position, the Telecommunications Teams were able to prepare a new set of commands to move the antenna to the correct position and achieve Direct to Earth two-way communications. Also during Sol 1, different instruments underwent initial checkouts and data acquisition. RAD - the Radiation Assessment Detector has taken several hours of measurements and has returned data that is being analyzed by the team at this time. RAD was also active during the Cruise to Mars to gain insight in the radiation environment on the way to the Red Planet. RAD was developed and built by the Southwest Research Institute and Christian Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany with funding from NASA and Germany's national aerospace research center (DLR). |
Photo: NASA/JPL/Caltech
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Another Instrument that was checked as part of Sol 1 operations was REMS - Rover Environmental Monitoring Station. It was activated and took several minutes of data. A second start-up was intended to occur, but was not successful. Teams are assessing the situation and are confident that it is not a hardware issue. Currently, teams are looking at the parameters of the software to find any problems related to instrument commands to make sure the next instrument start is successful. REMS is a meteorological instrument suite that will record six atmospheric properties: wind (speed and direction), pressure, relative humidity, air temperature, ground temperature and ultraviolet radiation. The instruments are located at three locations on the rover, two booms that are attached to the Remote Sensing Mast, the Ultraviolet Sensor (UVS) assembly on the rover deck and the Instrument Control Unit (ICU) inside the rover body.
MAHLI, the Mars Hand Lens Imager, was also tested and acquired its first images. For these images, refer to the section below this article.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has followed up with a post-landing image after taking this spectacular photo of MSL and its Heat Shield during descent on Monday. The objective of this first post-landing imaging session using the HiRISE Instrument was to pin-point the exact landing spot of Curiosity. Work to identify the exact position has been underway since landing and teams already had a good idea of the exact landing coordinates using different data and images before MRO made its pass.
MAHLI, the Mars Hand Lens Imager, was also tested and acquired its first images. For these images, refer to the section below this article.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has followed up with a post-landing image after taking this spectacular photo of MSL and its Heat Shield during descent on Monday. The objective of this first post-landing imaging session using the HiRISE Instrument was to pin-point the exact landing spot of Curiosity. Work to identify the exact position has been underway since landing and teams already had a good idea of the exact landing coordinates using different data and images before MRO made its pass.
Photo: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
The MRO image show the entire set of Entry, Descent and Landing Components with Curiosity being the Centerpiece of the photos. MRO took the image from an altitude of 300 Kilometers during a pass that was not ideal to image the landing site, a better fly-over is expected in about 5 days. The image also shows remarkable detail of the other components like the Heat Shield and Parachute. The Heat Shield crashed down 1,200 meters from the landing site and the Backshell with its Parachute is 615 meters from the landing site. Both of these components came down before Curiosity since the Rover and the Descent Stage were actively slowing down their descent. The Descent Stage is located 650 meters north of Curiosity, confirming that the Fly-Away which had a minimum distance of 400 meters, was completely successful. The darker areas around the EDL Components are due to disturbances of their impacts/landings or the plumes of the engines removing the bright surface dust and exposing other material.
The Rover has landed just about 2 Kilometers from the Center of its landing ellipse taking it closer to its primary Science Target, Mount Sharp which is about 6.5 Kilometers away (direct line of sight). In addition, Curiosity landed in a position facing Mount Sharp, also called Aeolis Mons, looking east-southeast. The exact heading of the rover has been calculated as 112.7 degrees (+/-5 deg).
Coming up on Sol 2 is a major Mission Event which is the deployment of MSL's Remote Sensing Mast. A GO for deployment has already been given and all systems are ready to Mast Deploy. But before, MSL will correct the position of the High Gain Antenna. "We are ... going to deploy the remote sensing mast so we can take these beautiful panoramas that we've all been waiting to see," Mission Manager Mike Watkins said. "But as for now, the first order of business is to make sure the communications to the Earth are healthy and that's the prime activity upcoming for today."
Systems checkouts will also continue during Sol 2.
The cameras mounted on the Mast, MastCam and NavCam will be tested by taking pictures of their calibration targets. ChemCam up on top of the mast will undergo checkouts over several Sols in the future starting on Sol 10 or 11. These Sol 2 tests already include science activities and more data acquisition by RAD and other instruments.
Photo Gallery: MSL Crime-Scene Images
The Rover has landed just about 2 Kilometers from the Center of its landing ellipse taking it closer to its primary Science Target, Mount Sharp which is about 6.5 Kilometers away (direct line of sight). In addition, Curiosity landed in a position facing Mount Sharp, also called Aeolis Mons, looking east-southeast. The exact heading of the rover has been calculated as 112.7 degrees (+/-5 deg).
Coming up on Sol 2 is a major Mission Event which is the deployment of MSL's Remote Sensing Mast. A GO for deployment has already been given and all systems are ready to Mast Deploy. But before, MSL will correct the position of the High Gain Antenna. "We are ... going to deploy the remote sensing mast so we can take these beautiful panoramas that we've all been waiting to see," Mission Manager Mike Watkins said. "But as for now, the first order of business is to make sure the communications to the Earth are healthy and that's the prime activity upcoming for today."
Systems checkouts will also continue during Sol 2.
The cameras mounted on the Mast, MastCam and NavCam will be tested by taking pictures of their calibration targets. ChemCam up on top of the mast will undergo checkouts over several Sols in the future starting on Sol 10 or 11. These Sol 2 tests already include science activities and more data acquisition by RAD and other instruments.
Photo Gallery: MSL Crime-Scene Images
First Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) Color Photo
Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems
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This image is a processed photo that was acquired by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on August 7, 2012 at around 4:45 UTC during Sol 1 of the MSL Surface Mission. MAHLI is a full color camera that is located on the turret at the end of MSL’s robotic arm. This camera produces pictures with a resolution of up to 1600x1200 pixels and it from working distances of 20.4mm to infinity. Its resolution at a distance of 2.5cm is 15µm per pixel. During the science mission of Curiosity, the camera will be used for a variety of operations such as closeup imagery of rocks and fine regolith targets and to obtain mosaic and stereo images. Also, MAHLI will be able to image to holes made by Curiosity's drill close-up and its LEDs can be used for night-time imaging. When the robotic arm is fully extended, MAHLI can take self portraits of the Curiosity Rover.
The image shows the north wall and rim of Gale Crater that is visible in the distance. The image quality is somewhat poor because the dust cover of the MAHLI instrument was not opened to take this image. During landing under the Descent Stage with its Mars Landing Engines, a lot of dust was picked up that coated the cover. MAHLI's transparent dust cover can be opened on command by a motor. |
Raw Image
Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems
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Unlike the HazCam Covers, MAHLI's dust cover that protects the optical element and the LEDs that are part of the assembly, can be opened more than once so that the instrument is protected during the entire surface mission when it is not in use.
MAHLI is mounted on the Robotic Arm of the Rover that is still in its stowed position so that MAHLI is rotated 30 degrees relative to the rover deck. That is why the image was rotated during processing so that this tilt offset is corrected and sky is indeed up.
A full MAHLI Instrument Overview is available on this site.
MAHLI is mounted on the Robotic Arm of the Rover that is still in its stowed position so that MAHLI is rotated 30 degrees relative to the rover deck. That is why the image was rotated during processing so that this tilt offset is corrected and sky is indeed up.
A full MAHLI Instrument Overview is available on this site.
MRO snaps perfect MSL Entry, Descent & Landing Portrait |
August 6, 2012 |
After making its turbulent and equally successful Entry, Descent and Landing early on August 6, 2012 (GMT), the Curiosity Rover and its Mission Team have started to get settled with the Rover inside Gale Crater and Mission Controllers inside the Surface Operations Control Room. The day was a huge success in terms of the big picture: Curiosity made a successful Landing, returned stable data and telemetry and, as a bonus, started sending amazing images right away.
"The Seven Minutes of Terror has turned into the Seven Minutes of Triumph," said NASA Associate Administrator for Science John Grunsfeld. "My immense joy in the success of this mission is matched only by overwhelming pride I feel for the women and men of the mission's team."
During the first few hours inside Gale, Curiosity had only a few tasks planned. The Vehicle successfully established communications with the Orbiting Assets, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Odyssey, to send data back to Earth. "Our Curiosity is talking to us from the surface of Mars," said MSL Project Manager Peter Theisinger of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "The landing takes us past the most hazardous moments for this project, and begins a new and exciting mission to pursue its scientific objectives." When the first exciting images were captured just after touchdown, the protective HazCam Lens Covers were still in place. Those were used during final descent to the surface to prevent any contamination of the imagers by dust being picked up by the Mars Landing Engines. On the second Odyssey Pass, two hours after landing, the view was much clearer, confirming that the covers had popped off as intended. One beautiful Sunset Image was acquired by the Rover:
"The Seven Minutes of Terror has turned into the Seven Minutes of Triumph," said NASA Associate Administrator for Science John Grunsfeld. "My immense joy in the success of this mission is matched only by overwhelming pride I feel for the women and men of the mission's team."
During the first few hours inside Gale, Curiosity had only a few tasks planned. The Vehicle successfully established communications with the Orbiting Assets, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Odyssey, to send data back to Earth. "Our Curiosity is talking to us from the surface of Mars," said MSL Project Manager Peter Theisinger of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "The landing takes us past the most hazardous moments for this project, and begins a new and exciting mission to pursue its scientific objectives." When the first exciting images were captured just after touchdown, the protective HazCam Lens Covers were still in place. Those were used during final descent to the surface to prevent any contamination of the imagers by dust being picked up by the Mars Landing Engines. On the second Odyssey Pass, two hours after landing, the view was much clearer, confirming that the covers had popped off as intended. One beautiful Sunset Image was acquired by the Rover:
Image: NASA/JPL
"Curiosity's landing site is beginning to come into focus," said John Grotzinger, project manager of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "In the image, we are looking to the northwest. What you see on the horizon is the rim of Gale Crater. In the foreground, you can see a gravel field. The question is, where does this gravel come from? It is the first of what will be many scientific questions to come from our new home on Mars." What is even more important than the early look at the geological features, is that MSL's Wheel is appearing to be standing on a solid surface - no signs of wheels sinking into the soil at landing. This is of great interest to planners and Rover Operators that have to determine the exact surroundings of the Rover before making its first drive which will be a very short one about two weeks from now - if everything is going as smoothly as possible.
One special treat was provided by MRO's HiRISE Instrument that was taking a shot at photographing Curiosity during Entry, Descent & Landing - just like it did in 2008 with Phoenix. Prior to EDL, the MRO and HiRISE Team put great effort into planning the short opportunity of taking that image, but only a 60% chance was given that HiRISE would succeed. Today, confirmation was received that MRO did it again - taking a photo that will live down in history. It shows the MSL Spacecraft flying under its huge Supersonic Parachute making its descent to the Martian Surface. At the time the picture was taken, MRO was 340 Kilometers from the entering MSL Spacecraft that was 6 minutes into Entry, Descent & Landing at that point.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
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After Landing, teams started operations to pin-point Curiosity's exact landing point in the ellipse by using data acquired during EDL and images that came down post-landing. Initial analysis show that MSL most likely landed 2 Kilometers East and a few hundred meters North of the Center of its Landing Ellipse. Also, teams were able to confirm the exact state the rover is in sitting inside Gale Crater. IMU Data has shown that MSL landed on relatively flat ground with a -3-degree angle to the front and 2-degrees to the left side. The vehicle is believed to be pointing East/South-East. MSL is in nominal Surface Operations Mode.
Teams have given a GO for all planned Sol1 Operations that include the deployment of the High Gain Antenna of the Rover for Direct to Earth Communications. Also, Sol1 is filled with Rover Health Checks and data downlink to gain more insight in the exact condition of Curiosity and its instruments.
Please refer to our previous status update for a look ahead on the coming days and associated operations. For the outcome of upcoming Communication Passes, refer to our Twitter Feed and the Image Gallery that will feature the latest photos sent to Earth from Mars. Our next Mission Update on this site will be available on August 7 should no special events unfold inside Gale Crater.
Photo Gallery: Sol 0 Photos
Teams have given a GO for all planned Sol1 Operations that include the deployment of the High Gain Antenna of the Rover for Direct to Earth Communications. Also, Sol1 is filled with Rover Health Checks and data downlink to gain more insight in the exact condition of Curiosity and its instruments.
Please refer to our previous status update for a look ahead on the coming days and associated operations. For the outcome of upcoming Communication Passes, refer to our Twitter Feed and the Image Gallery that will feature the latest photos sent to Earth from Mars. Our next Mission Update on this site will be available on August 7 should no special events unfold inside Gale Crater.
Photo Gallery: Sol 0 Photos
Credit: NASA/JPL/Caltech
Curiosity will have a slow Start after turbulent Entry, Descent & Landing |
August 6, 2012 |
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After making its successful Landing, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Rover and its Mission Team will take things slow during the initial portion of the Surface Mission.
Calming down from the fast moving events of EDL, Initial Surface Operations are moving at a much slower pace. Since MSL’s primary Mission duration is much longer than that of previous Mars Rover Missions, teams can afford to take a longer time period for initial operations to make sure all set-up tasks and Rover health checks are completed satisfactory. "This is a very complicated vehicle, it's way more complicated than other vehicles we've flown in the past, and so it's going to take us a while to first check it out and then get into the science that everybody wants to do," said Richard Cook, MSL deputy project manager. During its first day on the Martian Surface, Sol 0, Curiosity has two Objectives, making a safe landing and establishing contact to Earth. Sending pictures is a bonus. Immediately after landing, Curiosity switches from the EDL Mode to its Sol 0 Mode which marks the start of MSL Surface Operations. The focus of the first few hours and days on the Martian Surface will be initial Rover Checks. |
Photo: NASA
Mission Team during EDL
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With the uncertainty of the timing of first contact with Earth and the large Communications Delay, the Sol 0 Operation is autonomous and Curiosity can complete these steps without contact to Earth. After touchdown, the Rover conducts a status check of all essential systems. Temperature sensors become active and the Thermal Control System adjusts to the new environment, keeping all equipment within Red-Line Temp Limits. Also, HazCam Footage is acquired and prepared for downlink. Covers that protect the Rover's HazCam Lenses are being removed during the first day at Gale Crater. The first larger data package is planned to be downlinked to Earth about 12 hours after landing when the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter passes over the landing site.
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But during subsequent days, the pace of events is not getting much faster. "We're going to spend almost the entire month of August really checking out the vehicle, getting the first images. We'll obviously be getting science data during that but we'll also be doing engineering checkouts of the instruments. Hopefully by early September we'll be at the point where we can do our first drive and have the vehicle begin to move around a little bit," Cook noted.
Before getting ready to do science instrument checks, Curiosity has to transition to its deployed configuration for Surface Operations. The first priority for the mission team is to gain understanding in the immediate surroundings of the Rover making sure that the landing zone is known and that the situation the Rover is in (Systems Status, Landing Zone, Hazards in the vicinity, etc.) is fully understood with Curiosity being in a secure configuration. Also being looked at, is the surface directly underneath and around the rover to make sure there is no immediate threat. It could take up to five days to complete initial checks and validations. On Sol 1, August 6/7 GMT, the vehicle will deploy is High Gain Antenna and Teams will point it toward Earth - or where they think Earth is, because Curiosity will not have taken images of the sky yet to look for the sun, and with that find Earth - for faster Direct To Earth Communications, an important step to get ready for operational communications. Mast Deploy occurs one day later and Curiosity will take the shape we all know from the animated views of its Mission. Once the tall Remote Sensing Mast is deployed, the first panoramic images can be taken. The navigation cameras take images of the sky to calculate the position of the sun and the High Gain Antenna is pointed towards Earth for more stable communications. The next day, August 8, Instrument Checkouts will get underway. These will continue into the science mission and be somewhat combined with actual science measurements. August 9 will be a quiet day for data return to Earth via Orbiter Relay and Direct To Earth Communications. One day later, MSL's Flight Software will get a change and be switched from an EDL/Initial Surface Operations- type mode to the prime Surface Operations Software Package. Over the next several days, more refined checkouts will proceed and the Robotic Arm of the Rover will be unstowed and tested. The first one or two very, very short drives are expected within two weeks after landing if terrain is favorable. The first real 'roving' will occur in September. After this initial portion of the mission is complete, the most sophisticated Rover ever sent to Mars will start it one-Martian-year primary mission which is two-Earth years in duration. "MSL holds the potential to look for evidence of habitable environments, if they existed, on Mars in the distant past," said NASA science chief John Grunsfeld. "The Curiosity rover has the potential to discover the building blocks of life on Mars, if life ever existed on Mars." Curiosity has a total of ten science instruments that are used to conduct are variety of operations, including remote sensing and in-situ sample analysis. What MSL will not be able to do is detecting actual life in whichever form it might occur on Mars. "We are not a life detection mission," John Grotzinger, Mars Science Laboratory project scientist, said. "The first and important step toward that is to try to understand where the good stuff may be." After finding potential science targets, Curiosity will drive towards them and use its suite of instruments to get a full picture of soil or rock composition. During its primary Mission Curiosity will drive about 12 Kilometers, but could also drive a total of 20 Kilometers in the pursuit of special targets of interest - depending on how the vehicle is behaving on the surface. According to Doug McCuistion, director of Mars exploration at NASA Headquarters, MSL "could arguably be the most important event in the history of planetary exploration. It truly is a major step forward, both in technology and in potential science return and science capability to unlock the mysteries of Mars in places that have never been accessible to humankind in the past." Stay with Spaceflight101 for coverage of MSL's Mission and visit our MSL section for extensive background information. |
First MSL Images
Photo: NASA/JPL
Photo: NASA/JPL
Photo: NASA/JPL
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*Initial* Mars Science Laboratory Landing Statistics |
August 6, 2012 |
- Official Landing Time: 5:14:39 UTC - August 6, 2012 [On August 8, 2012 the Time was corrected: 5:17:57 UTC]
- Landing inside Ellipse: YES
- Landing Speed Vertical: 0.6739m/s (Planned: 0.75m/s)
- Landing Speed Horizontal: 0.04437m/s (Planned max: 0.1m/s)
- Preliminary Landing Site: Lat: -4.591817 deg - Lon: 137.440247 deg
- Distance from 100% Accuracy Target: 2.279 Kilometers
- Descent Stage Fuel Remaining at Flyaway: 140.6 Kilograms (Planned: ~92 Kilograms)
- Battery Charge at final Data Point: 93%
- Bus Voltage: 32.2V
- MMRTG Temperatures: Within Spec.
- Vehicle Transition to Surface Mode: YES
- Vehicle Health Confirmed with ODY Data: YES
- Landing inside Ellipse: YES
- Landing Speed Vertical: 0.6739m/s (Planned: 0.75m/s)
- Landing Speed Horizontal: 0.04437m/s (Planned max: 0.1m/s)
- Preliminary Landing Site: Lat: -4.591817 deg - Lon: 137.440247 deg
- Distance from 100% Accuracy Target: 2.279 Kilometers
- Descent Stage Fuel Remaining at Flyaway: 140.6 Kilograms (Planned: ~92 Kilograms)
- Battery Charge at final Data Point: 93%
- Bus Voltage: 32.2V
- MMRTG Temperatures: Within Spec.
- Vehicle Transition to Surface Mode: YES
- Vehicle Health Confirmed with ODY Data: YES
Curiosity is on the Surface of Mars and alive |
August 6, 2012 |
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NASA's Mars Science Laboratory has completed its Entry, Descent and Landing Sequence on Monday morning and initial indications are very positive, and the Mission Team is confident that Curiosity is healthy on the surface of Mars, but time will be needed to confirm the exact state the Rover is in.
Getting ready for Entry, Descent and Landing, a large portion of the Mission Team was present inside the Mission Control Center at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California and other NASA Facilities; although all they could do was watch - just like everybody at home - and hope for the best as the MSL Spacecraft went through 'The 7 Minutes of Terror'. Anticipation was high, as Entry, Descent & Landing was the moment of truth for NASA's $2.5-Billion Rover. |
Image: NASA/JPL/Caltech
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"Tonight's the Superbowl of planetary exploration, one yard line, one play left. We score and win, or we don't score and we don't win," said Doug McCuistion, director of Mars exploration at NASA Headquarters.
The final interaction with the Spacecraft was possible at Entry Interface -2 Hours to update any EDL Parameters. Afterwards, it became quiet inside Mission Control and for MSL as it covered the final 30,000 Kilometers of its 567-Kilometer journey from Earth to Mars. 15 Minutes prior to Entry, the vehicle switched to its EDL Mode, called DO_EDL Mode, and the signals arriving at Earth indicated that EDL Initialization was successful. At EI-13:30, the Spacecraft initiated venting its Cruise Stage Heat Rejection System, followed by Cruise Stage Separation at EI-10 Minutes. Confirmation of Cruise Stage Jettison was given after MSL had initiated EDL Communications.
The final interaction with the Spacecraft was possible at Entry Interface -2 Hours to update any EDL Parameters. Afterwards, it became quiet inside Mission Control and for MSL as it covered the final 30,000 Kilometers of its 567-Kilometer journey from Earth to Mars. 15 Minutes prior to Entry, the vehicle switched to its EDL Mode, called DO_EDL Mode, and the signals arriving at Earth indicated that EDL Initialization was successful. At EI-13:30, the Spacecraft initiated venting its Cruise Stage Heat Rejection System, followed by Cruise Stage Separation at EI-10 Minutes. Confirmation of Cruise Stage Jettison was given after MSL had initiated EDL Communications.
Image: NASA/JPL/Caltech
Image: NASA/JPL/Caltech
Image: NASA/JPL/Caltech
Image: NASA/JPL/Caltech
Image: NASA/JPL/Caltech
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The Spacecraft was sending so called MFSK Tones via Direct To Earth X-BandOnce picked up on Earth, the tones have to be deciphered to gain insight in mission progress. The more important telemetry stream was transmitted by MSL via its UHF-Antennas. UHF Data was planned to be recorded by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for downlink later in the day. ESA's Mars Express Spacecraft was also listening for UHF and record the presence of the signal as a function of time which was crucial in the event of any failures in the communications infrastructure. Mars Odyssey provided live bent-pipe relay of the 8kbps UHF stream that was used by Mission Control to follow the EDL process. The Parkes Radio Telescope, Australia, was pointed at Mars to listen for the extremely weak UHF signal and record it for use-on-need after the events unfolded. Parkes was the only station big enough in the view of Mars to receive the UHF Signal. This was tested beforehand by the Opportunity Rover that sent a UHF test signal which was indeed acquired by Parkes. With all that communications infrastructure in place, Mission Controllers were able to follow the events going on at Mars with a 13-minute 48-second delay due to the large distance from Earth to Mars.
After shedding its Cruise Stage, MSL successfully turned to its Entry Attitude and performed the De-Spin Maneuver reducing spin rate from 2rpm to zero for Entry. Once in position, MSL jettisoned two 75-Kilogram Tungsten weights to achieve a Center of Gravity Offset to establish an angle of attack of about 18 degrees. Things got quiet at EI-5:19 to allow some time for Inertial Measurement Calibration. At precisely 5:24:34 UTC Earth Receive Time, The MSL Spacecraft smashed into the Martian Atmosphere to start Entry. To make it to its landing site, MSL had to fly through a narrow window in the Martian Atmosphere. "The target is a box that's 3 kilometers by 12 kilometers in dimension. And we're flying right through it," said MSL mission manager Arthur Amador. Shortly after Entry Interface occurred, MSL started the complex Guided Entry Phase making a series of bank maneuvers to eliminate any Downrange Errors and fly-out residual Crossrange Errors with its computers targeting the narrow landing ellipse at the bottom of Gale Crater. Several Signal Interruptions occurred during Entry due to a plasma cloud building up around the Aeroshell causing UHF Signals to be blocked. However, EDL Communications were surprisingly solid with Confirmation of EDL Events coming very close to the Earliest Earth Receive Time. Making its Entry, MSL encountered temperatures of up to 2,100°C that the PICA Heat Shield had to withstand, peak deceleration came at EI+96 seconds with G Loads of up to 12.9 Earth Gs during a nominal EDL Sequence with 15Gs being possible and tolerable by the vehicle. All exact parameters regarding the exact EDL performance have been stored inside the Rover's computers and will be downlinked over the first few weeks of surface operations. With MSL going through final Entry Operations controlling its angle of attack from 16 to 20 degrees to make bank maneuvers, the nail biting inside Mission Control continued as another major milestone came up: the opening of the massive supersonic parachute. Before, MSL eliminated the Center of Gravity Offset by jettisoning six ~25-Kilogram ballasts in 2-second intervals. Then, the first sigh of relief sounded inside Mission Control when confirmation of parachute deployment was received. "This is a supersonic chute, we're deploying it at about mach 1.7, which we've done in the past on Mars, we're not deploying faster than we have in the past. But what we are doing is we're deploying the largest chute we've ever flown," said Steve Sell, Member of the MSL EDL Team. To open the large parachute at a Velocity of Mach 2, a mortar deployer initiated by the equivalent to a stick of dynamite was required. This was only one of 76 pyrotechnic devices used during the EDL Sequence. These devices were used to perform all the large separation events, open fuel valves and separate the bridles. Confirmation of Heat Shield Separation was given and MSL started acquiring navigation data with its Terminal Descent Sensor prior to Backshell Separation. While flying under its parachute, MSL moved below the Horizon as seen from Earth so that X-Band Tones were no longer available. Backshell Separation was confirmed and MSL began the final leg to the surface, dropping out of the Backshell, free-falling for 3.4 seconds and throttling up its eight Mars Landing Engines. |
"This rover is 900 kilograms, it is a beast, it is the size of a car, so you're trying to land something very heavy, so that means you need sizable engines," Sell noted.
The Powered Descent was one of the most nerve-wracking aspects of the landing as it had the tightest margins of all, primarily concerning the Hydrazine Propellant inside the Descent Stage's Tanks. Only 390 Kilograms were available to get MSL from Cruise Stage Separation to a gentle stop at the surface and for the Flyway of the Descent Module. Less than 90 Kilograms or 22 seconds of propellant margin were available.
All the way from Heatshield Separation to Touchdown, the Mars Descent Imager was expected to take images of the ride down to Mars. "It does eight frames per second, high-definition-quality video from the backshell coming off to the ground," Pete Theisinger, MSL Project Manager, said. "So it's a lot of data, it'll take a long time to get it back. But it should be a tremendous movie when it does."
As powered descent continued, MSL reduced its horizontal velocity to zero - starting to fly directly above the landing point. With its vertical velocity down to 20m/s, the Entry Vehicle started to decelerate again at an altitude of 55 meters to reach its landing speed of 0.75 meters at an altitude of 21 meters and separate the Rover at 18.6 meters after throttling down to four engines as part of a tight timeline of events. Refer to this page for a detailed EDL Timeline. After Rover Separation and Bridle Extension, Curiosity had to deploy is Mobility System from its stowed configuration to get ready for Touchdown. Being suspended on three Nylon Bridles, the Rover made the final few meters of its descent until reaching the surface. The risky Sky-Crane Portion of the EDL Mission was needed to avoid contamination of the Rover by Martian Dust being picked up by the Mars Landing Engines.
After Touchdown, the Descent Stage had to separate and fly away to prevent it from crashing close to the Landing Site.
Confirmation of a successful landing came at 5:31UTC and loud cheering and celebration started inside Mission Control. This was only the first indication of a successful landing indicating that the rover is generally healthy and on the surface. After Landing, Odyssey was able to catch multiple breath-taking images taken with the rear HazCams of the Rover. The exact state the rover is in will be determined over the coming hours and upcoming Communication Passes of Mars Odyssey and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. More Information on Post-EDL Communications are included in this overview.
More details will be posted throughout the day as information becomes available. This will include a preview article on the first few days of surface operations which will be posted when the exact state of the rover is confirmed later today. Be sure to follow the Live Coverage Page today for real-time information coming via @MSL_101 on Twitter.
"Today, the wheels of Curiosity have begun to blaze the trail for human footprints on Mars. Curiosity, the most sophisticated rover ever built, is now on the surface of the Red Planet, where it will seek to answer age-old questions about whether life ever existed on Mars -- or if the planet can sustain life in the future," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "This is an amazing achievement, made possible by a team of scientists and engineers from around the world and led by the extraordinary men and women of NASA and our Jet Propulsion Laboratory. President Obama has laid out a bold vision for sending humans to Mars in the mid-2030's, and today's landing marks a significant step toward achieving this goal."
Photo Gallery: First Photos from Curiosity
Photo Gallery: MSL Landing inside Mission Control
The Powered Descent was one of the most nerve-wracking aspects of the landing as it had the tightest margins of all, primarily concerning the Hydrazine Propellant inside the Descent Stage's Tanks. Only 390 Kilograms were available to get MSL from Cruise Stage Separation to a gentle stop at the surface and for the Flyway of the Descent Module. Less than 90 Kilograms or 22 seconds of propellant margin were available.
All the way from Heatshield Separation to Touchdown, the Mars Descent Imager was expected to take images of the ride down to Mars. "It does eight frames per second, high-definition-quality video from the backshell coming off to the ground," Pete Theisinger, MSL Project Manager, said. "So it's a lot of data, it'll take a long time to get it back. But it should be a tremendous movie when it does."
As powered descent continued, MSL reduced its horizontal velocity to zero - starting to fly directly above the landing point. With its vertical velocity down to 20m/s, the Entry Vehicle started to decelerate again at an altitude of 55 meters to reach its landing speed of 0.75 meters at an altitude of 21 meters and separate the Rover at 18.6 meters after throttling down to four engines as part of a tight timeline of events. Refer to this page for a detailed EDL Timeline. After Rover Separation and Bridle Extension, Curiosity had to deploy is Mobility System from its stowed configuration to get ready for Touchdown. Being suspended on three Nylon Bridles, the Rover made the final few meters of its descent until reaching the surface. The risky Sky-Crane Portion of the EDL Mission was needed to avoid contamination of the Rover by Martian Dust being picked up by the Mars Landing Engines.
After Touchdown, the Descent Stage had to separate and fly away to prevent it from crashing close to the Landing Site.
Confirmation of a successful landing came at 5:31UTC and loud cheering and celebration started inside Mission Control. This was only the first indication of a successful landing indicating that the rover is generally healthy and on the surface. After Landing, Odyssey was able to catch multiple breath-taking images taken with the rear HazCams of the Rover. The exact state the rover is in will be determined over the coming hours and upcoming Communication Passes of Mars Odyssey and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. More Information on Post-EDL Communications are included in this overview.
More details will be posted throughout the day as information becomes available. This will include a preview article on the first few days of surface operations which will be posted when the exact state of the rover is confirmed later today. Be sure to follow the Live Coverage Page today for real-time information coming via @MSL_101 on Twitter.
"Today, the wheels of Curiosity have begun to blaze the trail for human footprints on Mars. Curiosity, the most sophisticated rover ever built, is now on the surface of the Red Planet, where it will seek to answer age-old questions about whether life ever existed on Mars -- or if the planet can sustain life in the future," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "This is an amazing achievement, made possible by a team of scientists and engineers from around the world and led by the extraordinary men and women of NASA and our Jet Propulsion Laboratory. President Obama has laid out a bold vision for sending humans to Mars in the mid-2030's, and today's landing marks a significant step toward achieving this goal."
Photo Gallery: First Photos from Curiosity
Photo Gallery: MSL Landing inside Mission Control
Photo: NASA
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