Archive for October, 2015

Big Sky drilling result. NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the turret at the end of the rover's robotic arm, on September 29, 2015, Sol 1119 of the Mars Science Laboratory Mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Big Sky drilling result. NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm, on September 29, 2015, Sol 1119 of the Mars Science Laboratory Mission.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has entered Sol 1122, landing on the Red Planet back in August 2012.

Operators of the Mars machinery are reporting success in using the rover’s drill on “Big Sky.”

It went perfectly, reports Ryan Anderson, a planetary scientist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona and a member of the ChemCam team on the Mars Science Laboratory mission.

Minerals on Mars

The plan called for the rover to transfer some of the powder from Big Sky to the Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument, or CheMin for short. That instrument is built to identify and measure the abundances of various minerals on Mars.

Also on Sol 1121, the Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) was slated to observe the target “Minnekahta.”

The rover’s Mastcam was scheduled to document the ChemCam location and also take a picture of the location on the ground where Big Sky material will be dumped, Anderson explains.

Search for clouds

On Sol 1122, Anderson said ChemCam would observe targets “Kippen,” “Kalispell,” and “Big Snowies.”

Anderson adds that Mastcam is to document these targets and take a 4×1 mosaic of the lower portion of Mt. Sharp. Also, Navcam will be used to take a movie about the northern rim of Gale crater to search for any clouds.

“We are all eagerly looking forward to the CheMin results from Big Sky,” Anderson concludes, “to compare with our previous results from ‘Buckskin!’”

Implementation of planned rover activity is subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status.

Inventor Dan Slater uses Remote Acoustic Sensor (RAS) technology during a test firing of the five-segment rocket motor headed for use on NASA’s Space Launch System booster. Credit: Sandy Slater

Inventor Dan Slater uses Remote Acoustic Sensor (RAS) technology during a test firing of the five-segment rocket motor headed for use on NASA’s Space Launch System booster.
Credit: Sandy Slater

A novel technique is being tested to visually and audio-record scenes ranging from exo-atmospheric rocket events to microbial life on other worlds.

Tagged as a Remote Acoustic Sensor (RAS), this new type of technology is suitable for use on rockets, spacecraft and other high-performance aerospace vehicles.

A ground based long range Remote Acoustic Sensor (RAS) telescope provided visual and aural views of the September 29, 2013 launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. This example shows main engine cutoff, stage separation and second stage engine start high above the Earth.  Credit: Dan Slater

A ground based long range Remote Acoustic Sensor (RAS) telescope provided visual and aural views of the September 29, 2013 launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. This example shows main engine cutoff, stage separation and second stage engine start high above the Earth.
Credit: Dan Slater

Yet another idea is a miniaturized version of the device that could find its way onto the surface of Mars or upon the frozen ice fields of Jupiter’s Europa – to eavesdrop for signs of life.

For details on this technology, go to my new Space.com story at:

Listening for Alien Life: Could New Tech Detect Microbe Movements? by Leonard David, Space.com’s Space Insider Columnist October 01, 2015 07:09am ET

http://www.space.com/30709-space-noise-sensor-alien-life.html