MARS: CURIOSITY u krateru GALE

Sol 1292: Gnarly terrain ahead

24 March 2016

Data was recovered from the missing MRO pass on Sol 1290, and we confirmed that the 23 m drive went well.  Today’s plan is to keep driving across the Naukluft Plateau.  The terrain looks pretty rough, so we’re plotting our course carefully.  Science activities in today’s plan include ChemCam and Mastcam observations to assess the local bedrock, and a Mastcam mosaic to document the sedimentary structures exposed here.  The plan also includes some Mastcam observations to assess atmospheric opacity.  After the drive, we’ll take our standard post-drive imaging to prepare for future targeting and the possibility of contact science in the weekend plan. 
By Lauren Edgar
--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of the MSL science team.

Smjer kretanja vozila....teška i opasna dionica...

Panorama uzeta sa Mastcam,  na poziciji sol 1282...(kompozit: a. Jan van Driel, UMSF)

https://player.vimeo.com/video/160405895?autoplay=1&title=0&byline=0&wmode=opaque

Sols 1296-1297: Driving Across Rough Terrain

28 March 2016

MSL drove about 17 meters on Sol 1294, continuing over rough terrain.  Some of the images that have been recently received show delicate features that have apparently been formed by windblown sand abrasion.  The path ahead is over more rough terrain, but it looks like we will be able to drive ~50 meters on Sol 1296.  Before driving, ChemCam and Mastcam will observe bedrock targets "Bloedkoppie," "Blaubeker" and "Blaubock," and Mastcam will acquire mosaics of ridges and outcrops of the Stimson sandstone.  Planning is restricted, so we are planning untargeted remote sensing observations on Sol 1297:  The RMI will acquire a mosaic of a distant target toward the northwest, Mastcam will measure the amount of dust in the atmosphere by imaging the Sun, and Navcam will search for dust devils.  Finally, early on Sol 1298, the Left Mastcam will acquire another mosaic of the Stimson sandstone on the Naukluft Plateau.

by Ken Herkenhoff

Ovih dana će vjerojatno ući u kanjon, koji je ispred, gdje je teren puno ugodniji za vožnju.
Predviđam dva moguća ulaza...Strahovito opasan teren, a vozilo je vrijedno 1 milijardu dolara-brat bratu. Nije im lako...

Od predviđenih cca 50 m realizirano cca 3,8 m-vožnja ustavljena. 
Predpostavljam da je razlog neplanirana rotacija vozila za cca 15°.
Rubni uvjeti su vjerojatno postavljeni na maksimalnih 10°(opasan teren!).