NASA’s Curiosity rover has not too long ago begun a brand new chapter in its journey on Mars after coming into the “Uyuni” quadrangle, a 1.5 km by 1.5 km map grid with a reputation after the Bolivian city close to the world’s largest salt flats. The transition follows after the rover carried out an roughly 48-metre drive from the Altadena drill website. With new geology to discover and an expanded set of experiments, Curiosity’s journey by means of this area has the potential to return recent observations into Mars’ historic environmental circumstances.
Curiosity Explores Mars’ Uyuni Quad, Begins New Research of Rock Layers, Craters, and Historical Climates
As per a mission update from Lauren Edgar, planetary geologist on the USGS Astrogeology Science Centre, the transition to the Uyuni quad is critical. Every Mars quadrangle is called after an Earth location with underneath 100,000 individuals and attracts on regional geology for goal naming. Uyuni and close by Atacama websites—identified for Mars analogue analysis and excessive environments—will now lend their names to the options explored on this part. The present sol plan entails a mix of contact science, visible imaging, and motion, all tailor-made to know the bedrock composition and floor processes on this drier area of Mount Sharp.
The rover’s robotic arm will deploy its APXS and MAHLI instruments to check a nodular bedrock goal dubbed “Flamingo”. Distant sensing consists of Mastcam mosaics of “Los Patos”, a doable impression crater, and “La Lava”, a darkish rock. These photos will doc sediment transport options and inform ChemCam’s upcoming LIBS firing at a bedrock spot named “Tacos”. A protracted-distance RMI mosaic of “Mishe Mokwa” butte will additional analyse sediment layers.
Following the science block, Curiosity will journey roughly 56 metres southwest and acquire post-drive imagery to tell the following sol plan. The subsequent day can be devoted to calibration and environmental monitoring actions by way of Mastcam and Navcam, significantly centered on mud and cloud motion within the Martian environment.
Researchers are keen to check what these formations can reveal of previous Martian climates because the workforce works towards bigger boxwork exposures. The Uyuni quad will carry collectively distant worlds by means of a frequent geological story utilizing names and formations primarily based on our personal geologic brethren on Earth.
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