Drilling success for Curiosity in the marker layer?
Click for full panorama.
Click for original image.
It appears from the most recent image sent back from Curiosity today of its February 25, 2023 attempt to drill into the marker layer on Mount Sharp — the fifth such attempt — the rover finally succeeded in getting deep enough to collect sufficient sample material for analysis.
That image is to the right, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here. Note that it is not yet confirmed from the science team that this drill attempt was deep enough. What makes this particular drilling attempt intriguing is how the many thin layers of the marker layer responded to the stress of the drill. The top layer cracked like a plate and separated from the adjacent lower layer during drilling. It apparently was hard enough to retain most of its structure, and rather than crumble the drill stresses caused a large section to break away and lift off.
The panorama above, cropped and reduced to post here, was taken the same day from this location, produced from 37 photos taken by the rover’s right navigation camera. The cropped section above looks forward at what I previously labeled “a Martian hill of pillows.” The overview map below shows the context of this panorama.
Click for interactive map.
The blue dot marks Curiosity’s present position, where the most recent drilling above took place. The yellow lines indicate the approximate area covered by the panorama above. The large red dotted line indicates the rover’s planned future route, with the small dotted line my guess as to a possible alternative route, suggested by the rover’s recent shift to the west in that direction.
I strongly suspect the science team wants to get as close to the rock of pillows as possible, in order to study its geological layers. Make sure you click on the panorama to see the full resolution version. The geology of this small hill, probably no more than fifty feet high, is truly startling.
My guess as to route however is merely a guess. The team could have the rover come close on its western side, and then circle around to its eastern side in order to continue on the planned route. This would not only provide a thorough look at the hill, it would keep Curiosity in a position to study the larger hill, Chenapua, equally intriguing with its many layers.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Click for full panorama.
Click for original image.
It appears from the most recent image sent back from Curiosity today of its February 25, 2023 attempt to drill into the marker layer on Mount Sharp — the fifth such attempt — the rover finally succeeded in getting deep enough to collect sufficient sample material for analysis.
That image is to the right, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here. Note that it is not yet confirmed from the science team that this drill attempt was deep enough. What makes this particular drilling attempt intriguing is how the many thin layers of the marker layer responded to the stress of the drill. The top layer cracked like a plate and separated from the adjacent lower layer during drilling. It apparently was hard enough to retain most of its structure, and rather than crumble the drill stresses caused a large section to break away and lift off.
The panorama above, cropped and reduced to post here, was taken the same day from this location, produced from 37 photos taken by the rover’s right navigation camera. The cropped section above looks forward at what I previously labeled “a Martian hill of pillows.” The overview map below shows the context of this panorama.
Click for interactive map.
The blue dot marks Curiosity’s present position, where the most recent drilling above took place. The yellow lines indicate the approximate area covered by the panorama above. The large red dotted line indicates the rover’s planned future route, with the small dotted line my guess as to a possible alternative route, suggested by the rover’s recent shift to the west in that direction.
I strongly suspect the science team wants to get as close to the rock of pillows as possible, in order to study its geological layers. Make sure you click on the panorama to see the full resolution version. The geology of this small hill, probably no more than fifty feet high, is truly startling.
My guess as to route however is merely a guess. The team could have the rover come close on its western side, and then circle around to its eastern side in order to continue on the planned route. This would not only provide a thorough look at the hill, it would keep Curiosity in a position to study the larger hill, Chenapua, equally intriguing with its many layers.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
These pictures are out of this world!
The layering of the rocks beside Curiosity. Oh, my!