New serious damage to Curiosity’s wheels?
Click for original image.
I must start this post with a strong caveat. The serious damage, as posted to the right, of the zig-zag growser treads on one of Curiosity’s wheels that was photographed by one of the rover’s cameras yesterday and downloaded today, could very well not be new damage. As noted in a report in June:
The team discovered that the left middle wheel had damaged one of its grousers, the zig-zagging treads along Curiosity’s wheels. This particular wheel already had four broken grousers, so now five of its 19 grousers are broken.
The damaged wheel to the right appears to be that left middle wheel. This photo thus might simply be documenting the damage noted in June, and not new damage. Since Curiosity has six wheels (three on each side), the middle wheels like this one are likely slightly less critical and can be worked around should it no longer function well.
Nonetheless, the damage to these growsers is of concern. Previously, the wheel damage has consistently involved breakage in the metal plates between the growsers. Though the science team noted in that June report that it has “proven through ground testing that we can safely drive on the wheel rims if necessary”, the team also said that it did not think that was going to happen soon.
Based on this image, however, it is happening, at least on one wheel. Fortunately, a review of all the images downloaded yesterday does not show any other broken growsers on any other wheel, though the image survey is not thorough and does not cover the entire surface of every wheel. For example, I could not identify any images of the damaged sections of the wheel that I have been tracking since 2017. It could be that the photo’s orientation this time was significantly different, making it difficult to find a match. It could also be that the damage had increased so much that no match with an earlier photo was easily possible. Or it could simply be that the same section on the wheel was not photographed this time.
Either way, the damage on this middle wheel foreshadows the rover’s eventual future, a future that is likely getting closer because of the roughness of the mountain and rocky terrain that Curiosity is presently traveling, and appears to have no end as it now climbs Mount Sharp.
Readers!
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In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
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Click for original image.
I must start this post with a strong caveat. The serious damage, as posted to the right, of the zig-zag growser treads on one of Curiosity’s wheels that was photographed by one of the rover’s cameras yesterday and downloaded today, could very well not be new damage. As noted in a report in June:
The team discovered that the left middle wheel had damaged one of its grousers, the zig-zagging treads along Curiosity’s wheels. This particular wheel already had four broken grousers, so now five of its 19 grousers are broken.
The damaged wheel to the right appears to be that left middle wheel. This photo thus might simply be documenting the damage noted in June, and not new damage. Since Curiosity has six wheels (three on each side), the middle wheels like this one are likely slightly less critical and can be worked around should it no longer function well.
Nonetheless, the damage to these growsers is of concern. Previously, the wheel damage has consistently involved breakage in the metal plates between the growsers. Though the science team noted in that June report that it has “proven through ground testing that we can safely drive on the wheel rims if necessary”, the team also said that it did not think that was going to happen soon.
Based on this image, however, it is happening, at least on one wheel. Fortunately, a review of all the images downloaded yesterday does not show any other broken growsers on any other wheel, though the image survey is not thorough and does not cover the entire surface of every wheel. For example, I could not identify any images of the damaged sections of the wheel that I have been tracking since 2017. It could be that the photo’s orientation this time was significantly different, making it difficult to find a match. It could also be that the damage had increased so much that no match with an earlier photo was easily possible. Or it could simply be that the same section on the wheel was not photographed this time.
Either way, the damage on this middle wheel foreshadows the rover’s eventual future, a future that is likely getting closer because of the roughness of the mountain and rocky terrain that Curiosity is presently traveling, and appears to have no end as it now climbs Mount Sharp.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
A number of swear words come to mind.
I hope they addressed the wheel issue when they design Perseverance.
Kyle: They did.
Unfortunately, “irony” isn’t a color like “silvery” only rust colored! They paid so much attention to making those wheels as light as possible, and ironically they’re now getting lighter all the time by themselves!
They need to adjust the track tension says the Chieftain
When you think of the total milage on those wheels, it isn’t really that much. I wonder if that’s totally abrasion or if there is some kind of chemical weakening by compounds in the soil too?
What about undeflected solar wind?
How about they only designed them for the length of the original mission?
As thin as possible to hold up the craft and still role.
This damage was happening a few months after mission start.