{"id":38506,"date":"2018-03-23T22:38:19","date_gmt":"2018-03-23T14:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/curiosity-marks-2000th-martian-day-of-operation-science-team-eyes-rovers-future\/"},"modified":"2018-03-23T22:38:19","modified_gmt":"2018-03-23T14:38:19","slug":"curiosity-marks-2000th-martian-day-of-operation-science-team-eyes-rovers-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/curiosity-marks-2000th-martian-day-of-operation-science-team-eyes-rovers-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Curiosity marks 2,000th Martian day of operation; science team eyes rover\u2019s future"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today marks the 2,000th Martian day (Sol) of operation for NASA\u2019s Mars Science Laboratory \u2013 more commonly known as the Curiosity rover. &nbsp;The exploration platform touched down on the surface of the Red Planet after a daring and never-before-used landing sequence on 5 August 2012 (Pacific Daylight Time) and has since well surpassed its initial science goals as its science teams plan for the rover\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><b>The first 2,000 Martian days:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>To say Curiosity arrived in style at Mars would be an understatement. &nbsp;The rover\u2019s tenure on the Red Planet began like no other mission before it had, with a daring and highly-complex retrorocket deceleration and hovering above the Martian terrain before Curiosity itself was then sky-crane winch lowered from the retrorocket-stabilize platform onto the Martian surface.<\/p>\n<p>It was a night of anxiety, exhilaration, and tremendous achievement \u2013 and it\u2019s one that Ashwin R. Vasavada, Project Scientist on Mars Science Laboratory at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, remembers well.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Curiosity Has Landed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/N9hXqzkH7YA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid0\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we landed successfully, my two thoughts were, \u2018Oh my gosh, it worked,\u2019 and \u2018Wow, okay, I\u2019m going to be up all night planning the next sol now. &nbsp;And we have a lot of work to do,\u2019\u201d said Mr. Vasavada in an interview with NASASpaceflight.com\u2019s Chris Gebhardt about Curiosity\u2019s Sol 2,000 milestone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t doubt it was going to work; there\u2019s no way I would have invested so much of my life in it. &nbsp;It\u2019s just that no matter what you thought, it was remarkable that it did work. But I thought \u2018Oh my god, we have a lot of work to do\u2019 because the entire weeks leading up to landing, and certainly the day of the landing itself, I was just focused on the fact that it was landing. <\/p>\n<p>Space Shuttle<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>Space Technology<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>Space Shuttle models<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>\n<p>     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI even had some roll, a small role in that, where I was helping lead a team that was understanding the weather at the landing site up until the last few hours in case we had to change any parameters in the landing system to account for a dust storm or something.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo I was consumed by that. &nbsp;And then we landed at about 10:30 at night, pacific time. &nbsp;And the schedule was that around 1:00 am we were going to start the first science shift, start to plan Sol 1. &nbsp;And I was the lead science role on that first planning day just by virtue of the fact that I helped design a lot of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-55551\" class=\"wp-image-55551 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Gale-Crater.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"946\" height=\"710\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Gale-Crater.jpg 946w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Gale-Crater-350x263.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Gale-Crater-466x350.jpg 466w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Gale-Crater-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 946px) 100vw, 946px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-55551\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An oblique, southward-looking view of Gale Crater and Mount Sharp \u2013 with Curiosity\u2019s landing site circled. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>But there was another thought running through Mr. Vasavada\u2019s mind the night Curiosity landed: Gale Crater might be a bad landing spot. &nbsp;\u201cGale Crater could have turned out to be a total bust, you know? We, of course, did our best job to work to find the best landing site we could for this mission, one that offered the chance to find a habitable environment and one that even offered the chance to ask that question multiple times as we climbed this mountain and accessed rocks at different ages.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"widget-title penci-border-arrow\">See Also<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>MSL Forum Section<\/li>\n<li>Mars Forum Section<\/li>\n<li>L2 Exploration Section<\/li>\n<li>Click here to Join L2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cBut there was still the completely reasonable possibility that all of Mount Sharp was formed by wind depositing sand and dust and that the evidence for rivers and streams we\u2019d see in pictures from orbit were maybe just insignificant, transient things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Mount Sharp was anything but a bust. &nbsp;\u201cFast-forward a year later, we found a single habitable environment. &nbsp;That\u2019s huge. And then fast-forward to now where we\u2019ve found 370 meters of nearly continuously habitable environment. &nbsp;I think it\u2019s hard to say that in our wildest dreams we could have imagined that answer, you know\u2026 such a positive answer to the question about habitability,\u201d said Mr. Vasavada.<\/p>\n<p>In the first year after Curiosity\u2019s arrival, the rover actually achieved all of its mission objectives. &nbsp;\u201cWe were able to accomplish the goals of the mission in the first year, which was to find and quantitatively investigate a habitable environment in ancient Mars. &nbsp;I\u2019m very satisfied with how things have gone [since then]; we\u2019ve just been building on that and it has continued to be very fruitful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 604px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=976941522619793408&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2018%2F03%2Fcuriosity-2000th-martian-day-eyes-rovers-future%2F&amp;sessionId=ec36a1ec7618f209e3ebc6ef9d074cb39d586ebc&amp;siteScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\" data-tweet-id=\"976941522619793408\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>While the mission\u2019s objectives were achieved early on, Curiosity\u2019s teams have continued to abide by those guiding objectives over the following four and a half years. &nbsp;\u201cWe purposely haven\u2019t spent a lot of time doing things that weren\u2019t in the mission priority list. Even today, that original list of priorities (habitable environment, preservation of organics, understanding the climate and weather, and understanding the radiation environment) are sort of our four guiding scientific threads, themes that we try to pursue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But that doesn\u2019t mean Curiosity\u2019s exploration of Mars hasn\u2019t yielded surprises. &nbsp;As Mr. Vasavada explained, one of the nice surprises Curiosity has enabled scientists to examine is Mars\u2019s geochronology \u2013 made possible through the use of Curiosity\u2019s SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) instrument.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt sort of fits into the original themes, but it wasn\u2019t expected to be possible \u2013 using the SAM instrument, which is our mass spectrometer \/ gas chromatograph system, to actually date the age of rocks on Mars in two different ages: their formation age as well as their surface exposure age, which is how long they\u2019ve been close to the surface; in other words how long have they been unburied.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The surface exposure age \u2013 achieved by drilling a hole into a surface rock and measuring the age of specific chemical isotopes that form near the surface as they\u2019re hit by cosmic rays \u2013 yielded intriguing results that allowed scientists to better understand the wind erosion rate occurring on the Martian surface.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-55552\" class=\"wp-image-55552 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Mars-wind-.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"404\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Mars-wind-.jpg 550w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Mars-wind--350x257.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Mars-wind--476x350.jpg 476w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-55552\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mars Express HRSC (High\/Super Resolution Stereo Camera) image of mega-yardangs south of Olympus Mons being eroded into the Medusae Fossae Formation. (Credit: ESA)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe surface exposure age [was found to be] about 80 million years. &nbsp;That was interesting because it allowed us to compute the present-day erosion rate of the surface which is always something geologists are interested in in terms of understanding the modern environment where Mars is being slowly worn away by wind,\u201d noted Mr. Vasavada.<\/p>\n<p>On its own, understanding the surface age of Mars would not generally help scientists understand Mars\u2019s past habitability; however, one of the samples Curiosity\u2019s team used to determine the surface age did yield information on the Red Planet\u2019s past habitability.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe drilled a sample that had the mineral jarosite in it, and the jarosite was precipitated out of water, probably through ground water that flowed through the rocks well after the lakes were there,\u201d said Mr. Vasavada. &nbsp;\u201cThe age of the jarosite was something like three billion years old.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you\u2019re talking about three billion years ago, that\u2019s well after all of Mount Sharp formed. &nbsp;Well after the lakes were gone. So that\u2019s our youngest evidence for continued habitability in Gale Crater. &nbsp;And it\u2019s likely confined to being underground, where liquid water was still being circulated.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"NASA | Measuring Mars' Ancient Ocean\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WH8kHncLZwM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid1\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>That truly exciting find for the Curiosity team and Mars scientists as a whole came completely by surprise from an experiment that wasn\u2019t specifically searching for such a discovery.<\/p>\n<p>The discovery it was searching for, surface age, is actually well suited to helping NASA better determine where to look for signs of ancient Martian life. &nbsp;\u201cWhen you look at Curiosity as a mission that is producing results that will inform NASA how to do their search for life, which is really what Curiosity is, the ways that we contribute to that is to understand whether Mars ever had habitable environments,\u201d said Mr. Vasavada.<\/p>\n<p>Part of that search is understanding the locations on Mars that could have preserved ancient life or ancient organic molecules, the building blocks of life. &nbsp;And this is an area of its mission that Curiosity has excelled in, with Mr. Vasavada noting that the results of what Curiosity is finding at Gale Crater and Mount Sharp can be offered up to Mars 2020 and future Mars missions to help better target surface locations that have environments like the one found at Gale Crater \u2013 environments that might well have been habitable in the past.<\/p>\n<p>And this leads directly back to the wind-erosion surface age determination. &nbsp;\u201cIf you specifically try to sample materials where natural erosion is taking place, you have a better chance of having [organic molecules that were] protected from cosmic radiation. &nbsp;With Curiosity, we were able to put a date on that, and 80 million years was a long time, but it\u2019s still offering some chance that materials would not be completely degraded by that time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-2\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 241px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=910275422520188928&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2018%2F03%2Fcuriosity-2000th-martian-day-eyes-rovers-future%2F&amp;sessionId=ec36a1ec7618f209e3ebc6ef9d074cb39d586ebc&amp;siteScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\" data-tweet-id=\"910275422520188928\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Moreso, if missions can use Mars\u2019s natural erosion processes to search for organic molecules that have been preserved in rock for millenia, missions wouldn\u2019t necessarily have to take a drill in order to perform the types of experiments needed to search for organic material.<\/p>\n<p>Those kinds of missions could go to places on Mars where the planet is essentially already doing the drilling needed to expose those organics. &nbsp;\u201cThe interesting thing about Mars is that the winds are what\u2019s causing most of the geology these days. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd those winds have probably been pretty consistent for millions and millions of years, so you can find places even within a landing site where one side of the hill is what\u2019s being eroded over time and the other side of the hill may not be. &nbsp;And so you could drive up to that particular side of the hill and do your drilling and\/or take advantage of the fact that that\u2019s where the current erosion is the fastest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While the ability to perform geochronology of Mars stemmed from one of the four primary scientific objectives for Curiosity, one of the most important elements of the mission has been its service as a precursor to human flights \u2013 most notably in understanding the radiation environment present at the Martian surface.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-54066\" class=\"wp-image-54066 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Screen-Shot-2017-12-27-at-16.56.29.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1636\" height=\"820\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Screen-Shot-2017-12-27-at-16.56.29.png 1636w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Screen-Shot-2017-12-27-at-16.56.29-350x175.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Screen-Shot-2017-12-27-at-16.56.29-630x316.png 630w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Screen-Shot-2017-12-27-at-16.56.29-768x385.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Screen-Shot-2017-12-27-at-16.56.29-1170x586.png 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1636px) 100vw, 1636px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-54066\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Energetic particles from a large solar storm in September 2017 were seen on the surface of Mars by NASA\u2019s Curiosity rover. Credits: NASA\/GSFC\/JPL-Caltech\/Univ. of Colorado\/SwRI-Boulder\/UC Berkeley<\/p>\n<p>Curiosity has revealed a wealth of information in that arena, though exactly what that information means to future human Mars missions is a judgment for scientists outside the Curiosity project to make.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe way I see it, as someone who\u2019s on Curiosity, is we\u2019ve successfully been able to produce that [radiation] data. &nbsp;And we\u2019ve been able to measure that data not only in cruise from Earth to Mars, but we\u2019ve been able to measure radiation now for more than five years on the surface of Mars. &nbsp;And that\u2019s something that Curiosity uniquely has done,\u201d stated Mr. Vasavada.<\/p>\n<p>Measuring the radiation environment on Mars\u2019s surface provides a better understanding for our future exploration and colonization goals than has previously been obtained through the fleet of Mars orbiters. &nbsp;\u201cThere have been other spacecraft at Mars that have measured [radiation] above the atmosphere. But only [Curiosity has] been able to measure it at the surface.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reason that\u2019s important is because galactic cosmic rays or solar particles, both high energy particles, hit the atmosphere, and as they travel through the atmosphere, they can actually collide with molecules in the atmosphere and form secondary products that are also moving at very high speed. &nbsp;But they\u2019ve slowed down somewhat because of the collision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd those slightly slower particles can actually be more damaging to humans than some of the original particles. &nbsp;So knowing the radiation that\u2019s on the surface, the types of particles, the energies that they are, is what NASA needs to understand the risk to astronauts on the Martian surface.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-3\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 281px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-3&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=961007009918279680&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2018%2F03%2Fcuriosity-2000th-martian-day-eyes-rovers-future%2F&amp;sessionId=ec36a1ec7618f209e3ebc6ef9d074cb39d586ebc&amp;siteScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\" data-tweet-id=\"961007009918279680\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Curiosity\u2019s prolonged lifetime on Mars\u2019s surface also enables a more complete picture of how the radiation environment changes as the Sun goes through its solar cycle. &nbsp;\u201cThe sun has these solar flares that can drastically change the kinds of particles that are coming out,\u201d said Mr. Vasavada.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd we can measure those events on the surface of Mars when they arrive, as well as the overall 11-year solar cycle. &nbsp;It\u2019s been going from a more active period to a more quiescent period over its normal cycle, and we can watch how the radiation at Mars changes as a result of that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Based on the information thus far received by Curiosity, it appears that the radiation dosage astronauts would receive is similar to what NASA considers to be a career acceptable level for an astronaut.<\/p>\n<p>And this ongoing exploration of the radiation environment is in part due to how well Curiosity\u2019s science instruments have held up compared to expectations. &nbsp;&nbsp;Curiosity\u2019s instruments were designed to survive for two Earth years. This year, the rover will mark its sixth Earth year anniversary since landing.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-55553\" class=\"size-full wp-image-55553\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Curiosity-selfie.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"659\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Curiosity-selfie.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Curiosity-selfie-350x231.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Curiosity-selfie-531x350.jpg 531w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Curiosity-selfie-768x506.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-55553\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Curiosity takes a selfie to document its condition for its control teams back on Earth. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter five and a half years, we\u2019ve really not lost any major scientific capability. &nbsp;The one hit we\u2019ve taken in terms of the science we\u2019re able to do is the ability to sense wind. &nbsp;&nbsp;Our wind sensors are very delicate, and between getting to Mars and landing we lost a part of that sensor. &nbsp;And in the last two years, we\u2019ve lost the other half of the wind sensors as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The only other complication the team has faced stems from Curiosity\u2019s drill, which while not a scientific instrument is crucial to the operation of the laboratory in examining surface rocks. &nbsp;\u201cFor the past year we\u2019ve been working really hard on developing a new way of drilling that doesn\u2019t rely on the feed motor that\u2019s currently not working well,\u201d said Mr. Vasavada. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo we\u2019re testing that out, and it\u2019s promising. &nbsp;It\u2019s just a long process. And once we successfully deliver samples to our laboratories, we\u2019ll be almost as good as new in terms of the scientific capabilities of the instruments after five and a half years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>*Continue to Page 2*<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-nav-links\">Pages: 1 2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today marks the 2,000th Martian day (Sol) of operation for NASA\u2019s Mars Science Laboratory \u2013 more commonly known as the Curiosity rover. &nbsp;The exploration platform touched down on the surface of the Red Planet after a daring and never-before-used landing sequence on 5 August 2012 (Pacific Daylight Time) and has since well surpassed its initial [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[367],"class_list":["post-38506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-mars"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38506"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38506\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}