{"id":38893,"date":"2016-12-22T21:42:22","date_gmt":"2016-12-22T13:42:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/yir-ii-curiosity-opportunity-revelations-pushing-the-limits-of-longevity\/"},"modified":"2016-12-22T21:42:22","modified_gmt":"2016-12-22T13:42:22","slug":"yir-ii-curiosity-opportunity-revelations-pushing-the-limits-of-longevity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/yir-ii-curiosity-opportunity-revelations-pushing-the-limits-of-longevity\/","title":{"rendered":"YIR II: Curiosity & Opportunity \u2013 Revelations, pushing the limits of longevity"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the orbits of the inner solar system to the surface of Mars.  For Curiosity and Opportunity, 2016 continued the rovers\u2019 revelations of the mysteries of the Martian surface \u2013 providing scientists with confirmation of long-held theories while also revealing surprises about Mars\u2019 geologic past and providing new research for the eventual push of human exploration on the red planet.  For Opportunity, the year also marked a continued series of longevity firsts and another mission extension for the rover as it now approaches the start of its 13th year on Mars.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Curiosity \u2013 four years and counting:<\/b><\/p>\n

The first few months of 2016 for Curiosity were relatively quiet as the rover and its Earth-based controllers slowly guided the massive, mobile science laboratory through the roughest terrain the rover has thus far encountered during its time on Mars.<\/p>\n

\"\"In early March, Curiosity successfully completed a climb onto the Naukluft Plateau \u2013 a region on the lower elevations of Mount Sharp \u2013 following a successful navigation through and investigation of an area of tricky sand dunes.<\/p>\n

Scientists specifically commanded Curiosity to drive itself onto the Naukluft Plateau because its sandstone bedrock has been carved by millions of years of wind erosion into ridges and knobs, thus providing an excellent investigative path for Curiosity as the rover made its way toward smoother surfaces beyond the 400 meter (one-quarter of a mile) wide plateau. <\/p>\n

When Curiosity arrived on the plateau, the roughness of the ridges caused concern that driving on it could damage Curiosity\u2019s wheels, as terrain Curiosity crossed before reaching the base of Mount Sharp did earlier in the rover\u2019s mission. <\/p>\n

\"\"Holes and tears in Curiosity\u2019s wheels were first noticed in 2013, causing the rover\u2019s team to adjust the long-term driving route and gain a better understanding of how they assess local terrain and refine how they plan the rover\u2019s drives.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe carefully inspect and trend the condition of the wheels,\u201d said Steve Lee, Curiosity\u2019s deputy project manager at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).  \u201cCracks and punctures have been gradually accumulating at the pace we anticipated, based on testing we performed at JPL. <\/p>\n

\u201cGiven our longevity projections, I am confident these wheels will get us to the destinations on Mount Sharp that have been in our plans since before landing.\u201d<\/p>\n

*Click here for more articles on Mars*<\/p>\n

In early April, Curiosity performed a self-examination of its wheels after crossing most of the Naukluft Plateau \u2013 which revealed no acceleration of damage.<\/p>\n

By late April, Curiosity\u2019s odometer reached 12.7 km (7.9 mi).<\/p>\n

On 11 May, Curiosity marked the completion of its second full Martian year \u2013 signaling the end of data collection of two full cycles of Martian seasons.<\/p>\n

Importantly, while each sol (Martian day) is longer than an Earth day, the planet\u2019s axial tilt \u2013 at 25.19\u00b0 \u2013 is roughly the same, in astronomical terms, to that of Earth\u2019s, at 23.43\u00b0. <\/p>\n

The similar axial tilts give both planets a yearly rhythm of four seasons, and because Curiosity is a science platform, it is importantly a permanent, round-the-clock weather station \u2013 taking measurements of temperature, pressure, ultraviolet light reaching the surface, and the sparse water vapor in the air at Gale Crater.<\/p>\n

\u201cCuriosity\u2019s weather station has made measurements nearly every hour of every day, more than 34 million so far,\u201d said Curiosity Project Scientist Ashwin Vasavada of JPL.  \u201cThe duration is important because it\u2019s the second time through the seasons that lets us see repeated patterns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"To date, Curiosity has revealed strong, repeated seasonal changes at Gale crater and has also helped distinguish, with help from the fleet of orbiters around Mars, seasonal climatic shifts v. sporadic weather events.<\/p>\n

Specifically, Curiosity registered a large spike in methane in the local atmosphere during the first southern-hemisphere autumn that was not repeated in the second autumn. <\/p>\n

For most of the two Martian years, Curiosity measured methane concentrations between 0.3 and 0.8 parts per billion; however, for several weeks during the first autumn, that level spiked to as high as 7 parts per billion. <\/p>\n

Curiosity monitored methane concentrations for a repeat of that spike during the second autumn, but all observations returned nominal, lower background levels and no major spike.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cDoing a second year told us right away that the spike was not a seasonal effect,\u201d said JPL\u2019s Chris Webster.  \u201cIt\u2019s apparently an episodic event that we may or may not ever see again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, Curiosity did detect a possible seasonal pattern in the background methane concentration which appears to be lower in autumn than in other seasons.<\/p>\n

If this pattern is confirmed, it may be related to the pressure pattern measured by the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) or to seasonal changes in ultraviolet radiation, which is measured by the REMS in concert with Mastcam.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis shows not only the importance of long-term monitoring, but also the importance of combining more than one type of measurement from a single platform,\u201d Webster said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Moreover, this monitoring of the modern atmosphere, weather, and climate via REMS fulfills one of Curiosity\u2019s primary mission goals: to characterize the current Martian environment.<\/p>\n

In its two years of observations, REMS has measured air temperatures from 15.9\u00b0 C (60.5\u00b0 F) on a summer afternoon to -100\u00b0 C (-148\u00b0 F) on a winter night. <\/p>\n

Curiosity\u2019s air-pressure measurements also confirmed a strong seasonal trend previously seen by other missions.  <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are large changes [in air pressure] due to the capture and release of carbon dioxide by the seasonal polar caps,\u201d explained Germ\u00e1n Mart\u00ednez, a Curiosity science-team collaborator at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. <\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the Martian atmosphere is carbon dioxide.  During each pole\u2019s winter, millions of tons of this gas freeze solid, only to be released again in spring, prompting very un-Earthlike seasonal variations of about 25% in atmospheric pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other seasonal patterns measured by Curiosity include a local atmosphere that is clear in winter, dustier in spring and summer, and windy in autumn and a visibility factor in Gale Crater that can be as low as 30 km (20 mi) in summer and as high as 130 km (80 mi) in winter.<\/p>\n

Curiosity then departed the Naukluft Plateau in late May and resumed its climb up Mount Sharp\u2019s mudstone bedrock layer after performing its 10th and 11th laser drills into rock formations on the plateau.<\/p>\n

The 10th and 11th drill sites \u2013 \u201cLubango\u201d and \u201cOkoruso\u201d \u2013 were part of an experiment to compare material within and away from pale zones around fractures on the Murray formation on the lower layers of Mount Sharp.<\/p>\n

Once back on the mudstone bedrock, Curiosity performed its 12th drill into Mars \u2013 again into the Murray formation, which is about 200 m (one-eighth of a mile) thick and of which Curiosity has thus far examined about one-fifth of its vertical extent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe story that the Murray formation is revealing about the habitability of ancient Mars is one of the mission\u2019s surprises,\u201d said Vasavada.  \u201cIt wasn\u2019t obvious from pre-mission data that it formed in long-lived lakes and that its diverse composition would tell us about the chemistry of those lakes and later groundwater.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 12th drill was performed on 4 June at the \u201cOudam\u201d target, and after this, Curiosity turned south and began to \u201cclimb the mountain head-on,\u201d said Vasavada.<\/p>\n

Just two weeks after Curiosity began this all-important climb to reach its three \u201cmost valuable\u201d science targets, NASA officially approved a two-year extension to the rover\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n

The mission extension now takes Curiosity\u2019s planned life out to 30 September 2018.<\/p>\n

Then, as July dawned, an unexpected issue arose which caused the rover to enter safe mode for the first time since three safe mode events in 2013.<\/p>\n

On 2 July, the rover put itself into safe mode and ceased all operations less \u201ckeep alive\u201d activities and a pre-programed, highly prescribed sequence of resuming twice-daily communications with Earth.<\/p>\n

By 6 July, Curiosity was back in communication with Earth and was \u201cstable\u201d \u2013 with controllers seeing indications that the safe mode, a standard procedural guideline written into all uncrewed spacecraft programming to protect them from unanticipated events, was triggered by a mismatch between camera software and data-processing software in the main computer.<\/p>\n

By 9 July, controllers brought Curiosity out of safe mode, corrected the issue, and the rover resumed normal science operations on 11 July.<\/p>\n

\"\"By the end of July, Curiosity began selecting its own rock targets for its laser spectrometer \u2013 marking the first time for any planetary rover that autonomous target selection was an available aspect of its mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis autonomy is particularly useful at times when getting the science team in the loop is difficult or impossible \u2013 in the middle of a long drive or when the schedules of Earth, Mars, and spacecraft activities lead to delays in sharing information between planets,\u201d said robotics engineer Tara Estlin.<\/p>\n

Using the Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science (AEGIS) software developed at JPL, Curiosity\u2019s new ability to frequently choose multiple targets per week for a portion of its Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument greatly aides scientists back on Earth, who still, however, select most of the rover\u2019s targets based on images is sends back to Earth.<\/p>\n

The AEGIS software, previously developed for Curiosity\u2019s cousin \u2013 the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, analyzes images from Curiosity\u2019s stereo Navigation Camera (Navcam) and selects a target using adjustable criteria specified by scientists, such as identifying rocks based on their size or brightness.<\/p>\n

\"\"The criteria can be changed depending on the rover\u2019s surroundings and the scientific goals of the measurements.<\/p>\n

The AEGIS software, once a target is identified, then uses ChemCam\u2019s Remote Micro-Imager to perform image analysis and fine-tune pointing of the laser at these targets. <\/p>\n

\u201cDue to their small size and other pointing challenges, hitting these targets accurately with the laser has often required the rover to stay in place while ground operators fine tune pointing parameters,\u201d Estlin said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAEGIS enables these targets to be hit on the first try by automatically identifying them and calculating a pointing that will center a ChemCam measurement on the target.\u201d<\/p>\n

After demonstrating this new ability, Curiosity celebrated its fourth landing anniversary on 6 August.<\/p>\n

\"\"By 8 September, the rover was exploring a specific geologic region of which Curiosity returned stunningly detailed color images in the Murray Buttes region on the lower levels of Mount Sharp.<\/p>\n

The buttes and mesas rising above the surface at Mount Sharp have been eroded away to their present-day remnants of ancient sandstone that originated when winds deposited sand after lower Mount Sharp formed.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudying these buttes up close has given us a better understanding of ancient sand dunes that formed and were buried, chemically changed by groundwater, exhumed and eroded to form the landscape we see today,\u201d said Vasavada.<\/p>\n

Curiosity then continued its southward journey, stopping on 9 September for one last drill at the Murray Buttes before continuing its steady climb up Mount Sharp.<\/p>\n

The rest of September, October, and November were relatively quiet for Curiosity as it drove itself up the surrounding escarpments.<\/p>\n

Then, on 22 November, the rover turned its communications systems not toward Mars Odyssey or the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), but instead toward the recently arrived Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) from ESA and Roscosmos.<\/p>\n

The TGO had successfully inserted itself into orbit of Mars on 19 October and spent the first month in orbit undergoing various checkouts.<\/p>\n

On 22 November, a primary aspect of the TGO\u2019s mission \u2013 to enhance the telecommunications network at the Red Planet \u2013 underwent its first major test: relaying communications and data from Curiosity and Opportunity back to Earth.<\/p>\n

For Curiosity, the rover\u2019s signals were received on the TGO via one of the orbiter\u2019s twin Electra radios.<\/p>\n

The TGO\u2019s main radio antenna then transmitted the signal to Earth.<\/p>\n

The event marked a strengthening of international telecommunications at Mars and served as a reminder of the importance of such international cooperation for exploration at Mars.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe arrival of ESA\u2019s Trace Gas Orbiter at Mars, with its NASA-provided Electra relay payload on board, represents a significant step forward in our Mars relay capabilities,\u201d said Chad Edwards, manager of the Mars Relay Network Office within the Mars Exploration Program at JPL. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn concert with our three existing NASA orbiters and ESA\u2019s Mars Express orbiter, we now have a truly international Mars relay network that will greatly increase the amount of data that future Mars landers and rovers can return from the surface of the Red Planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

More concretely, the test paved the way for permanent use of the TGO as an enhanced relay for Curiosity \u2013 with the rover scheduled to start using the TGO for regular communications with Earth in 2017.<\/p>\n

\"\"Specifically for the Electra radios, the devices can maximize data volume by actively adjusting the data rate to be slower when the orbiter is near the horizon from the rover\u2019s perspective and faster when the orbiter is overhead.<\/p>\n

Due to improvements in the newest Electra radios and reduced interference levels, TGO\u2019s relay radios are anticipated to offer performance about double that of MRO\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Then, on 30 November, Curiosity\u2019s teams commanded the rover to drill into the seventh sample-collection site of the four-year mission.<\/p>\n

On 1 December, Curiosity relayed information back to Earth that it had not performed the drill after detecting a fault: the drill feed mechanism did not extend the drill to touch the rock target with the bit.<\/p>\n

\"\"The drill feed mechanism pushes the front of the drill outward from the turret of tools at the end of Curiosity\u2019s robotic arm.  The drill collects powdered rock that is then analyzed by laboratory instruments inside the rover. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in the process of defining a set of diagnostic tests to carefully assess the drill feed mechanism.  We are using our test rover here on Earth to try out these tests before we run them on Mars,\u201d said Curiosity Deputy Project Manager Steven Lee on 5 December. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo be cautious, we want to restrict any dynamic changes that could affect the diagnosis.  That means not moving the arm and not driving, which could shake it.\u201d<\/p>\n

By 5 December, as the rover held its position pending resolution of the drill issue, Curiosity\u2019s odometer stood at 15.01 km (9.33 mi) \u2013 having driven more than 840 m (more than half a mile) since late September and having climbed more then 165 m (541 ft) in elevation since landing, including 44 m (144 ft) since late September.<\/p>\n

\"\"Curiosity\u2019s teams eventually determined the cause of the failure to be a brake on the drill feed mechanism that did not disengage fully.<\/p>\n

A fix was implemented and transmitted to the rover with initial success; however, the problem cropped up again soon thereafter, leading mission engineers to realize that the issue is recurring.<\/p>\n

As of writing, Curiosity\u2019s drill is still sidelined and the rover remains stationary.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Curiosity is continuing to return valuable scientific data about the change in geologic conditions as it climbs Mount Sharp.<\/p>\n

Specifically, Curiosity has returned evidence of how ancient lakes and wet underground environments changed billions of years ago to create more diverse chemical environments that affected the favorability for microbial life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the orbits of the inner solar system to the surface of Mars.  For Curiosity and Opportunity, 2016 continued the rovers\u2019 revelations of the mysteries of the Martian surface \u2013 providing scientists with confirmation of long-held theories while also revealing surprises about Mars\u2019 geologic past and providing new research for the eventual push of human exploration […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30045,"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":[2927,367,8981,2721],"class_list":["post-38893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-curiosity","tag-mars","tag-mer","tag-opportunity"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38893"}],"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=38893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}