After 12 Years, Mars Rover Curiosity Makes 'Most Unusual Find to Date' (cnn.com) 37
12 years on Mars — and NASA's Curiosity rover "has made its most unusual find to date," reports CNN — rocks made of pure sulfur.
"And it all began when the 1-ton rover happened to drive over a rock and crack it open, revealing yellowish-green crystals never spotted before on the red planet." "I think it's the strangest find of the whole mission and the most unexpected," said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "I have to say, there's a lot of luck involved here. Not every rock has something interesting inside...." White stones had been visible in the distance, and the mission scientists wanted a closer look. The rover drivers at JPL, who send instructions to Curiosity, did a 90-degree turn to put the robotic explorer in the right position for its cameras to capture a mosaic of the surrounding landscape. On the morning of May 30, Vasavada and his team looked at Curiosity's mosaic and saw a crushed rock lying amid the rover's wheel tracks. A closer picture of the rock made clear the "mind-blowing" find, he said...
"No one had pure sulfur on their bingo card," Vasavada said...
Members of the team were stunned twice — once when they saw the "gorgeous texture and color inside" the rock and then when they used Curiosity's instruments to analyze the rock and received data indicating it was pure sulfur, Vasavada said.
Vasavada also was grateful for the original landing site where Curiosity began methodically exploring back in 2012.
"I'm glad we chose something that was 12 years' worth of science."
"And it all began when the 1-ton rover happened to drive over a rock and crack it open, revealing yellowish-green crystals never spotted before on the red planet." "I think it's the strangest find of the whole mission and the most unexpected," said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "I have to say, there's a lot of luck involved here. Not every rock has something interesting inside...." White stones had been visible in the distance, and the mission scientists wanted a closer look. The rover drivers at JPL, who send instructions to Curiosity, did a 90-degree turn to put the robotic explorer in the right position for its cameras to capture a mosaic of the surrounding landscape. On the morning of May 30, Vasavada and his team looked at Curiosity's mosaic and saw a crushed rock lying amid the rover's wheel tracks. A closer picture of the rock made clear the "mind-blowing" find, he said...
"No one had pure sulfur on their bingo card," Vasavada said...
Members of the team were stunned twice — once when they saw the "gorgeous texture and color inside" the rock and then when they used Curiosity's instruments to analyze the rock and received data indicating it was pure sulfur, Vasavada said.
Vasavada also was grateful for the original landing site where Curiosity began methodically exploring back in 2012.
"I'm glad we chose something that was 12 years' worth of science."
Entrance to hell found (Score:5, Funny)
Send Doomguy.
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Found them 2x in one week (Score:3)
The amazing thing is that Curiosity found the same rocks again.
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Did they find the reactor yet?
Re:Fake (Score:4, Informative)
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You realize sulfur is yellow. Something that is equal parts red and green looks yellow to the human eye. Orange is similar to yellow except it has some greenness taken out. Think of Mars, like you do the moon .. except instead of being made of cheese it's made of sulfur and mostly red, but some green, mold.
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I realize this is supposed to be a joke, but still, you're not clear on the concept of subtractive color.
Instruments are best (Score:2)
This is exactly why I argue, bang for buck, we're better off both scientifically and economically with our focus on sending instruments instead of people, (along with the expectation that the people somehow gotta survive something, possibly even a ride back home to retire of old age). Look how far we come already! Look at what is still holding us back.
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This is exactly why I argue, bang for buck, we're better off both scientifically and economically with our focus on sending instruments instead of people
And you would be very wrong.
The amount of science and discovery and the economic side effects from researching and putting boots on Mars would benefit humanity to an almost immeasurable level.
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The amount of science Curiosity has done in 12 years would take a human on Mars two working days.
Re: Instruments are best (Score:2)
Lol and the cost to get a human there (and back, right?) would pay for ten rovers. What is so urgent about green powder on a dead rock that you need to know in two days?
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Re: Instruments are best (Score:2)
I guess finding green powders on a dead rock just isn't the amazing business case Space Nutters think it is...
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With Curiosity the scientists can think about the results in parallel with the rover's investigations, and steer it in interesting directions. If there's something intriguing we can even send a better rover without bankrupting ourselves.
If exploring Mars with humans plays out like exploring the Moon, we will indeed get a huge amount of rock picked up in a short time for future study. After a Moon-like six missions (which would play out with two orders of magnitude longer durations), would there be politica
Re: Instruments are best (Score:2)
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It looks like the time on Mars could be months [wikipedia.org], driven by the low energy launch windows. Supplies are certainly an issue, even if you manage to persuade potatoes [wikipedia.org] to grow there :)
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For the sake of argument, if it takes a month for people to reach Mars
it's more like 6-9 months ... if you have a good launch window which happens about every 26 months.
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It takes six months for a Hohmann transfer to Mars. With a solar-thermal spaceship, you could make the trip in ninety days. But no one has ever actually built a solar-thermal spaceship.
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Super-science human can monitor the Martian environment for 10 years in two "working" days? Wow, whattaguy/gal!
Usually the "reasoning" that goes into this sort of claim is that Curiosity has traveled 30 km while closely examining the Martian surface the entire way, and if a human drives a Mars-buggy the same distance in, say 10 hours of travel, they have accomplished the exact same thing. 'Cuz driving a fixed distance is what produces science. NASA could have built a faster vehicle if driving 30 km is what
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if a human drives a Mars-buggy the same distance in, say 10 hours of travel, they have accomplished the exact same thing. 'Cuz driving a fixed distance is what produces science. NASA could have built a faster vehicle if driving 30 km is what produces science.
I guess that's why Elon sent the Tesla Roadster ahead... so that those in his Mars mission had something to drive around in when they landed on Mars all those years ago.
These days, surely Elon could just build another hyperloop -- like the one from San Diego to San Francisco or the one in Vegas but this time, all the way to Mars. Then we wouldn't even need the Starship, we could drive Tesla Semis all the way, loaded up with Tesla solar roof tiles and powerwall batteries for the habitation units they must
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An actual human on Mars could have done in a week all the science Curiosity has done in years. Humans a smarter and faster than any robot and don't suffer from the 30-minute light lag that the rovers do.
12 years and still driving (Score:5, Interesting)
The original mission was two years, then extended. The designers figured the wheel drive motors would fail at about five or six years [spaceanswers.com]. The power source was only supposed to last one Martian year, 687 days [spacecenter.org].
Here we are at 12 years and Curiosity is still kicking up a storm (figuratively speaking). Either someone's calculations were off by a significant margin, or they overengineered Curiosity to the point of absurdity.
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If a pen is sold that's marketed as being good for 3 months and it goes 4, people will tend to be more pleased than if the same pens is sold for the same price but marketed as lasting 6 months, and lasts the same 3 months. Maybe it's a little like that, where the rover was made to be able to complete its mission with a decent level of certainty and that means the probability of failure for that term was very low, and this longevity is an offshoot of that requirement.
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Either someone's calculations were off by a significant margin, or they overengineered Curiosity to the point of absurdity.
No, you just have no conception of how space missions are planned and managed.
Probes have a minimum planned mission life which they have very high confidence that it will reach, in Curiosity's case two years. These mission cost a few billion dollars and take a decade or more to create and they need to have high confidence that it will reach some minimum science goal. Naturally if you can operate for period X with, say 99% certainty, the ultimate operating period is normally going to be much longer. This in
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> Either someone's calculations were off by a significant margin, or they overengineered Curiosity to the point of absurdity.
When they engineer something to last "6 years", isn't it that they target say an 85% probability it last that long? If so, once you go past the target you are on borrowed time, meaning it could fail any day or last for many years more.
Seems dangerous (Score:2)
And it all began when the 1-ton rover happened to drive over a rock and crack it open ...
Keep your cats away from this thing. :-)
ATTENTION THRALLS! (Score:5, Interesting)
Here follows a proclamation from K'Breel, Emperor of Mars, Steward of the Holy Red Sands and Puissant Father to the Multitude.
Citizens, attend!
Loyal subjects, it has come to our attention that the robotic servants of our hated mammalian neighbours from the third planet have once again desecrated our beloved Mother Mars. Worry not as their punishment will exceed their insult tenfold!
It has been reported that samples of the Holy Secretions of the legendary All-Mother have at last been discovered, albeit with the appendages of our hated enemy. However, following consultations with the remnants of Her Holy Fellowship of Caretakers, We are pleased to report that the taint of the stinking bipeds of Earth cannot be transmitted by their robotic metal servants. Those who would dare doubt the representatives of Her Holy Fellowship or cast aspersions on their venerable [*UNTRANSLATED*] will find themselves more agreeable after they are gelded.
We are currently planning a planet-wide expedition to recover such fossilised fragments of Her Holy Secretions as may still remain on the surface. Out of respect and adoration for the Blessed All-Mother, candidates for this vital quest will be determined by the game commonly referred to as "Rock, [*UNTRANSLATED*], Blade, Crawler, [*UNTRANSLATED, POSSIBLY PROPER NOUN*]". It is Our hope that this gesture will bring good fortune to the endeavour. Those whom the Fates deem unworthy in the games will be sent to the Arena for Our amusement and the entertainment of the masses.
It should not need to be stated that this mission is of vital importance to the continuation of the Race, for without the Holy Secretions no new members of the [*UNTRANSLATED*] caste can be spawned. A Mars without the superior caste is patently unthinkable! With their progeny we may finally replenish our warrior legions and raze the hated mammals' cities to the ground!
All hail Mother Mars!
Those with questions may direct them to K'Breel, assistant speaker to the Council, who will be more than happy to direct such disloyal [*UNTRANSLATED, POSSIBLY INVECTIVE*] to the protein digesters.
Signed,
K'Breel, Emperor of Mars, Steward of the Holy Red Sands, etc., etc.
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so ... they're just like us?
disappoint.
Elemental Sulfur was Not Expected (Score:2)
FInding elemental sulfur on Mars is quite a surprise. On Earth it is normally formed through processes that require the presence of life. In volcanoes it is formed by hydrogen sulfide (H2S) being partially oxidized by oxygen in the air to for SO2 which then reacts with H2S to form sulfur and water. The other method of formation is chemotrophic organisms oxidizing sulfur compounds. Neither of these processes is expected on present day Mars. Studying sulfur deposits is another means of exploring the possibili
If in Doubt, Read The Friendly Paper ... (Score:2)
Serious question (Score:2)
How can these scientist guys actually be certain it's sulfur and not cheese like the moon?
Bingo! (Score:1)
I did! Where's my free blow-up doll!