NASA’s Curiosity Rover Finds More Shiny Objects on Mars

                                          (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

When NASA’s Curiosity rover found a shiny object on Mars last week, researchers believed it was just part of the rover. But now, the rover has found more bright objects in Mars’ soil, leading NASA officials to believe it is something native to the planet.

NASA sent commands to Curiosity Monday to take a third sample of soil from Mars to learn more about the shiny objects.

“Confidence for going ahead with the third scooping was based on new assessment that other bright particles in the area are native Martian material,” NASA said in a statement. “One factor in that consideration is seeing some bright particles embedded in clods of Martian soil.”

SEE MORE: CURIOSITY’S FINDINGS ON MARS

The first sample taken on Oct. 7 found a shiny object that they determined was a piece of the rover. During the second scooping on Oct. 12, more bright objects were found in a hole made by the scooping, leading researchers to believe this is something native to mars.

“At that point when they first saw the bright particles in the hole created by the second scoop they weren’t sure what they were,” NASA spokesman, Guy Webster, told ABCNews.com.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

Mars Rover Discovers Earth-Like Rock

                                                                               Image credit: MSSS/JPL-Caltech/NASA

The Curiosity rover surprised NASA engineers with its first Martian rock to examine. Scientists expected to find a rock similar to the ones seen on previous missions to Mars. But instead, they found a rock with a composition seen in many rocks on Earth.

“This rock is a close match in chemical composition to an unusual but well-known type of igneous rock found in many volcanic provinces on Earth,” said Edward Stolper of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena said in a NASA statement today. “With only one Martian rock of this type, it is difficult to know whether the same processes were involved, but it is a reasonable place to start thinking about its origin.”

According to NASA, rocks on Earth with a similar composition usually come from processes in the planet’s mantle and result from crystallization of water-rich magma at an elevated pressure.

As NASA said in a statement, rock compositions are important because they “tell stories about unseen environments and planetary processes.” Researchers hope that the discovery of varied rock composition on Mars will give insight into its past.

The rock is around the size of a football and is shaped like a pyramid.  It has been nicknamed “Jake Matijevic,” after a mission engineer who recently died.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

Mars Rover Sends Stunning New Shots

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

The Mars rover Curiosity has sent some spectacular new images to Earth, giving a detailed view of the landing site in Mars Gale Crater and the surface of the red planet.  NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, mission control for the project, put them together in a giant mosaic.

“The mosaic, which stretches about 29,000 pixels across by 7,000 pixels high, includes 130 images taken on Aug. 8 and an additional 10 images taken on Aug. 19,” said JPL.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

The images have been combined to provide a 360 degree panoramic view of the landing site, including the 3.4 mile high Mount Sharp. Exploring Mount Sharp is one of Curiosity’s primary objectives, largely because previous spacecraft in orbit spotted evidence of possible past exposure to liquid water at the mountain’s base.

The Rover also made history by sending the first audio recording of a human voice from Mars to Earth. The voice was that of NASA administrator Charles Bolden, who congratulated the mission team on its success in getting the rover to Mars. In the recording, Bolden said, “Curiosity will bring benefits to Earth and inspire a new generation of scientists and explorers, as it prepares the way for a human mission in the not too distant future.”

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/AP Photo

Curiosity landed Gale Crater on Mars on Aug. 5. It is set to explore the crater over the next two years, looking, among other things, for evidence to determine whether the planet could have ever supported life. The rover, with a $2.5 billion budget, is equipped with an array of instruments to aid in its quest, including a rock-cutting laser and an onboard chemistry lab.

For more images from the Mars Rover Curiosity check out our slideshow.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

Mars Rover Curiosity to Take First Test Drive

(NASA/JPL-Caltech)

The Mars rover Curiosity, which landed on the Martian surface on the night of Aug. 5, is about to take its first baby steps – or test drive, or whatever your preferred metaphor is – on the way to exploring the terrain around it.

Overnight, U.S. time, mission engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California said they plan to send Curiosity the computer commands to send it on its first short trip.  If everything works, it will move forward three meters (about 10 feet), turn right 90 degrees, and then back up a little bit.

That’s it.  But the longest journey begins with a single step.  Ultimately, NASA said it hopes the rover will be able to travel more than 100 yards per day over at least a two-year period, probing the Martian landscape for signs that it might once have been a home to microbial life.

“You will definitely see tracks,” said Mike Watkins, the mission manager, in a teleconference.  The first drive will tell controllers the rover’s six wheels are working properly, that it can turn in place as designed, and that it’s ready to move on later this week.

The test drive should last about half an hour.  It should take place in mid-afternoon, Mars time, when it’s warmest and the rover’s parts don’t have to be heated up.  NASA hopes there will be no surprises.

“We want to park it in a place we’ve imaged with our stereo cameras,” said Watkins, “just to make sure there’s nothing there.”

Controllers said they will be more bold over time.  The rover is in good shape so far after its nail-biter of a landing (recall the references to “seven minutes of terror” NASA promised) though a small wind detector is damaged.

Meanwhile, it’s almost summer-like at Gale Crater, where Curiosity put down.  Engineers reported the soil around the rover reached an afternoon high temperature of 37 degrees Fahrenheit on a recent Martian day, then dropped overnight to 131 degrees below zero.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

DT Daily: Curiosity fires up laser, SMS scam threatens iPhone

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August 20, 2012

• DT Daily Syndication

NASA's Curiosity rover fires its lasers, director Tony Scott commits suicide, a SMS scam hits the iPhone, Best Buy names a new CEO, and more.

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Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Mars Rover Curiosity: First Road Trip Planned

NASA scientists today announced they’ve chosen the first two road trip destinations for the $2.5 billion Mars Curiosity rover.

The first site is a geologically-rich area known as “Glenelg” that lies about 550 yards from where Curiosity touched down almost two weeks ago.

After a series of instrument and wheel tests that will last for at least the next couple of weeks, the rover will begin driving toward Glenelg, named after a series of rock formations in northern Canada.

That journey, says project scientist John Grotzinger, should take about three to four weeks. (Curiosity’s top speed is only 1.5 inches per second, which ABC News researcher Natalie Savits calculated to equal 0.0823 miles per hour.)

Click Here for Pictures: Mars Curiosity Rover

After reaching Glenelg, Grotzinger says Curiosity will spend approximately six weeks using scoops, drills, cameras and lasers to examine rocks and soil for signs that a warmer and wetter Mars may have once supported microbial life.

By the end of December, Grotzinger says Curiosity should be ready for a much longer road trip to its next stop: the base of a three-mile-high mountain known as Mt. Sharp. The area is described as being very similar to the four corners area of the southwestern United States.

Both sites can be seen in this image taken from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, passing overhead, which scientists are excitedly referring to as their “treasure map.”

The name “Glenelg,” the admittedly-geeky science team points out, is a palindrome. (Try reading it backwards.)

“The important point about that,” Grotzinger explains, “is that once we get done with the science, [Curiosity] will have to pass trough that area again, so we get it both coming and going.”

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com