#MARS #CURIOSITY ROVER’S FIRST TEST FOR METHANE: NOTHING . . .YET

 Mars Curiosity Rover  Photo credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/

The three complex lab tools of rover’s gold-plated Sample Analysis on Mars (SAM), its main instrument for its astrobiology research, has failed to detect the presence of methane gas on the Red Planet.

Ninety percent of the methane in Earth’s atmosphere is produced by living organisms, making methane an important by-product to search for in determining if Mars had ever supported some form of life.

Previous testing on earth and in space detected low concentrations of the gas on Mars.

Because Methane concentrations vary somewhat by region and over time, SAM hasn’t necessarily challenged the validity of those earlier results.  Photochemical reactions in the atmosphere may have destroyed the gas, or it may have been absorbed by the Martian surface.

“At this time, we don’t have a positive detection of methane on Mars,” said Sushil Atreya of the University of Michigan, a SAM co-investigator.  “But that could change over time, depending on how methane is produced and how it is destroyed on Mars.”

The presence of Methane isn’t proof-positive of earlier life, because non-biological sources, such as comet strikes, degradation of interplanetary dust motes by ultraviolet light and water-rock interactions also release the gas.

“The bottom line is that we have no detection of methane so far,” Chris Webster, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena told reporters.  “But we’re going to keep looking in the months ahead–since Mars, as we all know, may yet hold surprises for us.”

Sources:   Livescience, November 5, 2012

#MARS #CURIOSITY’S ROVER RACING TOWARD GLENELG INTRIGUE AT 0.1 MPH

Rover’s track prints in the sands of Mars 

 “It’s nice to see some Martian soil on our wheels,” said mission manager Arthur Amador of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Earlier this week the rover traveled 52 feet southeastward, flat out at 1.6 inches per second toward its short-term goal of reaching Glenelg Intrigue.  Glenelg is still a quarter-mile from rover’s present location.

Once rover arrives, the hope is that it will find suitable rockbed on which to use its industrial-strength drill to sample Martian geology.

The site intrigues scientists because it’s where three different types of terrain meet, giving them the opportunity to study the Red Planet’s diverse geologic morphology (formations) and the geological history that caused three such divergent types of material to converge.

Of particular interest to NASA is a light-colored expanse showing up in satellite thermal imagery that may have been cemented through natural processes.  This hypothesis is contrary to that of a scientist on the mission who recently told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation the expanse was formed by volcanic activity.

On its journey, expected to take several weeks, the rover will continue to test its equipment and send back images of the landscape using its twin mast-mounted cameras, the Mastcam.

Given the number of detours, such as Glenelg, Curiosity’s rover should reach its long-term goal, driving partway up the 3.4 mile-high Mount Sharp, in about a year.

Mount Sharp sits in the 96-mile wide Gale Crater where the nuclear-powered, one-ton Mars Science Laboratory landed on August 6.

 JPL Morse code in track prints 

 Each of rover’s wheel treads includes a single line of Morse code spelling “JPL” molded in the zigzag pattern making up the remainder of the wheel.

“The purpose of the pattern is to create features in the terrain that can be used to visually measure the precise distance between drives,” according to Matt Heverly, the lead rover driver for Curiosity.

The Morse code gives scientists the ability to measure more accurately driving distances and proximity to other features using the visual odometry software onboard.  The software is helpful because the Martian terrain is loose, granular and varied–the rover might slip and get stuck.

The Mars Science Laboratory will be in full-service for the next 23 months, but its nuclear-powered battery extends its useful lifetime well beyond that time frame.

Source:   Discovery News, August 30, 2012    Los Angeles Times, August 29, 2012     TPMIdeaLab, August 30, 2012        Photo credits NASA/JPL-Caltech

#MARS PLAIN COVERED WITH DUNES

Though the surface of the Red Planet has not hosted earthquakes or volcanic eruptions as has the surface of Earth, winds and seasonal changes shape and reshape the Martian landscape.

The above mounds on what appears to be a hard, bumpy terrain of permafrost are called barchan dunes.  Barchans generally form where there’s a supply of sand and a prevailing wind.

In this photo, a prevailing wind blows sand into these 100-meter wide mounds to create the structures.  The “arms” or “horns” of the dunes point in the downwind direction, indicating that the prevailing winds blow toward the northwest.

Typically, the leading/upwind edge of the dune is gently sloped and more rounded.

Wide angle view of the barchan dunes

Scientists plan to use repeat imaging of this dune field to determine if the dunes are presently moving.

The photo was taken using the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on board NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

Sources:  Discovery News  July 17, 2012    HiRISE  July 11, 2012

Photos credit NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

COMING TO A RED PLANET NEAR YOU 7 MINUTES OF TERROR aka, AUG 6 #MARS LANDING

Curiosity’s descent stage reaches the Martian atmosphere.  Photo credit NASA/JPL

You think the title’s overly dramatic?

Wait till you hear the way, overly dramatic music playing behind NASA’s animated 5-minute video portrayal of the entry, descent and landing (EDL) of the Rover on Gale Crater.

It’s really a hoot to watch and listen to five genuine rocket scientists narrating what the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) must endure during its 7-minute descent.  In truth, the descent is violent and dangerous to the equipment.

Hats off to the brilliant men and women who designed the mission and can spoof their accomplishment as well as their very real fears about the success of the mission.

Enjoy these bold scientists who go where no serious actor would dare to overact.

For the best seat in the house, click on

http://news.discovery.com/space/seven-minutes-of-terror-for-mars-rover-curiosity-120626.html#mkcpgn=emnws1

A quick footnote—July 17, Discovery News reported that the scientists may have to wait a couple of hours for news of Curiosity’s landing because of a communication glitch.

A steering problem on Odyssey, the orbiting satellite that transmits information about the landing, may not be in position to record the landing on the orbit when Curiosity lands.

Unless the  problem is solved, we’ll have to bite our nails for a couple hours beyond the initial 7 Minutes of Terror till Odyssey is properly lined up.

Discovery News     June 27, 2012

DISCOVERY NEWS:  EARTH’S HIGHEST BLUE ICE OVER IRAQ AND UZBEKISTAN

Photo credit NASA/JPL

Last June 13 the crew of the International Space Station spotted these shiny, icy wisps above western Iraq and Uzbekistan in the mesosphere, an area of Earth’s atmosphere above the stratosphere but below the thermosphere.

The clouds are described as noctilucent, or night-shining clouds and are more commonly seen in the northern hemisphere during late spring and early summer.  We can see them at night long after sunset as bright strands, waves or webs shining against the night sky.

The clouds are also called polar mesospheric clouds that form about 47 to 53 miles overhead in the coldest parts of the atmosphere.  Their ice crystals usually appear blue because Earth’s ozone layer absorbs their red wavelengths of light.

Source:  Discovery News     June 26, 2012

DISCOVERY NEWS: SKY CRANE, #MARS ROVER CURIOSITY’S LANDING SYSTEM

Curiosity’s parachute passing flight-qualification testing in 2009 March and April.  It’s inside the world’s largest wind tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA   Photo credit:  NASA/JPL-Caltech

In early September, the Sky Crane will gently place the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover “Curiosity” In the red planet’s Gale Crater.  But before the MSL can land, a Disk-Band-Gap (DGB) parachute must slow the precious cargo down to subsonic speeds.

The state-of-art Sky Crane is probably the most intricate, sophisticated and precise landing system ever sent to Mars, but its DGB parachute has a history of nearly 50 years of success.

Most recently, the Viking landers, Mars Pathfinder rover, both MER rovers and the Mars Phoenix lander relied on this type of parachute for a successful landing on the planet.

The MSL relies on the DGB parachute for atmospheric drag.  The main disk–the D in DGB–is a dome-shaped canopy with a hole in the top that relieves air pressure.  A gap (G) below the canopy releases air to prevent the canopy from tearing.   A fabric band (B) under the gap increases lateral stability by controlling the direction of incoming air.

The first DGB was tested in 1967.  It was launched from Walker Air Force Base in Roswell, New Mexico in a 26,000,000 foot cubed balloon and took three hours to reach  an altitude of 130,000 feet above the White Sands Missile Range.  The environment provided an adequate simulation of the atmosphere in Mars’s upper atmosphere.

The chute performed successfully, despite a tear in 2 of the  72 sections comprising the canopy.

To enable the use of a lighter-weight fabric and to reduce fabric stress, NASA reconfigured the original 72-sectioned canopy tested in 1967 to consist of 80 sections.

Red Planet, here we come!

Discovery News     June 19, 2012