APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

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APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by APOD Robot » Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:05 am

Image Curiosity: Sol 3048

Explanation: Before Perseverance there was Curiosity. In fact, the Curiosity rover accomplished the first sky crane maneuver touchdown on Mars on August 5, 2012. March 2, 2021 marked Curiosity's 3,048th martian day operating on the surface of the Red Planet. This 360 degree panorama from sol 3048 is a mosaic of 149 frames from Curiosity's Mastcam above the rover's deck. It includes 23 frames of icy, thin, high clouds drifting through the martian sky. The cloudy sky frames were recorded throughout that martian day and are digitally stitched together in the panoramic view. Near center is a layered and streaked Mont Mercou. The peak of central Mount Sharp, rising over 5 kilometers above the floor of Gale Crater, is in the distant background on the left.

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Re: APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by jks » Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:22 am

Incredible detail within the image. Very nice!

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Re: APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by bramboro » Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:48 am

Is that the right date for the touchdown, April 5, 2012? I was teaching an astronomy class that summer, and recall nervously waiting for news of the landing to come in while I was teaching that class. Wikipedia says August 6, 2012 was its landing date, so maybe someone confused A-months?

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Re: APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by Ann » Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:36 am

Outcrop on Mars.png
Click to play embedded YouTube video.













There is an outcrop in the foreground of the APOD that is incredibly finely layered.

And speaking of clouds on Mars, I recommend the video at right about a very interesting recurring cloud on Mars.

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Re: APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by orin stepanek » Thu Mar 25, 2021 12:31 pm

Curiosity still doing a nice 8-) job!
Orin

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Re: APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by Guest » Thu Mar 25, 2021 1:03 pm

Why is the top of the rover redacted ?

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Re: APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by NCTom » Thu Mar 25, 2021 1:51 pm

There are obvious white streaks and small pockets in some of the rocks directly in front of Curiosity. On earth I would say those are gypsum deposits left by evaporating water in the rock crevices. Would that be a possibility here?

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Re: APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by shaileshs » Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:10 pm

Over 5kms ? Means more than 5000m. Means more than half of Mt Everest here on earth. Does it look that high in picture (even if from distance) ? to me, it doesn't seems like even 5000ft high.. No ?

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Re: APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by RJN » Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:31 pm

bramboro wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:48 am Is that the right date for the touchdown, April 5, 2012? I was teaching an astronomy class that summer, and recall nervously waiting for news of the landing to come in while I was teaching that class. Wikipedia says August 6, 2012 was its landing date, so maybe someone confused A-months?
Correct! It was August. Thank you for pointing this out We apologize for the oversight. This has now been corrected on the main NASA APOD site.
- RJN

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Re: APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by Chris Peterson » Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:40 pm

shaileshs wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:10 pm Over 5kms ? Means more than 5000m. Means more than half of Mt Everest here on earth. Does it look that high in picture (even if from distance) ? to me, it doesn't seems like even 5000ft high.. No ?
It is almost the same height as Denali (Mt McKinley). Appearances can be deceiving, depending as they do on distance, prominence, and slope angles.
_
634123main_pia15292-Fig2-43_full.jpg
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Re: APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by neufer » Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:51 pm

Chris Peterson wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:40 pm
shaileshs wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:10 pm
Over 5kms ? Means more than 5000m. Means more than half of Mt Everest here on earth. Does it look that high in picture (even if from distance) ? to me, it doesn't seems like even 5000ft high.. No ?
It is almost the same height as Denali.

Appearances can be deceiving, depending as they do on distance, prominence, and slope angles.
  • Shaileshs is in Denial.
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Butte cracks

Post by neufer » Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:06 pm

Ann wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:36 am
There is an outcrop in the foreground of the APOD that is incredibly finely layered.
https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission-updates/8893/sols-3062-3063-adjusting-the-lighting-on-mont-mercou/ wrote:
MISSION UPDATES : 3/18/2021
Sols 3062-3063: Adjusting the Lighting on 'Mont Mercou'


Written by Melissa Rice, Planetary Geologist at Western Washington University

<<In photography, the right lighting is essential. Portrait photographers and Instagram selfie afficionados favor the kind of soft lighting that smooths over bumps and imperfections. Geology photographers, on the other hand, want to see all of the bumps, lines, divots and wrinkles, as those features tell the story of how a rock was formed and altered. To get the right lighting for accentuating the small-scale textures of "Mont Mercou," the team is planning to photograph the cliff face right before sunset on sol 3063, when the Sun is at its lowest point in the sky. We hope this new Mastcam mosaic will bring out even more detail than we can see in the image above.

The evening Mastcam photoshoot is just one part of this two-sol plan. The main event is the second analysis of the "Nontron" drill sample by CheMin, to refine what we’re learning about the mineralogy of the rocks at the base of Mont Mercou. We’ll look some more at Mont Mercou and other regions earlier in the day with Mastcam, and will watch for clouds in the sky at twilight. We’ll also use ChemCam’s RMI to image a butte called “mini-Mercou" to the east, which is a re-shoot of some previous images that were "slightly out of focus".>>
Art Neuendorffer

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Re: Butte cracks

Post by Chris Peterson » Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:33 pm

neufer wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:06 pm
Ann wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:36 am
There is an outcrop in the foreground of the APOD that is incredibly finely layered.
https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission-updates/8893/sols-3062-3063-adjusting-the-lighting-on-mont-mercou/ wrote:
MISSION UPDATES : 3/18/2021
Sols 3062-3063: Adjusting the Lighting on 'Mont Mercou'


Written by Melissa Rice, Planetary Geologist at Western Washington University

<<In photography, the right lighting is essential. Portrait photographers and Instagram selfie afficionados favor the kind of soft lighting that smooths over bumps and imperfections. Geology photographers, on the other hand, want to see all of the bumps, lines, divots and wrinkles, as those features tell the story of how a rock was formed and altered. To get the right lighting for accentuating the small-scale textures of "Mont Mercou," the team is planning to photograph the cliff face right before sunset on sol 3063, when the Sun is at its lowest point in the sky. We hope this new Mastcam mosaic will bring out even more detail than we can see in the image above.

The evening Mastcam photoshoot is just one part of this two-sol plan. The main event is the second analysis of the "Nontron" drill sample by CheMin, to refine what we’re learning about the mineralogy of the rocks at the base of Mont Mercou. We’ll look some more at Mont Mercou and other regions earlier in the day with Mastcam, and will watch for clouds in the sky at twilight. We’ll also use ChemCam’s RMI to image a butte called “mini-Mercou" to the east, which is a re-shoot of some previous images that were "slightly out of focus".>>
Hmmm. The Golden Hour on Mars.
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Re: Butte cracks

Post by Ann » Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:15 pm

Chris Peterson wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:33 pm
neufer wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:06 pm
Ann wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:36 am
There is an outcrop in the foreground of the APOD that is incredibly finely layered.
https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission-updates/8893/sols-3062-3063-adjusting-the-lighting-on-mont-mercou/ wrote:
MISSION UPDATES : 3/18/2021
Sols 3062-3063: Adjusting the Lighting on 'Mont Mercou'


Written by Melissa Rice, Planetary Geologist at Western Washington University

<<In photography, the right lighting is essential. Portrait photographers and Instagram selfie afficionados favor the kind of soft lighting that smooths over bumps and imperfections. Geology photographers, on the other hand, want to see all of the bumps, lines, divots and wrinkles, as those features tell the story of how a rock was formed and altered. To get the right lighting for accentuating the small-scale textures of "Mont Mercou," the team is planning to photograph the cliff face right before sunset on sol 3063, when the Sun is at its lowest point in the sky. We hope this new Mastcam mosaic will bring out even more detail than we can see in the image above.

The evening Mastcam photoshoot is just one part of this two-sol plan. The main event is the second analysis of the "Nontron" drill sample by CheMin, to refine what we’re learning about the mineralogy of the rocks at the base of Mont Mercou. We’ll look some more at Mont Mercou and other regions earlier in the day with Mastcam, and will watch for clouds in the sky at twilight. We’ll also use ChemCam’s RMI to image a butte called “mini-Mercou" to the east, which is a re-shoot of some previous images that were "slightly out of focus".>>
Hmmm. The Golden Hour on Mars.


















Don't you mean the Martian blue hour, Chris?

Mars has got its blue hour just like us, but ours is prettier.

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Re: Butte cracks

Post by Chris Peterson » Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:31 pm

Ann wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:15 pm
Chris Peterson wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:33 pm Hmmm. The Golden Hour on Mars.
Don't you mean the Martian blue hour, Chris?
Mars has got its blue hour just like us, but ours is prettier.
Before sunset makes it the golden hour. After makes it the blue hour. They're shooting the rocks while the Sun is still in the sky, low but above the horizon. They want long shadows to highlight the relief.
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Re: APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by kybergreg » Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:41 pm

It is interesting how much damaged are the wheels of Curiosity. I know it is there for nine years but it hasnt travelled that much (~25km).

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Re: APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by Chris Peterson » Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:52 pm

kybergreg wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:41 pm It is interesting how much damaged are the wheels of Curiosity. I know it is there for nine years but it hasnt travelled that much (~25km).
Rough terrain and wheels designed to be as light weight as possible. They did make some design changes for the wheels on Perseverance, even though the basic concept is the same.
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Re: APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by neufer » Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:52 pm

kybergreg wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:41 pm
It is interesting how much damaged are the wheels of Curiosity.

I know it is there for nine years but it hasnt travelled that much (~25km).
https://www.planetary.org/articles/08190630-curiosity-wheel-damage wrote:
The skin of the wheel is 0.75 millimeters thick -- the absolute thinnest that could be machined.

<<The tears result from fatigue. You know how if you bend a metal paper clip back and forth repeatedly, it eventually snaps? Well, when the wheels are driving over a very hard rock surface -- one with no sand -- the thin skin of the wheels repeatedly bends.>>
https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission/where-is-the-rover/
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Re: APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by edilist » Thu Mar 25, 2021 8:40 pm

Zooming in on one of the wheels already shows damage (?) I hope we got the extended warranty.

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Re: APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by Chris Peterson » Thu Mar 25, 2021 8:49 pm

edilist wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 8:40 pm Zooming in on one of the wheels already shows damage (?) I hope we got the extended warranty.
This is Curiosity, not Perseverance. It's been up there for years, and has a lot of mileage on it.
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Re: APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by heehaw » Thu Mar 25, 2021 9:48 pm

I do like the clouds! Mars is 1% of our terrestrial atmosphere, but hey, they even have dust-devils!

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Re: APOD: Curiosity: Sol 3048 (2021 Mar 25)

Post by Brian McDonald » Fri Mar 26, 2021 1:51 am

So, zooming in on the atmosphere and looking at the clouds. Do I see stars? Every now and then there is a white dot, I doubt that is noise.

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