Latest selfie, sent to Earth by the Mars vehicle Curiosity, shows a cosmic laboratory on a background of dark sand dunes, which is the current object of his research. Published by NASA image is actually placing much as 57 photos taken on January 19 with the aid of a camera MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager).
Curiosity two months investigating a group of active sand dunes in the area Bagnold Dune Field, located at the foot of the north-western slopes of Mount Sharp. Jeep collected and sieved sample the local sand. Pictures were taken after taking the first sample of the Namib dunes, 19 and 22 January robot retrieved another. On this third attempt has been to irregularities in the operation and leadership of the mission will try this week to determine what was the cause.
Following the accident in the tunnel sampler arm CHIMRA (Collection and Handling for In-situ Martian Rock Analysis), there were some Martian material, the tunnel does not open as expected. “Jeep reacted to this unexpected issue properly,” – says the Deputy Head of Mission Curiosity, Steve Lee from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. “Probe halted operation of the module sampler” – he added.
Jeep continues to lead another type of observations, it checks to see whether any Martian wind gusts lead to move grains of sand. It continues a test material from a second, earlier sample taken. Namib dunes of active research is the first such close examination of such dunes beyond Earth. The researchers expect on the basis of a number of information concerning the process of their formation under gravity smaller and much smaller than the Earth’s atmospheric density. Leadership of the mission, after coping with failure, will plan the place where the probe will take care of further drilling, this time in the rocky ground.
Grzegorz Jasinski
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