By akademiotoelektronik, 06/09/2022

A Curiosity panorama shows a chaotic landscape

On the difficult path he has taken since early March, Curiosity photographed the surrounding landscape, on the northwest flank of Mont Sharp that he gravit.For the moment, its wheels have not suffered too much, no more than expected, and should hold until its most distant geological target, 7.5 km.The rover has just achieved its tenth drilling.

Vous aimez nos Actualités ?Inscrivez-vous à la lettre d'information La quotidienne pour recevoir nos toutes dernières Actualités une fois par jour.Cela vous intéressera aussi

[In video] The wheels of the Rover Exomars 2018 change form according to the fieldla European mission Exomars is ambitious and will study the possibilities of a life on the red planet, today or in the past.Very autonomous, the rover has somewhat special wheels, capable of absorbing shocks while deforming, in the manner of little inflated tires.Video demonstration of this amazing technology.

Since its landing on Mars, inside the Grand Crater Gale (154 km in diameter), 44 months ago, on August 6, 2012, Curiosity traveled some 12.7 km.His survey on past or present habitability of the red planet has advanced.We have learned in particular that the site he walks - now, an arid desert - was more than 3.7 billion years ago, a lake powered by rivers descending from the reliefs that surround him.

In early February, we left the astromobile one in front of the first dune of a vast ensemble named the "dunes of Bagnold", which extends over the first foothills in the northwest of Mont Sharp, or Aeolis Mons (5.500 meters above sea level).At that time, in addition to a new self-portrait, we had been able to transport ourselves virtually to this environment which he had visited for several weeks thanks to a clever assembly of the captured panoramic views.It was the first time that Martian dunes have been studied on site.

The Rover has hit the road but since early March, has been faced with the most chaotic field of his Martian adventure.This did not prevent him from enjoying the view of almost the whole basin where he landed and sharing it again with us (see the video below).

Visiting the Naukluft tray virtually on Mars thanks to this assembly of panoramic views taken by Curiosity.© NASA, JPL, MSSS

The wheels should hold the shock

Curiosity is currently crossing the tray called "Naukluft" which, like the "Namib dune", refers to the oldest desert in the world in Namibia (see in this regard the superb photo taken by the Sentinel-2a satellite)).The outcrop sandstone was sculpted by the Alizés Martians for tens of millions of years, so that it is dotted with sharp rocks, holes, etc.., which are as many obstacles to avoid as much as possible by the pilots of the rover so as not to damage its six precious wheels.

The journey is reminiscent of the one he had experienced in 2013 while he was heading for Mount Sharp.At the time, perforations in the metal coating of its 50 cm diameter wheels and 40 cm wide had worried the engineers, leading them to modify their route.

The team that monitors their condition very carefully through the eyes of the Malhi camera every 500 meters is confident."Cracks and perforations have gradually accumulated at the rate we had planned, on the basis of tests that we carried out at JPL," explains Steeve Lee, Deputy Director of Curiosity at JPL.Given our longevity projections, I am sure that these wheels will lead us to destination on Mount Sharp as provided in our plans.And indeed, for the moment, the damage seems limited.Of the 19 crampons zigzagging on each of the aluminum wheels, none has yet been broken.The tests carried out on earth showed that if three of them were to break, this would reduce the efficiency of the wheel to 60 % of its current optimum optimum.Most of the robot weight is based on them and they increase traction, essential in an environment as rough as it.

Tenth curiosity drilling made during the ground 1.320 and photographed with Malhi the next day.Its diameter is 1.6 cm and its depth is 6 cm.© NASA, JPL, MSSS

The tenth hole on Mars

On April 23, Sol 1.320, Curiosity has operated its tenth drilling in a clearer area called "Lubango" appearing in a crack in the sandstone layer on Mount Sharp.Lubango is located at the west end of the Naukluft plateau.

There are still 7.5 km to go on a rover to reach a stack of geological layers rich in sulfates.It is the highest of the three that scientists are committed to studying.Beforehand, it is planned to go to that containing hematite (detected by the MRO orbiter), then to visit that sporting clay minerals.

Intéressé par ce que vous venez de lire ?Abonnez-vous à la lettre d'information La quotidienne : nos dernières actualités du jour. Toutes nos lettres d’information

!

Thank you for your registration.Happy to count you among our readers!