No Thanksgiving Break for Curiosity’s Engineering at Work

Post-Drive View on Curiosity's Sol 102, JPL image PIA16447

While many of us were giving thanks with our families, the Curiosity rover continued its adventure in the “Red Planet”. The main goal for the team now is to keep on moving to explore other parts of the planet, after several weeks of scooping soil samples at one location. Curiosity drove 6.2 feet to get close to the rock called "Rocknest 3." Using the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) the rover took two 10-minute APXS readings of data about the chemical elements in the rock. The next destination was "Point Lake."! The team of the mission in Mars decided this was the perfect time to use Curiosity’s Mast Camera (Mastcam) from Point Lake to examine possible routes and targets to the east. As the rover moves, the team will make a decision on which rock their next drilling project would take place. In this drilling, the mission is to collect samples of powder from rock interiors.

As the rover moves around the planet, there is one main component that will make a tremendous impact in the rock chosen to drill. The Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) on the arm of the rover will determine the chemical elements in the rock and the team will tell if the rock has been examined before and examine the interiors of the rocks following brushing.

Don’t you want to know how this APXS works? It is about the size and shape of a Rubik's cube. It may seem as if this small tool is not capable of much. On the contrary, the APXS has a sensor will be able to gather data day and night. It will take two to three hours to analyze a sample to determine what elements it is made of, including trace elements. The APXS located in the robotic arm will move in close to a sample and blast it with alpha particles and X-rays. By doing this, the scientist are able to study the properties of the energy emitted from the sample in response.

Something that many of us may be wondering is whether there is/was water on Mars. This tool in the rover has already helped scientist in the past provide evidence that there might have been water in the planet. Continuing to explore the rocks with the APX only brings the team even closer to new discoveries.

“This engineering drawing shows the five devices that make up the turret at the end of the arm on NASA's Curiosity rover. These include: the drill for acquiring powdered samples from interiors of rocks; the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS); the sample processing subsystem named Collection and Handling for Interior Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA), which includes a scoop that can scoop up lose dirt from the Martian surface; the Dust Removal Tool (DRT) and the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI).” (Tools at Curiosity's 'Fingertips') Retrieved form nasa.gov references:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20121120.html
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia16145.html
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/instruments/spectrometers/apxs/

Engineering Group: Irene Isabel Vargas, Andy Alfonso, William Valverde and Albert Zapata.

Is it time for the sleeping giants to wake up?

(Fig. 1) Olympus Mons Compared to the Hawaiian Islands

As we mentioned in our last blog, there is evidence proving the existence of volcano activity according to the minerals found in the last Curiosity Project. However, are they completely extinct? When did the volcanoes erupt? What is their current state?

There are some differences between volcanic eruptions on Earth and those on Mars. The lower gravity of Mars generates less buoyancy forces on magma rising through the crust; the magma chambers that feed volcanoes on Mars are thought to be deeper and much larger than those on Earth. Somewhat the lower gravity of Mars also allows for longer and more widespread lava to flow. The biggest difference between Martian and Terrestrial volcanoes is size.

Consequently, eruptions on Mars are less frequent than on Earth, but when they occur, they have an enormous scale and eruptive rate. Martian volcanoes are more analogous to terrestrial mid-plate volcanoes, such as those in the Hawaiian Islands, which are thought to have formed over a stationary mantle plume.

Martian shield volcanoes are similar to the shield volcanoes that make up the Hawaiian Islands. Both the Martian and Hawaiian volcanoes have complex summit calderas (the areas from which the lava flows). They are built from thousands of individual lava flows, and appear to be composed of iron-rich silicate rocks, such as basalt.(Fig. 1)

NASA researches have found how there is proof of past volcanic activity but no current activity. There is extensive evidence of past volcanic activity on Mars in the form of extinct volcanoes. However, there is no current volcanic activity on Mars, and it is apparent that Mars has undergone a cooling process, leading to all volcanic activity to cease.

There are less than 20 named volcanoes on Mars, and only 5 of these are giant shield volcanoes. Also, scientists were able to classify volcanoes into three categories: Tholis, Pantarae and Mons. For instance, a good example of the Mons volcanoes is the famous Olympus Mons, the highest known mountain in the Solar System.

Volcanic activity also seems to have changed over time. Volcanism in the highlands and mare-like plains on Mars stopped about 3 billion years ago. Nowadays the odds of finding an active volcano on Mars are very small. The interior of Mars has cooled more rapidly over geological time than has the Earth's interior.

In conclusion, Mars volcanoes are currently inactive, but there has been volcanic activity since Mars’ existence which is the reason why minerals of Mars are similar to those found in the Hawaiian Islands. But why is it that there no quartz on the Red Planet, if it is found in the terrestrial volcanoes. Are volcanoes supposed to have the same mineral no matter where they are to be in activity? If so, where are the quartz minerals?

Authors:Ivan Piedad, Massiel Barrera,Maria Rodriguez

The Strongest Arm on Mars

The robotic arm on NASA's Curiosity rover should set a new standard for robotic operations on Mars — and it could revolutionize robotics on Earth as well.

The robotic arm cleared the last of its commissioning tests last Thursday, November 8th 2012, and is now ready for duty on Gale Crater. Just based on metrics alone, Curiosity's arm is in a class by itself: It's twice as long as the arm that was installed on the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, and is tipped with a turnable, twistable turret that weighs 30 kilograms (66 pounds).

That turret is bristling with instruments — including an X-ray spectrometer, a fine-resolution camera, a scoop and some sifters, a dust-sweeping brush, and a percussive drill that can smash rock to bits for analysis in the rover's onboard chemistry labs. The arm is designed to press that drill against the rock with a force of 300 Newton (67 pounds), which is more of a push than a construction worker generally uses for overhead drilling on Earth.

It's a formidable machine, which has to be managed with care from a distance of 175 million miles (282 million kilometers). That's what the colleagues on the robotic-arm team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have been working to avoid: They tested all the sequences the arm is expected to run in advance, in simulations and a robotic test bed. Now the same tests have been run on the actual rover. There were no surprises on Earth, and no surprises so far on Mars, either.

engineering group authors: Andy Alfonso, Michael Molina and Nicola Delloca

Curiosity sniffs Mars, and it doesn't smell too bad!

The latest measurements from Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars have found that the planet's atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, with traces of oxygen, nitrogen and argon. NASA rover Curiosity has been working deeply on the Martian surface, trying to get a smell of any methane in the Red Planet's atmosphere. This organic compound is tied to biological processes. For example, a cow’s digestive tract uses anaerobic bacteria to break down cellulose, then the bacteria produces methane that it is later expelled as waste, thus lending a certain odor to the animal's flatulence. Scientist thought to have found methane gas on Mars using Earth-based telescopes that observed seasonal methane hotspots.

This image shows the rover scanning for traces of life in the Martian soil.

No significant amount of methane has been found, however negative results doesn't necessarily mean that the evidence book is closed. If methane occurs seasonally, Curiosity is perhaps just sniffing around at the wrong time.

NASA’s findings also support the possibility of life flourishing on Mars ages ago. Curiosity came to find that Mars had once a much abundant atmosphere; lost over millions of years ago. The Mars of the past may have had a much richer carbon dioxide atmosphere, which would have warmed it to a nice and stable temperature. If you add water to the equation, then life could have easily develop in the Red Planet.

Currently the Martian atmosphere is so thin that water would boil in a matter of seconds. This happens because the water needs pressure to remain as a liquid, and there is not enough gases in the surface of Mars to make this happen. Additionally, the temperatures are extremely low, making any trace of water to exist as ice.

Still, there is evidence supporting that water exited in the past, so the big question remains: Where is it now? There is not easy or definite answer to this question, as we don’t know what Curiosity or other expeditions may uncover in the future. For now, scientists have found frozen water beneath the surface and, as you can see in the picture below. It is mostly concentrated in the South Pole.

In this false-color map of Mars, soil enriched in hydrogen is indicated by deep blue. Source: the neutron spectrometer on board NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey

Dancing with the Stars: We will rock you.

[Figure 1.1]

This image is from Geology.com. It represents what igneous basalt looks like. It has a non metallic luster. It is fine grained which means it has no thick particles or pieces. It is aggregated with pyroxene and plagioclase.

As of October 30, 2012, Mike Wall published on www.space.com intriguing news about the “Curiosity” Rover exploring on Mars. The “Curiosity” landed on Mars on August 5, 2012, with an ellipse of 4 miles by 12 miles, traveling at a speed of 13,000 mph. The Rover, no smaller than the size of a Mini Cooper automobile, has the main goal of exploring the possibility of microbial life being able to exist in Mars.

The rover uses a 7 ft arm to collect rock samples to test and analyze the types and amounts of minerals near and around Crater Gale. Inside this crater is an unusual up rise mound of sediment which “Curiosity” is exploring. Recently, the rover has begun studying the Martian soil in terms of its Mineralogy and Chemistry using an instrument named CheMin. It is one of ten tools used to detect remote support for microbial life on the red planet. It is stated that there is a similarity between the mineralogy of Martian soil and some rocks on Earth, typically that of mountains in Hawaii. The article explains the majority of the surface is covered with sedimentary basaltic rock. The sediment contains pyroxene, feldspar, and olivine. “Curiosty” clarifies this, for it uses a typical test that we use on Earth called x-ray diffraction. This is the first time that this technique is used on another planet. The finding of these minerals doesn’t exactly support a strong relation with water, as opposed to the conglomerate rocks (a type of sedimentary rock that consists of clasts with spaces filled with smaller particles or chemical cement putting them in conjunction). [Figure 1.2] –suggested a strong relationship with water in the past, as well as other ancient rocks. It is indeed hypothesized that there may has been water on Mars in ancient times through signs of weathered rock, but newer rocks shows that there has not been water in long time.

[Figure 1.2]

This image, taken from www.geology.com, shows a conglomerate rock about 2 inches long. The limestone or chert clasts bound in a matrix of sand clay can be observed in it. In addition to using CheMin, a different technique called sample analysis at Mars, SAM, will analyze organic compounds, the building blocks of life. SAM’s activities haven’t been reported, but in a few days’ time, it should collect enough data to produce a report and determine the existence of these compounds. It’s already been looking for methane, CH4 , a compound released by living things. (There will be an update of a further investigation for this topic in about 4 days from the publication of this report.) To conclude with latest news, the “Curiorsity” is preparing to drill into Mars which will lead to further research, and then reach its ultimate destination- Mount Sharp- whose foothills are believed to have had liquid water. Till next time EarthlingS!!!!!!!!

Geology Group: Glenn Haave, Valerya Charry and Jorge Alcina.

References: 1) http://www.space.com/18286-mars-rover-curiosity-soil-analysis-chemin.html 2) http://geology.com/rocks/conglomerate.shtml 3) Bryant, Ann. Basalt. Digital image. Geology.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. .

The components of a unique masterpiece in the Red Planet

When looking at the engineering side of the Curiosity, a question comes into mind: What makes it so special? In other words, what are the components and properties of Curiosity that sets it apart from previous models? Let’s start with a curious fact: Curiosity is the size of a Mini-Cooper automobile. It is a lot bigger than previous models, for it has to carry more scientific instruments. A total of 11 scientific instruments are planned and 17 cameras would be used.
One of the most important instruments in the curiosity is its 7 feet robotic arm. It is used to drill, brush and take magnifying images of rocks. The drill enters the rock and collects the powder that is made. It is then transferred to the rover to investigate what minerals are present, as well as the whole composition of the rock. The minerals found in this rock powder will help scientists at NASA determine the environmental conditions of Mars at an earlier period.
The main instruments on board the Curiosity are:

• The Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument (CheMin) , which identifies and measures the minerals on Mars, such as olivine, pyroxenes, hematite, goethite, and magnetite.

• The Sample Analysis at Mars instrument (SAM), which is in charge of finding compounds of the element of carbon, like methane, and other lighter elements such as hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen which are essential to life.

• The MastCam, on top of the curiosity, has “a big eye” that shoots a laser at rocks to create sparks. The color of those sparks is measured to know what these rocks and soils are made out of. The MastCam can also take high definitions videos at 10 frames per second. This and other cameras are used to have a clear 360º view of the surroundings of the Curiosity.

• The Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS), which was given by the Spanish government to the NASA, is a mechanism that measures and provides “daily and seasonal reports” on air and ground temperatures, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction, and ultraviolet radiation.

• The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) has received the responsibility to identify every high energy radiation on the Martian surface. This will help us equip future astronauts, so that they will be protected from harmful radiation. Curiosity’s components and scientific instruments provide us with the confidence that the composition of the red planet won’t be a mystery for much longer.

Engineering Group: William Valverde, Andy Alfonso, Irene Isabel Vargas, Albert Zapata



Resources: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/instruments/cameras/mardi/

Is the Atmosphere of Mars Similar to Earth’s?

One of the most common questions about Mars is: Can Mars support life as we know it? To answer that question we will find ourselves in the core of chemical reactions that are produced on Earth. Important chemical reactions happen in living organisms because they use gases from our atmosphere. These gases play important role in life: plants consume carbon dioxide to produce glucose, animals take in oxygen to then perform cellular respiration in order to use energy stored in chemical bonds, within other gases that are essential to life, etc.

As of October 2012 the atmosphere of Mars has shown an abundance of five gases measured by Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) is 95.%9 CO2, 2.0% Ar, 1.9% N2, 0.14% O2 and 0.06% CO. As for the Earth atmosphere its compositions is quite different. It is composed of 78% N2, 21% O2, and other gases.

SAM results show an increase of five percent in heavier isotopes of carbon in the atmosphere. These isotopes suggest the loss of lighter due to physical process favoring heavier isotope. This can be significant factor in the evolution of the planet. (NASA Rover Finds clues to changes in Mars’ atmosphere).

The NASA Curiosity mission has focused on the findings of Methane gas and has found an interest to chemical life. On Earth it is produced by biological and non-biological processes. The finding of Methane gases would have given hope to the scientist to be able to find some type of life in Mars

Methane is not an abundant gas in the Gale Crater, where the mission has established to take and analyze sample for its research. Even though the SAM did not show any sign of life in Mars, soon it will start its search for organic compounds.
Chemistry Group: Fernanda Chow, Bianca Chavez, Yaniset Fundora

Resources: • http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2012-348#4 • http://www.space.com/18333-mars-rover-curiosity-methane-measurements.html • http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1388

Mars rover Curiosity set to last at least fourteen years researching and exploring Mars

The Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, landed on Mars on August 6, 2012. All thanks to the modern power supply of Curiosity, the MMRTG, it is planned to keep exploring the Martian landscape well into 2026, if not longer. The MMRTG (short for Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric generator) is very reliable and gives the rover a constant supply of energy for its electronic instruments. The concept behind the MMRTG is very simple: inside is a radioactive material, plutonium-238 dioxide, which emits heat. The heat produced is captured by a special machine which uses the heat for creating electricity. Any excess heat is used for warming the rest of the rover from freezing any of the instruments due to the cold, -63 °C (-81 °F) , atmosphere of Mars. Typically, a mars rover is outfitted with solar panels for its main source of power, such as Spirit and Opportunity. The solar panels would provide a good amount of power during daylight hours, but it would receive no power during the night and dust would decrease its overall output. This made solar panels very inconsistent and communication with the rovers limited, unlike the MMRTG on Curiosity, which provides electricity to the rover at all times. However, the one drawback of the MMRTG is that it will output a little less power over the years, since the radioactive material inside is constantly decaying. On the upside, it is expected to provide sufficient power for at least the next fourteen years. So expect to hear about Curiosity’s accomplishments as it keeps exploring the cold landscapes of Mars day and night.

Sources: http://nuclear.gov/pdfFiles/MMRTG.pdf http://www.solarviews.com/eng/mars.htm http://marsrover.nasa.gov/mission/spacecraft_rover_energy.html

Engineering group: Michael Molina, Marina Malaga, Nicolas Delloca, Andy Alfonso

Life on Mars. Can we find it?

The Mars Curiosity Rover is the most capable, expensive, largest, and intelligent spacecraft that humans have ever landed on Mars.
Curiosity’s successful landing is a big step towards the discovery of life outside our world. With instruments, such as the SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars), the rover is equipped to detect traces of water, carbon and other elements that are vital for life. Curiosity had a stunning landing on August 6, on the Gale crater, at the top of a high mountain. The crater’s structure is very useful for scientists, as its layers show past eras of Martian evolution. The areas surrounding the crater show signs of erosion similar to the ones made by running water here on Earth. The Curiosity rover will be able to operate continuously on the Martian surface for at least a full Martian year (687 Earth days). You may be wondering, why Mars? Mars, aside from the Moon, it is the only celestial body that can be seen clearly from Earth. Since 1976, NASA has successfully landed Viking 1, Viking 2, Spirit and Opportunity that have changed our alien view. For instance, four years ago NASA’s Phoenix landing mission sent pictures of frozen water in the Martian soil.

Most recently the rover mission found rocks that have similar shapes to the ones found on Earth’s water streams. The sizes and shapes of stones offer clues to the speed and distance of a long-ago stream's flow. It was calculated that water was moving at about 3 feet per second, with a depth somewhere between ankle and hip deep. Certainly flowing water forms a habitable environment where micro-organism could have lived. Now the task is to look for evidence that confirms the theory that life on Mars once existed.

This set of images compares the rocks on Mars (left) with similar rocks seen on Earth (right). The image, obtained by NASA's Curiosity rover, shows rounded gravel fragments up to a couple inches (few centimeters), within the outside part of the rock. A typical Earth example of rocks found in a water stream is shown on the right. By studying the rocks on Earth, geologists know how different kinds of rocks formed. The point that most people make is that, even in the presence of water, the harsh conditions in Mars would not allow any life to exist. To test this theory scientist have conducted experiments in where micro-organism were put into a chamber that had the same conditions as of Mars. Surprisingly, the results showed that some of these organisms not only survived, but also where active and ready to reproduce.

The picture shown at the left was the result of the experiment conducted by scientists. Inside the crystal is a sample of Cyanobacteria that survived Martian conditions.

In the incoming months, Curiosity will be able to satisfy our curiosity about the world with new discoveries, such as the very first analysis of red sand of Martian soil. Scientists say that these soil looks like the weathered volcanic soils of Hawaii. They are widespread on the surface of the Gale crater, possibly blown there by Martian winds or the remnants of ancient erupting volcanoes. As Curiosity continues to explore Mars, humans will continue have a better idea of what that big red planet is made of. For every discovery made by the rover, thousands more questions arise. Where is the water now? For how long did the water flow? What was the temperature of the water? Did Mars have clouds before? And one of the most important question, what caused Mars to become what it is today? The only way to answer these questions is if people like you continue to take interest in this matter.

Biology group. Irene V. Vargas, Rafael Gutierrez and Nizida Granado.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if Mars turns out to be just like us?

The argument, whether or not there is life in Mars, develops different techniques of research. An approach to proof the existence of life is by analyzing the chemicals in the universe. That is the reason why human technology keeps developing the composition of substances in Mars.

Recently, NASA’s Curiosity executed the first set of analysis of the sample of Mars’s dusty sand. NASA collected the samples at the beginning of October. Even though they have not found the exact chemical properties, and the mineralogy was incomplete, now they discovered similarities to basaltic material with significant amounts of feldspar, pyroxene and olivine. These are found on Earth, specifically on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea. In the table we can observe the composition and properties of the minerals mentioned before. Scientists used X-ray imaging device it is possible to show the atomic structure of the Martian sand. This is the first time technology of this kind has been used to examine the soil of another planet. According to them, this method is more accurate than the any used before. The information provided before has proved that Mars might not be so different from Earth. Most likely, if there is a possibility of life in Mars; NASA’s Curiosity future researches will show the missing evidence regarding the chemical’s composition and production of those minerals.

Chemistry group: Maria Rodriguez, Massiel Barrera, Ivan Piedad