Fascinating facts about the Curiosity Rover

One of the most advanced engineering aspects about the Curiosity Rover is its 2.1 meters long robotic arm. This incredibly advanced engineering structure can spin up to 350 degrees, and is composed of a total of three joints that allow the arm to be contracted and extended to the needed enlargement. It has a total of five devices attached to it, being three dedicated mainly to the collection of samples; these devices are a drill, a brush and a tool for scooping samples. The other two mechanisms are an X-ray spectrometer and a camera.

            In other related news, a very important instrument that is supposed to be carried inside the “Insight” spaceship, to be launch early next year 2016, has been experiencing a leak, identified to be located in the vacuum container in which section most suitable sensors are located. This, of course, represents a significant threat to Mars exploration mission. NASA and CNES (French Space Agency) experts are addressing this issue now.

Alejandro Diaz and Reidel Nabut

Chm 1045 Honors

Dr. Carlos Fernandez

Once a Great Lake? NASA’s Curiosity Team Confirms Ancient Lakes on Mars

On October 8, 2015, NASA reported that billions of years ago, Mars was capable of storing water in ancient lakes for a period of time. The Rover landed three years ago into the Gale Crater, coincidentally the location where water aided the deposit of sediment on the planet. The sediments deposited where the layers that formed Mount Sharp, the mountain in the middle of the crater. About three billion years ago, a series of long-lived streams and lakes existed at some point, delivering sediment that slowly built up the lower layers of Mount Sharp.

            In other news, NASA scientists confirmed that water currently flows on Mars. Billions of years ago, Mars  more closely resembled Earth than it does today. What happened to the once wet Mars?  They estimate that less than 500 million years ago, the fillings of the bottom of the mountain were made perhaps by ancient lakes or rivers.

Scientists discovered water-deposited, fine-grained rocks close to Mount Sharp. Scientists found mudstone which concludes the presence of bodies of water that existed hundreds to millions of years ago. But, what about the original source of water that carried sediment into the crater? For flowing water to have existed, Mars must have had a thicker atmosphere and a warmer climate. Just as NASA said, “something is missing somewhere.”

http://mars.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1865

CHEM 1045 Honors: Biology Group

Ines Gonzales, Alexa Jauregui, Maria Rodriguez

The “Garden City” in Mars

Curiosity examined bright and dark mineral veins at a site called "Garden City," where some veins protrude as high as two finger widths above the eroding bedrock in which they formed.

     The diverse composition of the crisscrossing veins points to multiple episodes of water moving through fractures in the bedrock when it was buried. During some wet periods, water carried different dissolved substances than during other wet periods. When conditions dried, fluids left clues behind that scientists are now analyzing for insights into how ancient environmental conditions changed over time.

     Thanks to NASA's Curiosity rover, scientists now have a better understanding about a site with the most chemically diverse mineral veins.

Source: http://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/upgrade-helps-nasa-study-mineral-veins-on-mars

Chemistry Group: Rene Piedra and Ailet Reyes