NASA's Curiosity Rover Inspects Unusual Bedrock

As soon as the NASA team visualized this rock they backed up NASA’s Curiosity Mars to investigate this  high-silica target dubbed "Elk" in more detail. The decision was made after they analyzed data from two instruments, the laser-firing Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) and Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN), which show elevated amounts of silicon and hydrogen, respectively. The high levels of silica found indicate perfect condition for preserving ancient organic material, if present, so the science team wants to take a closer look.

"One never knows what to expect on Mars, but the Elk target was interesting enough to go back and investigate," said Roger Wiens, the principal investigator of the ChemCam instrument from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

Provided by: Andy Chavez, Valentina d'Empaire, Victoria Lella.

Fixed Nitrogen on Mars.

For life to exist on Earth, the presence of nitrogen is a must. All life forms require it because it is critical for the formation of amino acids and other biomolecules. However, it needs to be fixed into other compounds, like nitrate (NO₃^-).

       The latest discovery by the Mars Curiosity Rover, Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM), was that large amounts of nitrate in soil and rocks samples were determined. These samples were taken from three different locations that were near the landing site of the rover and all of them had fixed nitrogen. 

 
However, this discovery does not necessarily mean that it is evidence of Martian life. Nitrogen-nitrogen bonds of elemental nitrogen that actually exists as diatomic molecules could also be broken down by lightning, asteroid or comet impacts on the planet. It is believed that large amounts of fixed nitrogen could have been formed more than 3 billion years ago, during the period known as Late Heavy Bombardment. However, it could also be formed today. To support this statement, large amounts of nitrogen oxide (NO) are being detected in the atmosphere of Mars by Europe’s Mars Express orbiter. NO could also be a proposed as precursor of nitrate as well.

The Curiosity Rover is yet to answer countless questions or raise even more. We will keep you posted!

CHM 1046: Valentina d'Empaire, Victoria Lella, Andy Chavez

Moving Around on the Martian Surface.

Moving Around on the Martian Surface.

Sci-Fi often presents us our beloved world being colonized by Martians. It turns out it’s not Martians who invaded Earth, but Earthlings who are visiting the Red Planet, and rovers have played a key role in the study of its environment.

             The Curiosity rover landed on Mars on August 6, 2012, after an eight-month, 352-million-mile journey. Learning from previous landings, engineers used a heat shield, a parachute, retro-rockets, and a sky crane to lower the vehicle to the surface. Because it would take 7 minutes for the rover to descend from the top of the atmosphere to the surface, but signals from the vehicle take about 14 minutes to reach Earth, the landing was dubbed "7 minutes of terror."  Much bigger than previous rovers Spirit or Opportunity, Curiosity weighs 5293 pounds on Earth. The rover is outfitted with an X-band transmitter for communication and a radiation detector to gather information for human missions in the future.

              The Mars 2020 rover will be based on Curiosity’s configuration. It would be car-sized, about 10 feet long (not including the arm), 9 feet wide, and 7 feet tall. It will have three instruments which are international contributions such as the SuperCam, an instrument that can provide imaging, chemical composition analysis and mineralogy, and provided by France; Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer, or MEDA, a set of sensors that will provide measurements of temperature, wind speed and direction, pressure, relative humidity and dust size and shape, and provided by Spain; and The Radar Imager for Mars’ Subsurface Exploration, or RIMFAX, a ground-penetrating radar that will provide centimeter-scale resolution of the geologic structure beneath Mars’ surface, and provided by Norway.

               Another instrument, The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resources Utilization Experiment, will ingest the toxic Martian air and produce breathable oxygen from the carbon dioxide it contains. This is a proof-of-concept device, pointing the way for future astronauts’ life support systems on Mars. Also, engineers studying how Curiosity’s wheels cracked on Mars’ rough terrain expect to design sturdier wheels for the new rover.

CHM1045 Honors: Dario A. Rodriguez, Leandro Dorta.

Engineering Group II 

“Curiosity Finds Active and Ancient Organic Chemistry on Mars”

            Mars Curiosity rover has measured a tenfold spike in methane, an organic chemical, in the planet’s atmosphere and detected other organic molecules in a rock-powder sample collected by the robotic laboratory's drill." This temporary increase in methane -- sharply up and then back down -- tells us there must be some relatively localized source," said Sushil Atreya of the University of Michigan and a member of the Curiosity rover science team. "There are many possible sources, biological or non-biological, such as interaction of water and rock."

            Researchers used Curiosity's onboard Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) laboratory a dozen times in a 20-month period to sniff methane in the atmosphere. During two of those months, in late 2013 and early 2014, four measurements averaged seven parts per billion. Before and after that, readings averaged only one-tenth that level.

            Further, Curiosity also detected different organic chemicals in samples of powder drilled from a rock dubbed Cumberland. This is the first definitive detection of organics in surface materials of Mars. These Martian organics could either have formed on Mars or been delivered to Mars by meteorites.

            Organic molecules, which contain carbon and usually hydrogen, are chemical building blocks of life, although they can exist without the presence of life. Curiosity's findings from analyzing samples of atmosphere and rock powder do not reveal whether Mars has ever harbored life, but the findings do shed light on a chemically active modern Mars and on favorable conditions for life on ancient Mars.

            Curiosity is one element of NASA's ongoing Mars research and preparation for a human mission to Mars in the 2030s.

Alejandro Gonzalez

Pablo Romo

Paola Rodriguez

Chem 1045 Spring 2015

Chemistry Group

Could Mars have life hidden right under our noses?

Could Mars have life hidden right under our noses?

            Since the first day we were able to get to Mars, we have been focused in a non-ending search for life.

            Because of this, NASA came up with an ingenious rover called Curiosity. This rover will roam indefinitely Mars’ surface while taking pictures and collecting scientific data.

            In other words, the Curiosity rover is looking for any sign of life on Mars.

            The problem with this is that the rover is only looking for this signs with knowledge acquired on Earth. Therefore, Mars might have a whole different structure and as a result a whole lot different form of life.

            Currently, these innovational interstellar missions are focusing on finding past or present bio-signatures. Meaning, we will be on the lookout for any energy source or where there could have been water.

            As mentioned before, these bio-signatures are what we, as humans, know about what life needs in order to exist. In Earth, life cannot happen without water or a source of energy. Mars might work on a completely different level. So, who is to say that the rover hasn’t come across life a million times without noticing?

We might just be looking for the wrong element in the incorrect way.

Isabel Arzola

Andy Chavez 

Lina Alfonso

CHM1045 Spring 2015

Biology Team I 

Are we going to Mars?

Are we going to Mars?

When you look at the stars at night, do you ever wonder if we are truly the only ones looking?

In an effort to discover the possibilities of any life on Mars, NASA is following a scientific theme called “Seeking Signs of Life.” This is NASA’s attempt to find evidence of Mars’ ability to support the past or present microbial life.

            Since water is essential to life, Mars missions such as: 2001 Mars Odyssey, Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and Mars Phoenix Lander were conducted following the theme, “Follow the Water.”

            Mars’ Curiosity rover landed in a place that shows evidence that suggest presence of water in the past.  But the rover also seeks organics. It marks a transition between “Follow the Water,” and “Seeking Signs of Life,” because it seeks the chemicals necessary to allow potential for life to evolve and thrive.

            Curiosity is equipped with the largest, most advanced suite of scientific instruments ever sent to the Martian surface. The Sample Analysis Suite (SAM) is composed of mass spectrometer, gas chromatograph, and tunable laser spectrometer. Together they account for more than half of the scientific instruments on board the Mars Science Laboratory.

            What will truly set Curiosity apart from its predecessors in addition to the extra scientific instruments will be a software called OnSight. The software employed by Curiosity instruments is being developed by NASA in conjunction with Microsoft that will enable scientists here on Earth to work on Mars virtually. Scientists will wear Microsoft HaloLens to experience Mars through the eyes of the Curiosity rover. The OnSight software will use real data from the rover to form a 3-D simulation where scientists can plan activities and preview their work in firsthand.

                  The OnSight system will overlay visual information and rover data, by using holographic computing, to the user’s field of view; essentially creating a hybrid real world through blending the view of the physical world with computer-generated images. This technology permits scientists to explore the Martian landscape in a more natural, or human, way.

CHM1045 Honors: Mario A. Alvarez, Aismeri Martinez, Valentina Dempaire

Engineering Group I