Posted on 10/08/2012 3:49:23 PM PDT by BenLurkin
On the mission's 61st Martian day, or sol (Oct. 7, 2012), NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used its soil scoop for the first time, collecting a scoopful of sand and powdery material at the "Rocknest" site. Imaging verified collection of the sample. The collected material will be used for cleaning interior surfaces of the rover's sample-handling mechanism. It will be held and vibrated inside each chamber of the mechanism before the material is discarded. Curiosity's Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA) device, on the robotic arm, includes the scoop and the mechanism for sieving and portioning samples of soil and powdered rock.
A Sol 61 raw image from Curiosity's left navigation camera, at http://1.usa.gov/OMDbxy , shows where the soil collected by the scoop was removed from the ground. The scoop leaves a hole 1.8 inches (4.5 centimeters) wide.
The rover's ability to put scooped and sieved samples of soil into onboard laboratory instruments is an important part of the mission. Those instruments -- Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) and Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) -- will play crucial roles in evaluating whether the study area has ever had a favorable environment for microbial life. Still to be used for the first time is the rover's capability to take powdered samples from rocks, using a percussive drill, for delivery to those same instruments.
Sol 61, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at11:44 p.m. Oct. 7, PDT (2:44 a.m. Oct. 8, EDT).
I was all excited until I found out the story is about Martian soil. I thought it was about ice cream. Rats.
Then you have the lawsuits and court battles.
Didn't NASA check this out first?
Gotta go a lot deeper than a few inches in my opinion.
Please.
Do not.
Give them
Any ideas.
Martian: “THEY GOT KENNY!!!!! THE BASTARDS!!!!!”
Not gonna,no, not gonna.
There does seem to be an element of defilement involved. No more than the other rovers, I guess, but Curiosity is sort of “industrial strength”. The landing was quite the train wreck, from the amount of detritus it created. Of course, it’s only because of the all-seeing MRO that we notice this, and that’s what got me thinking along these lines.
Ironically of course, it’s the fantastic imagery from Curiosity, and the feeling it creates that Mars is indeed a strange and mysterious place, that makes Curiosity itself seem to be a rude intruder.
Gotta think of ee cummings’ O sweet spontaneous earth: “How often has the naughty thumb of science prodded thy beauty”
Thanks BenLurkin.
No more than once a year. And of course, an occasional colonoscopy.
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