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Curiosity Blog, Sols 4995-5001: 5,000 (Martian) Days on Mars
Confirmed
In Short: The Mars rover Curiosity has reached an elevation of 1 kilometer from its landing site, marking a significant milestone in its journey across Gale crater.
Curiosity, the Mars rover, has reached an elevation of 1 kilometer from its landing site on the floor of Gale crater, marking a significant milestone in its journey. This achievement, noted by William Farrand, a Senior Research Scientist at the Space Science Institute, is a testament to the rover's durability and the scientific exploration it has enabled on the Red Planet.
During this period, Curiosity has encountered interesting science targets along the way, including a wind-formed, long, narrow sand ripple named 'Chocolatal.' Further examination of this feature will help determine if it is a transverse aeolian ridge, or TAR, a type of sand dune common on Mars.
The span of sols covered by this blog post also marks 5,000 Martian days (or sols) since Curiosity landed on Mars, equivalent to more than 5,137 Earth days, highlighting the longevity and ongoing scientific contributions of the mission.
Notably, this milestone surpasses the elevation achieved by the Spirit rover on Mars, which climbed to the top of Husband Hill at a height of 106 meters above its landing site in Gusev crater in 2005.
What's confirmed
- TARs have been observed across the Martian surface based on orbital imaging.
- While this is not the first potential TAR that has been examined by Curiosity, its location, higher on the slopes of Mount Sharp invites questions about whether it will be composed of the same types of granular materials found in the lower TARs, or whether it has a different range of grain sizes and/or layering.
- At the start of the planning week, Curiosity was en route to the sand ripple and encountered interesting science targets along the way.
- It's noteworthy that these MAHLI mosaics are being named in honor of our late colleague Paul Geissler, who was one of the foremost experts on the study of Martian TARs and who was working with the MAHLI team before his untimely passing earlier in the year.
- Written by William Farrand, Senior Research Scientist, Space Science Institute The span of sols spanned by this blog post is noteworthy in several ways.
- First, Curiosity became a world-class (for Mars at least) mountaineer by passing the 1 kilometer mark of elevation from its landing site on the floor of Gale crater.
- This writer was on the Mars Exploration Rover science team and we were excited when the Spirit rover got to the top of Husband Hill in Gusev crater in August 2005.
- But that was a climb of 106 meters (about 348 feet) above its landing site, and Curiosity has passed 1000 meters (about 0.62 miles).
What's still developing
- Many attributes of a… The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four… NASA explores the unknown in air and space, innovates for the benefit of humanity, and inspires the world through discovery.