CURIOSITY HAS LANDED
Sulekha Rani.R, PGT Chemistry,KV NTPC kayamkulam
PASADENA, Calif. – An image from the
High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars
Reconnaissance orbiter captured the Curiosity rover still connected to its
51-foot-wide (almost 16 meter) parachute as it descended towards its landing
site at Gale Crater.
one part of the rover team at the JPL
continues to analyze the data from last night's landing while another continues
to prepare the one-ton mobile laboratory for its future explorations of Gale
Crater. One key assignment given to Curiosity for its first full day on Mars is
to raise its high-gain antenna. Using this antenna will increase the data rate
at which the rover can communicate directly with Earth. The mission will use
relays to orbiters as the primary method for sending data home, because that
method is much more energy-efficient for the rover.
Curiosity carries 10 science instruments with a total
mass 15 times as large as the science payloads on the Mars rovers Spirit and
Opportunity. Some of the tools are the first of their kind on Mars, such as a
laser-firing instrument for checking rocks' elemental composition from a
distance. Later in the mission, the rover will use a drill and scoop at the end
of its robotic arm to gather soil and powdered samples of rock interiors, then
sieve and parcel out these samples into analytical laboratory instruments
inside the rover.
To handle this science toolkit, Curiosity is twice as
long and five times as heavy as Spirit or Opportunity. The Gale Crater landing
site places the rover within driving distance to layers of the crater's
interior mountain. Observations from orbit have identified clay and sulfate
minerals in the lower layers, indicating a wet history.
The mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed, developed and assembled at
JPL.
Curiosity's
First Color Image of the Martian Landscape
This view of the landscape to the north of NASA's Mars
rover Curiosity was acquired by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on the
afternoon of the first day after landing. (The team calls this day Sol 1, which
is the first Martian day of operations; Sol 1 began on Aug. 6, 2012.)
In the distance, the image shows the north wall and rim of Gale Crater. The image is murky because the MAHLI's removable dust cover is apparently coated with dust blown onto the camera during the rover's terminal descent. Images taken without the dust cover in place are expected during checkout of the robotic arm in coming weeks.
The MAHLI is located on the turret at the end of Curiosity's robotic arm. At the time the MAHLI Sol 1 image was acquired, the robotic arm was in its stowed position. It has been stowed since the rover was packaged for its Nov. 26, 2011, launch.
The MAHLI has a transparent dust cover. This image was acquired with the dust cover closed. The cover will not be opened until more than a week after the landing.
When the robotic arm, turret, and MAHLI are stowed, the MAHLI is in a position that is rotated 30 degrees relative to the rover deck. The MAHLI image shown here has been rotated to correct for that tilt, so that the sky is "up" and the ground is "down".
When the robotic arm, turret, and MAHLI are stowed, the MAHLI is looking out from the front left side of the rover. This is much like the view from the driver's side of cars sold in the USA.
The main purpose of Curiosity's MAHLI camera is to acquire close-up, high-resolution views of rocks and soil at the rover's Gale Crater field site. The camera is capable of focusing on any target at distances of about 0.8 inch (2.1 centimeters) to infinity. This means it can, as shown here, also obtain pictures of the Martian landscape.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems
In the distance, the image shows the north wall and rim of Gale Crater. The image is murky because the MAHLI's removable dust cover is apparently coated with dust blown onto the camera during the rover's terminal descent. Images taken without the dust cover in place are expected during checkout of the robotic arm in coming weeks.
The MAHLI is located on the turret at the end of Curiosity's robotic arm. At the time the MAHLI Sol 1 image was acquired, the robotic arm was in its stowed position. It has been stowed since the rover was packaged for its Nov. 26, 2011, launch.
The MAHLI has a transparent dust cover. This image was acquired with the dust cover closed. The cover will not be opened until more than a week after the landing.
When the robotic arm, turret, and MAHLI are stowed, the MAHLI is in a position that is rotated 30 degrees relative to the rover deck. The MAHLI image shown here has been rotated to correct for that tilt, so that the sky is "up" and the ground is "down".
When the robotic arm, turret, and MAHLI are stowed, the MAHLI is looking out from the front left side of the rover. This is much like the view from the driver's side of cars sold in the USA.
The main purpose of Curiosity's MAHLI camera is to acquire close-up, high-resolution views of rocks and soil at the rover's Gale Crater field site. The camera is capable of focusing on any target at distances of about 0.8 inch (2.1 centimeters) to infinity. This means it can, as shown here, also obtain pictures of the Martian landscape.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems
