Fri, Jul 19, 2013
Rover Is On A Multi-Month Trek To A Nearby Martian Mountain
The latest drive by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover brought the total distance that the rover has driven on Mars to more than 1 kilometer, or about 0.62 mile. The drive covered about 38 meters and brought the mission's odometry to about 1.029 kilometers, or 3,376 feet. The drive was completed in the early afternoon of the rover's 335th Martian day, or sol, of work on Mars (July 17). It continued progress in a multi-month trek begun this month toward a mountain destination.
"When I saw that the drive had gone well and passed the kilometer mark, I was really pleased and proud," said rover driver Frank Hartman of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Hopefully, this is just the first of many kilometers to come."
Wednesday marked the halfway point of the prime mission's first Martian year. Two weeks ago, Curiosity finished investigating science targets in the Glenelg area, about half a kilometer (500 yards) east of where the one-ton rover landed on Aug. 5, 2012, PDT (Aug. 6, Universal Time). The mission's next major destination is at the lower layers of Mount Sharp, about 5 miles southwest of Glenelg.
Mount Sharp, in the middle of Gale Crater, exposes many layers where scientists anticipate finding evidence about how the ancient Martian environment changed and evolved. At targets in the Glenelg area, the rover already accomplished the mission's main science objective by finding evidence for an ancient wet environment that had conditions favorable for microbial life.
(Image provided by NASA.)
More News
Hold Procedure A predetermined maneuver which keeps aircraft within a specified airspace while awaiting further clearance from air traffic control. Also used during ground operatio>[...]
Altitude Readout An aircraft’s altitude, transmitted via the Mode C transponder feature, that is visually displayed in 100-foot increments on a radar scope having readout cap>[...]
Aero Linx: European Hang Gliding and Paragliding Union (EHPU) The general aim of the EHPU is to promote and protect hang gliding and paragliding in Europe. In order to achieve this>[...]
Also: Skydio Chief, Uncle Sam Sues, Dash 7 magniX, OR UAS Accelerator US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall was given a turn around the patch in the 'X-62A Variable In-flight>[...]
"The need for innovation at speed and scale is greater than ever. The X-62A VISTA is a crucial platform in our efforts to develop, test and integrate AI, as well as to establish AI>[...]