Tag Archives: mars

Pebbles and stones and rocks, oh my!

Pebbles and rocks on the Fram Crater
Pebbles and rocks on the Fram Crater

Mars Explorer Rover Opportunity had been scouring the martian surface for a few months when it took this 2004 picture, close to the Fram Crater. Though these look like large size pebbles and stones, this image only shows about a 3 centimeter cross section of the Mars surface and was taken by the microscopic imager camera on Opportunity’s robotic arm. The official name for the pebbles and stones is actually spherules – these mineral concentrations are called “blueberries” and are rich in hematite.

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Mojave drill site

 Curiosity Mars rover starts drilling at aptly named "Mojave" test site
Curiosity Mars rover starts drilling at aptly named “Mojave” test site

Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) is placed on Curiosity’s arm and took this picture of a test drilling site in a target area called “Mojave”.  (Aptly named as it does look a bit like the Mojave desert in south-western United States.) We can see that the drill bored through and even cracked, parts of the orange-brown rock like top surface. The small, shallow hole revealed a grey coloured surface where a cement like substance was found underneath. Scientists from NASA would have used this result to evaluate the drill results and assess whether additional drilling and sample testing be conducted at this location.

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View from Opportunity’s Hazcam

The view from the Opportunity rovers Hazcam
The view from the Opportunity rovers Hazcam

We know that NASA’s Mars Opportunity rover is chocked full of cameras and instruments that have been sending back reams of data. Included are four wide angle black and white cameras that use visible light to help the rover avoid crashing into things and to keep it from getting lost on its Martian mission. These are appropriately labeled Hazard Avoidance Cameras (Hazcams). The above picture was taken by one of the Hazcams as Opportunity traversed through the western rim of Endeavour Crater in November of 2014. The picture shows us Opportunity’s robotic arm and portions of the pale Mars bedrock that were a subject of further study.

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Buttes from Mount Sharp

The Mastcam took this picture of buttes and surface layers on Mars
The Mastcam took this picture of buttes and surface layers on Mars

Curiosity Rover was traveling from Yellowknife Bay towards Mount Sharp last September and took this picture of the buttes and layers of the martian surface using its Mastcam. The picture has been adjusted to reflect colours of the rocks that are similar to what we would see on Earth. And even with some dusty conditions, this is an awe inspiring shot from Mars as Curiosity approaches Mount Sharp.

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Martian rock formation created by water currents

This rock formation on Mars looks like it was created by moving water
This rock formation on Mars looks like it was created by moving water

Curiosity rover captured this rock formation at an area called “Whale Rock” near the base of Mount Sharp. We see similar rocks formed by moving water here on Earth. NASA scientists believe that the cross-bedding seen in the above picture from Mars also points to a time in the planet’s past when water was present and waves may have loosened sediment and created this type of rock formation. This picture was taken by Curiosity’s Mast Camera (Mastcam).

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