Rover's Risky Landing, 10:31 PDT 5 August 2012

[Space Racer]

Reviewers say Curiosity rover 'lacks scientific focus'

An independent panel of scientists slammed the $2.5 billion Curiosity Mars rover's management team in a report released Wednesday, saying the mission's plan "lacked scientific focus and detail."

The review board accused the rover's ground team of inadequately using the rover for science and ranked Curiosity's scientific merit near the bottom of a list of missions under consideration for extensions.

The biennial senior review issues recommendations to NASA on whether the agency should grant funding to continue operating probes beyond their primary missions. The missions up for extensions this year were Curiosity, the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn, the Opportunity Mars rover, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Mars Odyssey probe, and U.S. contributions to the European-led Mars Express orbiter at the red planet.

NASA awarded two-year extensions to all of the missions except Cassini, which was promised three years of funding until it is scheduled for a controlled crash into Saturn in 2017.

"The senior review committee came back and said unequivocally that these are all extremely important missions," said Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science division. "They really are a big bang for a buck because they're in place and making great measurements, and we don't have to launch them. They're really cost-effective for the American people."

But Curiosity, one of NASA's most recognizable science missions, was ranked near the bottom of the senior review report's ratings. Cassini's proposal for a mission extension received the best grade from the senior review.

Read the rest:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n...4seniorreview/

NASA defends mission plan as rover reaches Mount Sharp
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/msl/140911mtsharp/

[CircusEnvy]

Reviewers say Curiosity rover 'lacks scientific focus'

An independent panel of scientists slammed the $2.5 billion Curiosity Mars rover's management team in a report released Wednesday, saying the mission's plan "lacked scientific focus and detail."

The review board accused the rover's ground team of inadequately using the rover for science and ranked Curiosity's scientific merit near the bottom of a list of missions under consideration for extensions.

I don't know, the very fact that we've sent a robot to explore ANOTHER PLANET 249,000,000 miles away... I think $2.5 billion is a friggin' bargain considering that accomplishment alone.

Much better than $1,000 billion spent on a useless war.

[Space Racer]

I don't know, the very fact that we've sent a robot to explore ANOTHER PLANET 249,000,000 miles away... I think $2.5 billion is a friggin' bargain considering that accomplishment alone.

Much better than $1,000 billion spent on a useless war.

Agreed.

Or the ridiculous amounts of money thrown away by the government on fraud, corruption, and excessive spending.

For example, one scam alone perpetrated against the IRS is about to cost more than the entire budget of NASA:
http://hvac-talk.com/vbb/showthread....s-to-Disappear

[Space Racer]

Curiosity Thread With Nifty Pix

http://thespaceport.us/forum/topic/3...iosity/page-45

[Space Racer]

NASA Software Allows Scientists to Work Virtually on Mars

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — NASA and Microsoft have teamed up to develop software called OnSight, a new technology that will enable scientists to work virtually on Mars using wearable technology called Microsoft HoloLens.

Developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, OnSight will give scientists a means to plan and, along with the Mars Curiosity rover, conduct science operations on the Red Planet.

“OnSight gives our rover scientists the ability to walk around and explore Mars right from their offices,” said Dave Lavery, program executive for the Mars Science Laboratory mission at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “It fundamentally changes our perception of Mars, and how we understand the Mars environment surrounding the rover.”

OnSight will use real rover data and extend the Curiosity mission’s existing planning tools by creating a 3-D simulation of the Martian environment where scientists around the world can meet. Program scientists will be able to examine the rover’s worksite from a first-person perspective, plan new activities and preview the results of their work firsthand.

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2015/01/...s-holographic/

[Space Racer]

NASA Mars Rover Descends Plateau, Turns Toward Mountain
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6532

Pinpointing Curiosity’s location in Gale Crater
http://behindtheblack.com/behind-the...n-gale-crater/

[Space Racer]

How big is that butte?
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily...hat-butte.html

Sean Doran Photos
https://www.flickr.com/photos/136797589@N04/

[Space Racer]

Curiosity rover shows new signs of wheel wear

https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/03/2...of-wheel-wear/

[Space Racer]

Curiosity at Martian Scenic Overlook [2018-1-30]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5nrrnAukwI


Mars rover update: April 27, 2018

Since my March 21, 2018 update, it has become apparent that the Curiosity science team has decided to extend the rover’s research on Vera Rubin Ridge far beyond their original plans. They have continued their travels to the northeast well past the original nominal route off the ridge, as indicated by the dotted red line on the traverse map above. Along the way they stopped to inspect a wide variety of geology, and have now moved to the north and have actually begun descending off the ridge, but in a direction that takes the rover away from Mount Sharp and its original route.

http://behindtheblack.com/behind-the...april-27-2018/

[Space Racer]

Mars Odyssey looks down at Curiosity [2018-5-10]

The Mars Odyssey team today released an image the spacecraft took of Gale Crater on January 16, 2018. This image, reduced in resolution, is posted on the right and captures the entire region that the rover Curiosity has been traversing for the past six years. If you click on the image you can view the full resolution original.

I have placed Curiosity’s full route since its landing on this image so that we can see where the rover has been. The actual peak of Mount Sharp is a considerable distance to the south and is not visible in this image. (For the full context of the crater and Curiosity’s travels see my March 2016 post, Pinpointing Curiosity’s location in Gale Crater)

The river-like flow feature cutting through the north rim is called Peace Vallis. Scientists think this was formed by water flowing into the crater when the climate of Mars was wetter and there was a lake inside the crater floor.

You can get another perspective of this same view by looking at the panorama looking north that Curiosity took once it climbed up onto Vera Rubin Ridge.

I have said this before, but this Mars Odyssey image once again illustrates how little of Mars we have so far seen. Curiosity has barely begun its climb into the foothills of Mount Sharp. The mile-high mountains that form the rim of Gale Crater are....

Read the rest and see the links:
http://behindtheblack.com/behind-the...-at-curiosity/


Mars rover update: May 23, 2018

Curiosity

For the overall context of Curiosity’s travels, see Pinpointing Curiosity’s location in Gale Crater.

Since my April 27, 2018 update, Curiosity has continued its downward trek off of Vera Rubin Ridge back in the direction from which it came. The annotated traverse map to the right, cropped and taken from the rover’s most recent full traverse map, shows the rover’s recent circuitous route with the yellow dotted line. The red dotted line shows the originally planned route off of Vera Rubin Ridge, which they have presently bypassed.

It appears they have had several reasons for returning to the Murray Formation....



Read the rest and see the links:
http://behindtheblack.com/behind-the...e-may-23-2018/