Curiosity Simply Gave Us Its Highest-Decision Panorama of Mars, And It is Unbelievable
When North America celebrated its Thanksgiving vacation final yr, slightly rover toiling away on Mars took the chance to cease and go searching. As people rested, Curiosity was surveying the huge, lonely Martian panorama from its perch on the facet of Mount Sharp, and painstakingly taking pictures.
The result’s a panoramic, virtually 1.Eight-billion-pixel panorama stitched collectively of over 1,000 particular person pictures, taken over a complete of 6.5 hours unfold throughout 4 days.
As a result of such panoramas should be captured inside a window of daylight to make sure constant lighting, it isn’t typically that Curiosity, busy with different duties, has the time to do that. However holidays are an exception.
“Whereas many on our group had been at residence having fun with turkey, Curiosity produced this feast for the eyes,” stated Curiosity mission scientist Ashwin Vasavada of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“That is the primary time in the course of the mission we have devoted our operations to a stereo 360-degree panorama.”
(NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
The picture reveals a area referred to as Glen Torridon – named after the place in Scotland – which the rover had been exploring after descending from the hematite-rich Vera Rubin Ridge in January 2019.
Glen Torridon, against this, is wealthy with clay minerals in layers of sedimentary rock, and is of nice curiosity to planetary geologists. As Curiosity probed the bottom beneath its tread, the rover’s findings slowly revealed invaluable details about the historical past of Mars’s altering local weather.
The drill samples collected by Curiosity confirmed the clay abundances predicted from orbital imaging. Extra excitingly, moist chemistry on one of many samples turned up natural molecules – not the primary discovered on the Pink Planet, however extra proof that there is natural chemistry within the Martian mud.
The area additionally has helped us to know the dramatic modifications within the Gale Crater, the huge historical impression basin surrounding Mount Sharp within the centre. Proof means that it was as soon as crammed with a salty lake, way back drained or dried by mechanisms we do not but totally perceive.
Modifications within the texture of the sediment of Glen Torridon analysed by Curiosity point out that there was a change, in some unspecified time in the future, in how that sediment was deposited on the backside of the Gale Crater. By implication, this implies a change within the surroundings, from a deep lake to one thing else.
There are papers within the works about these findings and extra – though, sadly, the 51st Lunar and Planetary Science Convention at which a lot of them had been to be offered later this month has been cancelled on account of COVID-19. Nevertheless, we’re wanting ahead to seeing the papers quickly.
Proper now, Curiosity is making an formidable climb in direction of a formation on the decrease slopes of Mount Sharp referred to as the Greenheugh pediment. It is hoped that this part can reveal extra details about the geologic, geomorphic and local weather historical past of this area of Mars.
Within the meantime, if you wish to do some Mars exploration of your personal, head over to the total decision picture.