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Assessing drop-off to Mars rover's observation tray

Date:
October 26, 2012
Source:
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Summary:
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used its Mast Camera (Mastcam) during the mission's 78th sol (Oct. 24, 2012) to view soil material on the rover's observation tray. The observations will help assess movement of the sample on the tray in response to vibrations from sample-delivery and sample-processing activities of mechanisms on the rover's arm.
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used its Mast Camera (Mastcam) during the mission's 78th sol (Oct. 24, 2012) to view soil material on the rover's observation tray. The observations will help assess movement of the sample on the tray in response to vibrations from sample-delivery and sample-processing activities of mechanisms on the rover's arm.

Curiosity is working with material from the fourth scoop of soil it collected at the "Rocknest" patch of dust and sand. On Sol 77, a sieved portion from this scoop was delivered to the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument inside the rover. This is the second soil sample for CheMin analysis. The material from the fourth scoop is also being used to scrub internal surfaces of the rover's sample-processing mechanisms in preparation for delivery of a sample from a later scoop to the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument.

Sol 78 activities included analysis of an atmosphere sample by SAM's Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer and monitoring of environmental conditions by the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) and the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD).

Sol 78, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 10:57 a.m. Oct. 25, PDT (1:57 p.m., EDT).


Story Source:

Materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


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NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "Assessing drop-off to Mars rover's observation tray." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 October 2012. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121026101133.htm>.
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (2012, October 26). Assessing drop-off to Mars rover's observation tray. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121026101133.htm
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "Assessing drop-off to Mars rover's observation tray." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121026101133.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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