{"id":4671,"date":"2013-09-27T04:49:44","date_gmt":"2013-09-27T04:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=4671"},"modified":"2013-09-27T04:49:44","modified_gmt":"2013-09-27T04:49:44","slug":"latest-scientific-findings-from-curiosity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=4671","title":{"rendered":"Latest scientific findings from Curiosity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Papers published in the journal Science describe a number of findings by Curiosity during its first year on Mars. The press release below summarizes the findings.\u00a0 (I notice that a lot of press articles about this are emphasizing the “water on Mars” angle from the measurement showing that about 2% by weight of the soil at Gail Crater consists of water molecules. That is definitely an interesting fact but it is not a discovery of water on Mars. It’s been known for decades that Mars has a lot of subsurface water ice. The Phoenix Lander<\/a>, in fact, saw water ice first hand. For more about this topic, see Water on Mars – Wikipedia<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Mars Science Laboratory: Science Gains From Diverse Landing Area of Curiosity<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

PASADENA, Calif. — NASA’s Curiosity rover is revealing a great deal about Mars, from long-ago processes in its interior to the current interaction between the Martian surface and atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a><\/p>\n

10.12.2012: Curiosity’s Location During First Scooping<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n

Examination of loose rocks, sand and dust has provided new understanding of the local and global processes on Mars. Analysis of observations and measurements by the rover’s science instruments during the first four months after the August 2012 landing are detailed in five reports in the Sept. 27 edition of the journal Science.<\/p>\n

A key finding is that water molecules are bound to fine-grained soil particles, accounting for about 2 percent of the particles’ weight at Gale Crater where Curiosity landed. This result has global implications, because these materials are likely distributed around the Red Planet.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Curiosity also has completed the first comprehensive mineralogical analysis on another planet using a standard laboratory method for identifying minerals on Earth. The findings about both crystalline and non-crystalline components in soil provide clues to the planet’s volcanic history.<\/p>\n

Information about the evolution of the Martian crust and deeper regions within the planet comes from Curiosity’s mineralogical analysis of a football-size igneous rock called “Jake M.” Igneous rocks form by cooling molten material that originated well beneath the crust. The chemical compositions of the rocks can be used to infer the thermal, pressure and chemical conditions under which they crystallized.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a><\/p>\n

12.03.2012 Scoop Marks in the Sand at ‘Rocknest’ (Unannotated)<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n

“No other Martian rock is so similar to terrestrial igneous rocks,” said Edward Stolper of the California Institute of Technology, lead author of a report about this analysis. “This is surprising because previously studied igneous rocks from Mars differ substantially from terrestrial rocks and from Jake M.”<\/p>\n

The other four reports include analysis of the composition and formation process of a windblown drift of sand and dust, by David Blake of NASA’s Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., and co-authors.<\/p>\n

Curiosity examined this drift, called Rocknest, with five instruments, preforming an onboard laboratory analysis of samples scooped up from the Martian surface. The drift has a complex history and includes sand particles with local origins, as well as finer particles that sample windblown Martian dust distributed regionally or even globally.<\/p>\n

The rover is equipped with a laser instrument to determine material compositions from some distance away. This instrument found that the fine-particle component in the Rocknest drift matches the composition of windblown dust and contains water molecules. The rover tested 139 soil targets at Rocknest and elsewhere during the mission’s first three months and detected hydrogen — which scientists interpret as water — every time the laser hit fine-particle material.<\/p>\n

“The fine-grain component of the soil has a similar composition to the dust distributed all around Mars, and now we know more about its hydration and composition than ever before,” said Pierre-Yves Meslin of the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Plan\u00e9tologie in Toulouse, France, lead author of a report about the laser instrument results.<\/p>\n

A laboratory inside Curiosity used X-rays to determine the composition of Rocknest samples. This technique, discovered in 1912, is a laboratory standard for mineral identification on Earth. The equipment was miniaturized to fit on the spacecraft that carried Curiosity to Mars, and this has yielded spinoff benefits for similar portable devices used on Earth. David Bish of Indiana University in Bloomington co-authored a report about how this technique was used and its results at Rocknest.<\/p>\n

X-ray analysis not only identified 10 distinct minerals, but also found an unexpectedly large portion of the Rocknest composition is amorphous ingredients, rather than crystalline minerals. Amorphous materials, similar to glassy substances, are a component of some volcanic deposits on Earth.<\/p>\n

Another laboratory instrument identified chemicals and isotopes in gases released by heating the Rocknest soil in a tiny oven. Isotopes are variants of the same element with different atomic weights. These tests found water makes up about 2 percent of the soil, and the water molecules are bound to the amorphous materials in the soil.<\/p>\n

“The ratio of hydrogen isotopes in water released from baked samples of Rocknest soil indicates the water molecules attached to soil particles come from interaction with the modern atmosphere,” said Laurie Leshin of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., lead author of a report about analysis with the baking instrument.<\/p>\n

Baking and analyzing the Rocknest sample also revealed a compound with chlorine and oxygen, likely chlorate or perchlorate, which previously was known to exist on Mars only at one high-latitude site. This finding at Curiosity’s equatorial site suggests more global distribution.<\/p>\n

Data obtained from Curiosity since the first four months of the rover’s mission on Mars are still being analyzed. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, Calif., manages the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The mission draws upon international collaboration, including key instrument contributions from Canada, Spain, Russia and France.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a><\/p>\n

10.11.2012 Target: Jake Matijevic Rock
\n<\/a>(Find more about the\u00a0 analysis of Jake at
\nScientists Find a Martian Igneous Rock that is Surprisingly
\nEarth-like – Caltech<\/a>)<\/div>\n

For more information about the mission, visit http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/msl<\/a> and http:\/\/mars.jpl.nasa.gov\/msl<\/a> .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Papers published in the journal Science describe a number of findings by Curiosity during its first year on Mars. The press release below summarizes the findings.\u00a0 (I notice that a lot of press articles about this are emphasizing the “water on Mars” angle from the measurement showing that about 2% by weight of the soil … Continue reading Latest scientific findings from Curiosity<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mars","category-space-science"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-1dl","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5609,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=5609","url_meta":{"origin":4671,"position":0},"title":"Mars: Curiosty rovers latest findings + The mists of Mars","author":"TopSpacer","date":"December 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"NASA JPL releases a overview of several studies of measurements made by the Curiosity Mars rover during the time since it landed in August of 2012:\u00a0NASA Curiosity: First Mars Age Measurement and Human Exploration Help - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory In a little more than a year on the Red\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mars"","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jpl.nasa.gov\/spaceimages\/images\/mediumsize\/PIA17596_ip.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14631,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=14631","url_meta":{"origin":4671,"position":1},"title":"Latest on the Mars rovers + Curiosity finds signs of a warm & wet Red Planet long ago","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Bob Zimmerman has posted one of his periodic updates on the explorations of the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers on Mars: \u00a0Mars rover update: July 12, 2017 | Behind The Black. In the five years since Curiosity landed in Gale Crater, it has moved only about 17 km but has done\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mars"","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/pia21720_MSL_Landing_to_MtSharp_traverse_Sol1750-br21-1024x791.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9471,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=9471","url_meta":{"origin":4671,"position":2},"title":"Curiosity finds new and old organic chemistry on Mars","author":"TopSpacer","date":"December 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"An announcement from NASA JPL: NASA Rover Finds Active and Ancient Organic Chemistry on Mars NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has measured a tenfold spike in methane, an organic chemical, in the atmosphere around it and detected other organic molecules in a rock-powder sample collected by the robotic laboratory's drill. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mars"","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"PIA16936_ip[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/PIA16936_ip1-300x223.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16162,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=16162","url_meta":{"origin":4671,"position":3},"title":"Video: Curiosity rover detects organic molecules in Martian rock & methane in the atmosphere","author":"TopSpacer","date":"June 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is a NASA video overview plus an article about Thursday's announcement that the Curiosity rover detected organic molecules in Martian rock: Since arriving at Mars in 2012, NASA's Curiosity rover has drilled into rocks in search of organics - molecules containing carbon. Organics are the building blocks of all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mars"","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/pia198081-1024x624.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8301,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=8301","url_meta":{"origin":4671,"position":4},"title":"Dry ice forming gullies on Mars","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"It now appears that dry ice rather than salty water is making at lease some of the new gullies on Mars: NASA Spacecraft Observes Further Evidence of Dry Ice Gullies on Mars Repeated high-resolution observations made by NASA\u2019s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) indicate the gullies on Mars\u2019 surface are primarily\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mars"","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"pia18400-cr2_1_500x438","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/pia18400-cr2_1_500x438.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11482,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=11482","url_meta":{"origin":4671,"position":5},"title":"Researchers see evidence for liquid water flows on Martian surface","author":"TopSpacer","date":"September 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The NASA briefing today\u00a0about a \"Mars Mystery\" will present\u00a0evidence for seasonal\u00a0flows\u00a0of liquid water, heavily salted with perchlorates that raise the boiling temperature, down the slopes of some hills on the Martian surface. They do not see the water directly but instead see traces of the flows in streaks down the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mars"","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"15-195_perspective_2[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/15-195_perspective_21.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4671"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4672,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4671\/revisions\/4672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}