{"id":6493,"date":"2014-02-14T23:59:42","date_gmt":"2014-02-14T23:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=6493"},"modified":"2014-02-14T23:59:42","modified_gmt":"2014-02-14T23:59:42","slug":"opportunity-solves-jelly-roll-rock-mystery-and-continues-its-trek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=6493","title":{"rendered":"Opportunity solves jelly-roll rock mystery and continues its trek"},"content":{"rendered":"

Opportunity rover<\/a> researchers now understand where the Mars mystery rock came from:<\/p>\n

Mars Rover Heads Uphill After Solving ‘Doughnut’ Riddle<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Researchers have determined the now-infamous Martian rock resembling a jelly doughnut, dubbed Pinnacle Island, is a piece of a larger rock broken and moved by the wheel of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity in early January.<\/p>\n

Only about 1.5 inches wide (4 centimeters), the white-rimmed, red-centered rock caused a stir last month when it appeared in an image the rover took Jan. 8 at a location where it was not present four days earlier.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Mars<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
This image from NASA\u2019s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows <\/em><\/div>\n
where a rock called “Pinnacle Island” (lower left corner) had been before<\/em><\/div>\n
it appeared in front of the rover in early January 2014.\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Image Credit:\u00a0NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/Cornell Univ.\/Arizona State Univ.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

More recent images show the original piece of rock struck by the rover’s wheel, slightly uphill from where Pinnacle Island came to rest.<\/p>\n

“Once we moved Opportunity a short distance, after inspecting Pinnacle Island, we could see directly uphill an overturned rock that has the same unusual appearance,” said Opportunity Deputy Principal Investigator Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis. “We drove over it. We can see the track. That’s where Pinnacle Island came from.”<\/p>\n

Examination of Pinnacle Island revealed high levels of elements such as manganese and sulfur, suggesting these water-soluble ingredients were concentrated in the rock by the action of water. “This may have happened just beneath the surface relatively recently,” Arvidson said, “or it may have happened deeper below ground longer ago and then, by serendipity, erosion stripped away material above it and made it accessible to our wheels.”<\/p>\n

Now that the rover is finished inspecting this rock, the team plans to drive Opportunity south and uphill to investigate exposed rock layers on the slope.<\/p>\n

Opportunity is approaching a boulder-studded ridge informally named the McClure-Beverlin Escarpment, in honor of engineers Jack Beverlin and Bill McClure. Beverlin and McClure were the first recipients of the NASA Medal of Exceptional Bravery for their actions on Feb. 14, 1969 to save NASA’s second successful Mars mission, Mariner 6, when the launch vehicle began to crumple on the launch pad from loss of pressure.<\/p>\n

“Our team working on Opportunity’s continuing mission of exploration and discovery realizes how indebted we are to the work of people who made the early missions to Mars possible, and in particular to the heroics of Bill McClure and Jack Beverlin,” said rover team member James Rice of the Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, Ariz. “We felt this was really a fitting tribute to these brave men, especially with the 45th anniversary of their actions coming today.”<\/p>\n

Opportunity’s work on the north-facing slope below the escarpment will give the vehicle an energy advantage by tilting its solar panels toward the winter sun. Feb. 14 is the winter solstice in Mars’ southern hemisphere, where Opportunity has been working since it landed in January 2004.<\/p>\n

“We are now past the minimum solar-energy point of this Martian winter,” said Opportunity Project Manager John Callas of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.\u00a0 “We now can expect to have more energy available each week. What’s more, recent winds removed some dust from the rover’s solar array. So we have higher performance from the array than the previous two winters.”<\/p>\n

During Opportunity’s decade on Mars, and the 2004-2010 career of its twin, Spirit, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Project has yielded a range of findings proving wet environmental conditions on ancient Mars — some very acidic, others milder and more conducive to supporting life.<\/p>\n

JPL manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. For more information about Spirit and Opportunity, visit:\u00a0http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/rovers<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

You can follow the project on Twitter and on Facebook at:\u00a0http:\/\/twitter.com\/MarsRovers<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mars.rovers<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Opportunity rover researchers now understand where the Mars mystery rock came from: Mars Rover Heads Uphill After Solving ‘Doughnut’ Riddle Researchers have determined the now-infamous Martian rock resembling a jelly doughnut, dubbed Pinnacle Island, is a piece of a larger rock broken and moved by the wheel of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity in early … Continue reading Opportunity solves jelly-roll rock mystery and continues its trek<\/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":[78,13,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mars","category-space-science","category-space-systems"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-1GJ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6102,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=6102","url_meta":{"origin":6493,"position":0},"title":"Video: Mars Exploration Rover 10 year anniversary event","author":"TopSpacer","date":"January 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"On Thursday NASA JPL held the\u00a0Mars Exploration Rover 10-Year Anniversary Event\u00a0to celebrate the 10 years of exploring Mars with the Opportunity, Spirit, and Curiosity rovers. Video streaming by Ustream During the event Steve Squyres of Cornell showed this intriguing comparison of two images of the same spot near the Opportunity\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mars"","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"mystery-mars-rock","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mystery-mars-rock.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6564,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=6564","url_meta":{"origin":6493,"position":1},"title":"Mars orbiter image shows Opportunity Rover","author":"TopSpacer","date":"February 19, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"[Reposting after the original somehow got deleted.] Here\u2019s another great photo from the\u00a0HiRISE camera\u00a0aboard the\u00a0Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter\u00a0: Opportunity Rover on Valentine's Day 2014 This is the latest HiRISE image of Opportunity rover\u00a0at Solander Point, where it spent a few weeks\u00a0investigating Pinnacle rock\u00a0(the \u201cjelly donut\u201d) that was flipped over by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mars"","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"ESP_035408_1775[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/ESP_035408_17751.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2678,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=2678","url_meta":{"origin":6493,"position":2},"title":"Opportunity on the move again","author":"TopSpacer","date":"June 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Opportunity Rover keeps on exploring. Here is an update on what it has been doing lately and where it is going next (see slideshow): Mars Rover Opportunity Trekking Toward More Layers PASADENA, Calif. - Approaching its 10th anniversary of leaving Earth, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Space Science"","block_context":{"text":"Space Science","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12785,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=12785","url_meta":{"origin":6493,"position":3},"title":"Mars rover Opportunity wrapping up study of Marathon Valley","author":"TopSpacer","date":"June 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Mars \u00a0rover\u00a0Opportunity, in operation since January 2004, continues to explore and make new discoveries. Here is its latest\u00a0report: Rover Opportunity Wrapping up Study of Martian Valley \"Marathon Valley,\" slicing through a large crater's rim on Mars, has provided fruitful research targets for NASA's Opportunity rover since July 2015, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mars"","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"IDL TIFF file","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/opportunity-mars-rover-panorama-marathon-valley-pia20749-br21-1024x350.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7132,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=7132","url_meta":{"origin":6493,"position":4},"title":"Opportunity rover: Takes shadow portrait + Gets power boost from wind","author":"TopSpacer","date":"March 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Opportunity rover on Mars is becoming artistic in its old age: Shadow Portrait of NASA Rover Opportunity on Martian Slope NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity caught its own silhouette in this late-afternoon image taken by the rover's rear hazard avoidance camera. This camera is mounted low on the rover\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mars"","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"Shadow portrait of NASA rover Opportunity ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nasa.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/946xvariable_height\/public\/pia17956.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9734,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=9734","url_meta":{"origin":6493,"position":5},"title":"Video: Opportunity reaches a high point on 11th anniversary of Mars landing","author":"TopSpacer","date":"January 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Opportunity rover\u00a0reaches a high point and a distance record on the anniversary of its landing on Mars 11 years ago. http:\/\/youtu.be\/EADbiFTHirk Here is a press release about the milestone: Hilltop Panorama Marks Mars Rover's 11th Anniversary High Viewpoint for 11-Year-Old Rover Mission on Mars (Large image) A panorama from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mars"","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"PIA19109_hires_550x136","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/PIA19109_hires_550x136.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/PIA19109_hires_550x136.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/PIA19109_hires_550x136.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6493","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=6493"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6494,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6493\/revisions\/6494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}