NASA’s Curiosity rover marks its 11th year on Mars on Aug. 5, but the tireless spacecraft is still pushing itself to explore the Red Planet.
curiosity Passes through the foothills of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-high (5-kilometer) mountain that was home to lakes and rivers billions of years ago.
The terrain is challenging, but the layering of the mountain offers unprecedented insights into different time periods. tuesdayThe past and how the landscape of the planet has changed over time.
Related: Curiosity rover: 15 stunning photos of Mars (Gallery)
The quest recently presented Curiosity and its team of drivers, planners, engineers and scientists with its toughest climb yet: a sharp 23-degree incline that includes slippery sand and wheel-sized rocks.
„If you’ve ever tried to run up a sand dune on a beach — which is what we were doing — you know it’s tough, but there were boulders,” said Amy Hale, driver of NASA’s jet-propelled Curiosity rover. Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, IL Report.
It was this combination of features that rover struggled to advance. As a result of an attempt on June 1, Curiosity unexpectedly drove into a rock, causing a major movement in the suspension and a safety flaw, halting the mission, NASA said.
Images from the rover’s navigation cameras Published Some of June focused on the rear wheels, while the indomitable Curiosity tried to climb the slippery, rocky slope.
And errant drivers, likely triggered by excessive wheel slip or rock uplift, decide to detour into difficult terrain some 492 feet (150 meters) away.
Planned using an early route for Curiosity Orbital images. During NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter High-resolution images can provide images that cannot reveal all the features and hazards hundreds of miles below the surface.
The rover’s planners and drivers use images from navigation and other cameras on the robot to calculate routes past and through hazards and refine Curiosity’s trajectory to protect the rover’s safety. Damaged wheels.
This detour added a few weeks to the trip, but with no surprises awaiting Curiosity, the rover traversed the slope and gained access to the enigmatic, cratered site nicknamed „Jaw.”
„It was great to finally get over the ridge and see that amazing vista,” said Dan Scholen, Curiosity’s strategic route planning lead at JBL.
„I look at pictures of Mars all day so I can get a sense of the landscape,” Sholen added. „I often feel like I’m standing next to Curiosity, looking back at how far it’s climbed.”
Curiosity is now continuing its ascent of Mount Sharp, reaching new, higher areas for investigation.