Join the Alien Search, login or register FREE on Aliens and Space Forum

Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site

Sols 4331-4333: Today’s Rover ABC – Aurora, Backwards Driving, and Chemistry, with a Side of Images

By NASA
October 13, 2024 in NASA

https://www.aliensandspace.com/topic/14725-sols-4331-4333-today%E2%80%99s-rover-abc-%E2%80%93-aurora-backwards-driving-and-chemistry-with-a-side-of-images/

Followers 0

Sols 4331-4333: Today’s Rover ABC – Aurora, Backwards Driving, and Chemistry, with a Side of Images

A circular, grayscale image from the Martian surface shows rocky terrain with rocks of many different shapes, sizes, and colors. The lower right part of the image is mostly small-to-medium rocks, buried and protruding slightly above the surface. At center left is a layered formation that looks like an offset stack of thick fabric or rug samples. At center is a small, roughly arrowhead-shaped rock nestled among others, but much lighter-toned than anything else in the image.

This image shows just how variable and interesting the terrain is in the area that NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity is currently investigating. Curiosity captured this long-distance Remote Micro Imager (RMI) image using the Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) aboard the rover on sol 4329 — Martian day 4,329 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — on Oct. 10, 2024 at 02:30:12 UTC.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL

Earth planning date: Friday, Oct. 11, 2024

This blogger is in the United Kingdom, just north of London, where we yesterday had beautiful night skies with a red aurora that was even visible with the unaided eye, and looked stunning on photographs. That reminded me of the solar storm that made it all the way to Mars earlier this year. Here is my colleague Deborah’s blog about it: “Aurora Watch on Mars.” And, of course, that was a great opportunity to do atmospheric science and prepare for future crewed missions, to assess radiation that future astronauts might encounter. You can read about it in the article, “NASA Watches Mars Light Up During Epic Solar Storm.” But now, back from shiny red night skies north of London, and auroras on Mars six months ago, to today’s planning!

Power — always a negotiation! Today, I was the Science Operations Working Group chair, the one who has to watch for the more technical side of things, such as the question if all the activities will fit into the plan. Today there were many imaging ideas to capture the stunning landscape in detail with Mastcam and very close close-ups with the long-distance imaging capability of ChemCam (RMI). Overall, we have two long-distance RMIs in the plan to capture the details of the ridge we are investigating. You can see in the accompanying image an example from last sol of just how many stunning details we can see. I so want to go and pick up that smooth white-ish looking rock to find out if it is just the light that makes it so bright, or if the surface is different from the underside… but that’s just me, a mineralogist by training, used to wandering around a field site! Do you notice the different patterns — textures as we call them in geology — on the rocks to the left of that white-ish rock and the right of it? So much stunning detail, and we are getting two more RMI observations of 10 frames each in today’s plan! In addition there are more than 80 Mastcam frames planned. Lots of images to learn from!

Chemistry is also featuring in the plan. The rover is stable on its wheels, which means we can get the arm out and do an APXS measurement on the target “Midnight Lake,” which MAHLI also images. The LIBS investigations are seconding the APXS investigation on Midnight Lake, and add another target to the plan, “Pyramidal Pinnacle.” On the third sol there is an AEGIS, the LIBS measurement where the rover picks its own target before we here on Earth even see where it is! Power was especially tight today, because the CheMin team does some housekeeping, in particular looking at empty cells in preparation for the next drill. The atmosphere team adds many investigations to look out for dust devils and the dustiness of the atmosphere, and APXS measures the argon content of the atmosphere. This is a measure for the seasonal changes of the atmosphere, as argon is an inert gas that does not react with other components of the atmosphere. It is only controlled by the temperature in various places of the planet — mainly the poles. DAN continues to monitor water in the subsurface, and RAD — prominently featured during the solar storm I was talking about earlier — continues to collect data on the radiation environment.

Let’s close with a fun fact from planning today: During one of the meetings, the rover drivers were asked, “Are you driving backwards again?” … and the answer was yes! The reason: We need to make sure that in this rugged terrain, with its many interesting walls (interesting for the geologists!), the antenna can still see Earth when we want to send the plan. So the drive on sol 4332 is all backwards. I am glad we have hazard cameras on the front and the back of the vehicle!

Written by Susanne Schwenzer, Planetary Geologist at The Open University

Details

Last Updated

Oct 13, 2024

Related Terms

Blogs

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…

All Mars Resources

Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…

Rover Basics

Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…

mars-perseverance-si1-0045-0670932474-01

Mars Exploration: Science Goals

The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…

Color-enhanced_view_of_Jezero_crater_on_

View the full article

Quote

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Reply to this topic...

× Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead

Only 75 emoji are allowed.

× Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead

× Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor

× You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Insert image from URL

https://www.aliensandspace.com/topic/14725-sols-4331-4333-today%E2%80%99s-rover-abc-%E2%80%93-aurora-backwards-driving-and-chemistry-with-a-side-of-images/

Followers 0

Go to topic listing

Similar Topics
- Sols 4539-4540: Back After a Productive Weekend Plan
  By NASA
  
  Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home 1 min read
  Sols 4539-4540: Back After a Productive Weekend Plan
  NASA’’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Left Navigation Camera on May 11, 2025 — Sol 4537, or Martian day 4,537 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 22:26:23 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Written by Scott VanBommel, Planetary Scientist at Washington University
  Earth planning date: Monday, May 12, 2025
  Curiosity was back to work Monday, picking up where it left off from Friday’s plan. Tosol’s plan started with an APXS analysis on the target “Jeffrey Pine,” though the DRT was kept on the sidelines this time. Curiosity then proceeded to image Jeffrey Pine and “Canyon Oak” with MAHLI while simultaneously executing a DAN passive analysis. Mastcam documented “Santiago Peak” as well as Canyon Oak, prior to a ChemCam 5-spot analysis on the latter. Following a drive of about 30 meters (about 98 feet), Curiosity rounded out the two-sol plan with untargeted and environmental monitoring activities, including Navcam dust-devil and cloud-shadow movies.
  Share
  
  Details
  Last Updated May 13, 2025 Related Terms
  Blogs Explore More
  2 min read Sols 4536-4538: Dusty Martian Magnets
  
  Article
  
  1 hour ago
  2 min read Sols 4534-4535: Last Call for the Layered Sulfates? (West of Texoli Butte, Headed West)
  
  Article
  
  4 days ago
  2 min read Sols 4532-4533: Polygon Heaven
  
  Article
  
  5 days ago
  Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
  Mars
  
  Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…
  
  All Mars Resources
  
  Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…
  
  Rover Basics
  
  Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…
  
  Mars Exploration: Science Goals
  
  The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…
  
  View the full article
- Sols 4536-4538: Dusty Martian Magnets
  By NASA
  
  Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home 2 min read
  Sols 4536-4538: Dusty Martian Magnets
  NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image, used to inspect the magnet on its MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager), a camera on the turret of tools at the end of the rover’s robotic arm. The main purpose of Curiosity’s MAHLI camera is to acquire close-up, high-resolution views of rocks and regolith in the field; it can focus on any target from about 0.8 inches (2.1 centimeters) to infinity. Curiosity used its Mast Camera (Mastcam) on Sept. 1, 2024 — Sol 4291, or Martian day 4,291 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 05:48:14 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Written by Remington Free, Operations Systems Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  Earth planning date: Friday, May 9, 2025
  I was on downlink today for SA-SPaH, our robotic arm team. We successfully completed a number of fun arm activities, including a DRT brushing and APXS observations of a bedrock target, and also completed a traverse of about 25 meters (about 82 feet). Exciting!
  Today, our uplink team planned three sols of activities. On Sol 4536, we are using the arm to do some inspection imaging of the MAHLI magnet using Mastcam. This magnet allows us to determine whether or not the MAHLI cover has successfully opened or closed. These magnets accumulate a lot of Martian dust particles, so we periodically take imaging to inspect the quantity of dust and get a better understanding of the state of the hardware. I’ve included above an image of the MAHLI instrument, from our last inspection on Sol 4291. After the magnet inspection, we’ll do some more typical arm activities, which include some APXS placements, DRT brushing, and MAHLI imaging on targets of interest.
  In this workspace, we are interested in targets characterizing the pale layered sulfate unit we’ve been driving on, as well as a target in the new ridge-forming unit. Beyond our arm activities, we’ll do additional science observations of the surface using Mastcam and ChemCam.
  On Sol 4537, we’ll focus on driving! Prior to our drive, we’ll take some more scientific observations, including a Navcam cloud movie, Mastcam documentation of some geological units, and ChemCam LIBS on a ridge-forming unit. We have then planned a 21-meter drive (about 69 feet) to take us to a bedrock area of scientific interest. We’re excited because the terrain looks pretty benign, so we’re hoping it all goes smoothly!
  Post-drive, we’ll take some Mastcam survey imaging of clasts and soils along the traverse. Finally on Sol 4538, we’ll aim our focus upwards and take a number of observations of the sky. We’ll start with a Navcam large dust-devil survey, a Mastcam tau measurement of the atmospheric optical depth, and a ChemCam passive sky observation to study atmospheric composition. Early the following morning, we’ll take some additional Navcam observations of clouds, and complete another Mastcam tau measurement of optical depth.
  Share
  
  Details
  Last Updated May 13, 2025 Related Terms
  Blogs Explore More
  2 min read Sols 4534-4535: Last Call for the Layered Sulfates? (West of Texoli Butte, Headed West)
  
  Article
  
  4 days ago
  2 min read Sols 4532-4533: Polygon Heaven
  
  Article
  
  5 days ago
  4 min read Sols 4529-4531: Honeycombs and Waffles… on Mars!
  
  Article
  
  1 week ago
  Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
  Mars
  
  Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…
  
  All Mars Resources
  
  Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…
  
  Rover Basics
  
  Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…
  
  Mars Exploration: Science Goals
  
  The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…
  
  View the full article
- NASA’s Webb Reveals New Details, Mysteries in Jupiter’s Aurora
  By NASA
  
  Explore Webb Webb News Latest News Latest Images Webb’s Blog Awards X (offsite – login reqd) Instagram (offsite – login reqd) Facebook (offsite- login reqd) Youtube (offsite) Overview About Who is James Webb? Fact Sheet Impacts+Benefits FAQ Science Overview and Goals Early Universe Galaxies Over Time Star Lifecycle Other Worlds Observatory Overview Launch Deployment Orbit Mirrors Sunshield Instrument: NIRCam Instrument: MIRI Instrument: NIRSpec Instrument: FGS/NIRISS Optical Telescope Element Backplane Spacecraft Bus Instrument Module Multimedia About Webb Images Images Videos What is Webb Observing? 3d Webb in 3d Solar System Podcasts Webb Image Sonifications Team International Team People Of Webb More For the Media For Scientists For Educators For Fun/Learning 5 Min Read NASA’s Webb Reveals New Details, Mysteries in Jupiter’s Aurora
  NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured new details of the auroras on our solar system’s largest planet. The dancing lights observed on Jupiter are hundreds of times brighter than those seen on Earth. Full image below. Credits:
  NASA, ESA, CSA, Jonathan Nichols (University of Leicester), Mahdi Zamani (ESA/Webb) NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured new details of the auroras on our solar system’s largest planet. The dancing lights observed on Jupiter are hundreds of times brighter than those seen on Earth. With Webb’s advanced sensitivity, astronomers have studied the phenomena to better understand Jupiter’s magnetosphere.
  Auroras are created when high-energy particles enter a planet’s atmosphere near its magnetic poles and collide with atoms or molecules of gas. On Earth these are known as the Northern and Southern Lights. Not only are the auroras on Jupiter huge in size, they are also hundreds of times more energetic than those in Earth’s atmosphere. Earth’s auroras are caused by solar storms — when charged particles from the Sun rain down on the upper atmosphere, energize gases, and cause them to glow in shades of red, green and purple.
  Image A: Close-up Observations of Auroras on Jupiter
  NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured new details of the auroras on our solar system’s largest planet. The dancing lights observed on Jupiter are hundreds of times brighter than those seen on Earth.
  These observations of Jupiter’s auroras, taken at a wavelength of 3.36 microns (F335M) were captured with Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) on Dec. 25, 2023. Scientists found that the emission from trihydrogen cation, known as H3+, is far more variable than previously believed. H3+ is created by the impact of high energy electrons on molecular hydrogen. Because this emission shines brightly in the infrared, Webb’s instruments are well equipped to observe it. NASA, ESA, CSA, Jonathan Nichols (University of Leicester), Mahdi Zamani (ESA/Webb) Jupiter has an additional source for its auroras: The strong magnetic field of the gas giant grabs charged particles from its surroundings. This includes not only the charged particles within the solar wind but also the particles thrown into space by its orbiting moon Io, known for its numerous and large volcanoes. Io’s volcanoes spew particles that escape the moon’s gravity and orbit Jupiter. A barrage of charged particles unleashed by the Sun also reaches the planet. Jupiter’s large and powerful magnetic field captures all of the charged particles and accelerates them to tremendous speeds. These speedy particles slam into the planet’s atmosphere at high energies, which excites the gas and causes it to glow.
  Image B: Pullout of Aurora Observations on Jupiter (NIRCam Image)
  These observations of Jupiter’s auroras (shown on the left of the above image) at 3.35 microns (F335M) were captured with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) on Dec. 25, 2023. Scientists found that the emission from trihydrogen cation, known as H3+, is far more variable than previously believed. H3+ is created by the impact of high energy electrons on molecular hydrogen. Because this emission shines brightly in the infrared, Webb’s instruments are well equipped to observe it. The image on the right shows the planet Jupiter to indicate the location of the observed auroras, which was originally published in 2023. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Ricardo Hueso (UPV), Imke de Pater (UC Berkeley), Thierry Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), Leigh Fletcher (University of Leicester), Michael H. Wong (UC Berkeley), Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Jonathan Nichols (University of Leicester), Mahdi Zamani (ESA/Webb) Now, Webb’s unique capabilities are providing new insights into the auroras on Jupiter. The telescope’s sensitivity allows astronomers to capture fast-varying auroral features. New data was captured with Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) Dec. 25, 2023, by a team of scientists led by Jonathan Nichols from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom.
  “What a Christmas present it was – it just blew me away!” shared Nichols. “We wanted to see how quickly the auroras change, expecting them to fade in and out ponderously, perhaps over a quarter of an hour or so. Instead, we observed the whole auroral region fizzing and popping with light, sometimes varying by the second.”
  In particular, the team studied emission from the trihydrogen cation (H3+), which can be created in auroras. They found that this emission is far more variable than previously believed. The observations will help develop scientists’ understanding of how Jupiter’s upper atmosphere is heated and cooled.
  The team also uncovered some unexplained observations in their data.
  “What made these observations even more special is that we also took pictures simultaneously in the ultraviolet with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope,” added Nichols. “Bizarrely, the brightest light observed by Webb had no real counterpart in Hubble’s pictures. This has left us scratching our heads. In order to cause the combination of brightness seen by both Webb and Hubble, we need to have a combination of high quantities of very low-energy particles hitting the atmosphere, which was previously thought to be impossible. We still don’t understand how this happens.”
  Video: Webb Captures Jupiter’s Aurora
  NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured a spectacular light show on Jupiter — an enormous display of auroras unlike anything seen on Earth. These infrared observations reveal unexpected activity in Jupiter’s atmosphere, challenging what scientists thought they knew about the planet’s magnetic field and particle interactions. Combined with ultraviolet data from Hubble, the results have raised surprising new questions about Jupiter’s extreme environment.
  Producer: Paul Morris. Writer: Thaddeus Cesari. Narrator: Professor Jonathan Nichols. Images: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. Music Credit: “Zero Gravity” by Brice Davoli [SACEM] via Koka Media [SACEM], Universal Production Music France [SACEM], and Universal Production Music. The team now plans to study this discrepancy between the Hubble and Webb data and to explore the wider implications for Jupiter’s atmosphere and space environment. They also intend to follow up this research with more Webb observations, which they can compare with data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft to better explore the cause of the enigmatic bright emission.
  These results were published today in the journal Nature Communications.
  The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
  To learn more about Webb, visit:
  https://science.nasa.gov/webb
  Downloads
  Click any image to open a larger version.
  View/Download all image products at all resolutions for this article from the Space Telescope Science Institute.
  View/Download the research results from the journal Nature Communications.
  Media Contacts
  Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
  NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
  Bethany Downer – Bethany.Downer@esawebb.org
  ESA/Webb, Baltimore, Md.
  Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edu
  Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
  Related Information
  Read more: NASA’s Webb Captures Neptune’s Auroras for the First Time
  More Webb News
  More Webb Images
  Webb Science Themes
  Webb Mission Page
  Related For Kids
  What is the Webb Telescope?
  SpacePlace for Kids
  En Español
  Ciencia de la NASA
  NASA en español
  Space Place para niños
  Keep Exploring Related Topics
  James Webb Space Telescope
  
  Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the…
  
  Jupiter
  
  What Is the Solar Wind?
  
  Juno
  
  NASA’s Juno spacecraft has explored Jupiter, its moons, and rings since 2016, gathering breakthrough science and breathtaking imagery.
  
  Share
  
  Details
  Last Updated May 12, 2025 Editor Marty McCoy Contact Laura Betz laura.e.betz@nasa.gov Related Terms
  James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Astrophysics Goddard Space Flight Center Jupiter Planets Science & Research The Solar System View the full article
- Webb reveals new details and mysteries in Jupiter’s aurora
  By European Space Agency
  
  The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has captured new details of the auroras on our Solar System’s largest planet. The dancing lights observed on Jupiter are hundreds of times brighter than those seen on Earth. With Webb’s advanced sensitivity, astronomers have studied the phenomena to better understand Jupiter’s magnetosphere.
  View the full article
- Week in images: 05-09 May 2025
  By European Space Agency
  
  Week in images: 05-09 May 2025
  Discover our week through the lens
  View the full article
Check out these Videos

Sign In

Sols 4331-4333: Today’s Rover ABC – Aurora, Backwards Driving, and Chemistry, with a Side of Images

Recommended Posts

NASA

Sols 4331-4333: Today’s Rover ABC – Aurora, Backwards Driving, and Chemistry, with a Side of Images

Share

Details

Related Terms

Discover More Topics From NASA