1

Vehicles

Mars Operations Status & Highlights

Reference Information

Assembly, Test and Launch

Mars Science Laboratory

SelectImage

1

2

Three Generations of Mars Rovers at JPL

Curiosity and Spirit/Opportunity test rovers are shown with the Mars Pathfinder flight spare rover (first to operate on Mars in July 1997) at the Mars Yard testing area at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. Curiosity is about the size of a small SUV - 10 ft long (not including the arm), 9 ft wide and 7 ft tall, and weighs about 2,000 lbs on Earth.

Sojourner Flight Spare

Spirit/OpportunityTest Rover

CuriosityTest Rover

3

Curiosity Rover Mobility Testing at JPL

This photograph of the Curiosity rover was taken during mobility testing on June 3, 2011 inside the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. The rover was shipped to Kennedy Space Center, FL in late June 2011.

The back shell powered descent vehicle, containing the Curiosity rover, is being placed on the spacecraft's heat shield at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, FL. The heat shield and the spacecraft's back shell form an encapsulating aeroshell that will protect the rover from the intense heat that will be generated as the flight system descends through the Martian atmosphere.

Curiosity's Heat Shield and Back Shell ConnectedBack Shell Powered Descent Vehicle

Heat Shield

Curiosity Rover

4

MSL

MSL Assembled into Atlas V Payload FairingSections of an Atlas V rocket payload fairing enclose the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, FL. The two halves of the fairing come together protecting the spacecraft from the impact of aerodynamic pressure and heating during ascent. - The blocks on the interior of the fairing are the acoustic protection system, designed to protect the payload by dampening the sound created by the rocket during liftoff.

Atlas V Payload Fairing (2 Sections)

Launch Vehicle Adapter

5

6

The Atlas V rocket Payload Fairing containing the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft is lifted up the side of the Vertical Integration Facility on November 3, 2011. The payload fairing was subsequently attached to the Atlas V already stacked inside the facility.

MSL Spacecraft with Curiosity Rover in Payload Fairing

Atlas V Solid Rocket Motors (4 Places)

Atlas V CoreStage

CentaurUpperStage

MSL Spacecraft Stack-up on Atlas V

7

MSL/Curiosity Rover LaunchThe United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL on November 26, 2011 with the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover.

Credit: United Launch Alliance

8

1. During the MSL spacecraft cruise phase, the vehicle is propelled from Earth to final approach to Mars. The spacecraft includes a disc-shaped cruise stage attached to the aeroshell. The Curiosity rover and descent stage are tucked inside the aeroshell. Along the way to Mars, the cruise stage will perform several trajectory correction maneuvers to adjust the spacecraft's path toward its final, precise landing site on Mars.

2. The cruise stage is jettisoned before atmospheric entry. The mission's approach phase begins 45 minutes before the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere. It lasts until the spacecraft enters the atmosphere.

3. The mission's entry, descent and landing (EDL) phase begins when the spacecraft with a velocity of about 13,200 miles per hour reaches the top of the Martian atmosphere about 81 miles above the surface. The friction with the Martian atmosphere slows the spacecraft's descent and heats the heat shield. This friction with the atmosphere before the opening of the spacecraft's parachute will accomplish more than nine-tenths of the deceleration of the EDL phase.

Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Spacecraft1.

2.

3.

9

4. After a 51 ft diameter parachute deploys, the MSL spacecraft’s heat shield is jettisoned. The parachute is attached to the top of the backshell portion of the spacecraft's aeroshell. The spacecraft's descent stage and the Curiosity rover can be seen inside the backshell. When the backshell drops away, a radar system on the descent stage begins determining the spacecraft's altitude and velocity.

5. The descent stage controls its own rate of descent with four of its eight rocket engines and begins lowering Curiosity on a bridle. The rover is connected to the descent stage by three nylon tethers and by a power and communication umbilical.

6. The descent stage’s bridle extends to a full length of about 25 ft as the stage continues descending. Seconds later, when touchdown is detected, the bridle is cut at the rover end, and the descent stage flies off to stay clear of Curiosity’s landing site. The rover will study whether the landing region has had environmental conditions favorable for supporting microbial life and preserving clues about whether life existed.

MSL Spacecraft and Curiosity Rover4.

5.

6.

10

Curiosity RoverChemCam

Mastcam

REMS

APXS &MAHLI

Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator

Note: CheMin and SAM are inside the rover. Only visible instruments are labeled.

Robot Arm

Organic Check Material

Observation Tray

Drill Bit Boxes

Ultra-High Frequency Antenna

Select for Curiosity Parts Interactive:https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/rover-3d/

11

Organic Check Material

Curiosity Telecommunications Network

This chart illustrates how Curiosity talks with Earth. The rover can send direct messages. However, it communicates more efficiently with the help of Mars orbiting spacecraft, including NASA's Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the European Space Agency's Mars Express (backup). NASA's Deep Space Network of antennae across the globe receive the transmissions and send them to the Mars Science Laboratory mission operations center at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA.

MSL Descends to Martian Surface

12

August 6, 2012 - The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) with the Curiosity rover and its parachute were photographed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) as the spacecraft descended through the Martian atmosphere to its landing site. MSL and its parachute are in the center of the white box; the inset image is a cutout of the MSL (bottom) and the parachute. - The heat shield had jettisoned prior to the time that the picture was taken. The MRO High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera captured this image while the orbiter was listening to transmissions from MSL.

13

First Look from Curiosity on Mars

August 6, 2012 - The image is one of the first that Curiosity captured shortly after the rover landed on Mars. Rising up in the distance is the tallest peak of Mount Sharp at a height of about 3.4 miles, higher than Mount Whitney in California. - The Curiosity team hopes to drive the rover to the mountain to investigate its lower layers which scientists think holds clues to past environmental change. Two of Curiosity’s front wheels can be seen in the left and right foreground. The image was taken by the rover’s front left Hazard-Avoidance camera at full resolution.

14

Scene of a Martian Landing

August 7, 2012 - The four main pieces of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) that arrived on Mars with the Curiosity rover on August 6, 2012 were spotted by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The heat shield was the first piece to hit the ground, followed by the back shell attached to the parachute, then the rover touched down, and finally, after the cables were cut, the sky crane flew away to the northwest and crashed. The MRO High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera captured this image about 24 hours after the landing. - Relatively dark areas in all four spots are from disturbances of the bright dust on Mars, revealing the darker material below the surface dust.

15

Curiosity Lands in Target

The rover landed in a 96 mile diameter Gale Crater near a large mountain that lies in the crater. A red dot shows where the rover landed, well within its targeted 4 by 12 miles landing ellipse, outlined in blue. Stratification on Mount Sharp suggested the mountain is a surviving remnant of an extensive series of deposits that were laid down after a massive impact that excavated the crater more than 3 billion years ago. The southeast looking image combines elevation data from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter, image data from the Context Camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and color information from Viking Orbiter imagery. - There is no vertical exaggeration in the image.

16

Mineral Layer Key in Landing Site Selection

This artist’s impression of Gale Crater depicts a cross section through Mount Sharp in the middle of the crater looking toward the southeast. The landing site is near the base of Mount Sharp and its layered rock represents a frozen record of the planet’s changing environment and evolution. - A key factor in the selection of Gale Crater as the mission’s landing site was the existence of clay minerals in a layer near the base of the mountain, within driving range of the landing site. -- The location of the clay minerals is indicated as the green band through the cross section of the mountain. The image uses two-fold vertical exaggeration to emphasize the area’s topography. - The image combines elevation data from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter, image data from the Context Camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and color information from Viking Orbiter imagery.

Layer of Clay Minerals

Alluvial Fan

LandingTarget Ellipse

17

First Panorama of Gale Crater in Color

August 8, 2012 - Curiosity takes the first panorama in color of the Gale Crater landing site. Scientists took a close look at several splotches in the foreground that appear gray. These areas show the effects of the descent stage’s rocket engines blasting the ground. - The soil was blown away by the thrusters; the excavation of the soil reveals probable bedrock outcrops. Curiosity can be seen along the bottom of this mosaic. The color images reveal additional shades of reddish brown around the dunes, likely indicating different textures or materials. The panorama was made from thumbnail versions of images taken by the Mast Camera. - The images in this panorama were brightened in the processing. -- Mars only receives half the sunlight Earth does and this image was taken in the late Martian afternoon.

Replace with JPL image when available adding text and websites.Change Ref Info when available.

18

Mount Sharp Geology Highlight

August 27, 2012 - Data revealed a strong discontinuity in the strata above and below the line of white dots in this image of Mount Sharp. This provided evidence that the absence of hydrated minerals on the upper reaches of Mount Sharp may coincide with a very different formation environment than lower on the slopes. - Hydrated minerals have water molecules or water-related ions bound into the mineral’s crystalline structure. Prior to Curiosity landing on Mars, observations from orbiting satellites indicated that the lower reaches of Mount Sharp, below the line of white dots, were composed of relatively flat-lying strata of hydrated minerals. - Those orbiter observations also did not reveal hydrated minerals in the higher, overlying strata. The image was taken by the rover’s Mast Camera.

330 Feet

4 inches

GravelPile

GravelClast

19

Remnants of Ancient Streambed Found

The key evidence for the ancient stream comes from the size and rounded shape of the gravel in and around the bedrock. Hottah has pieces of gravel embedded in it, called clasts, up to a couple inches in size and located within a matrix of sand-sized material. - Some of the clasts are round in shape, leading the science team to conclude they were transported by a vigorous flow of water. Erosion of the outcrop results in the gravel pile. This image mosaic was taken by the Mastcam telephoto lens.

September 14, 2012 - Curiosity found evidence for an ancient, flowing stream at a few sites, including the rock outcrop pictured here, which the science team has named Hottah after Hottah Lake in Canada’s northwest territories. It may look like a broken sidewalk, but this geological feature is actually exposed bedrock made up of smaller fragments cemented together, or what geologists call a sedimentary conglomerate. - Scientists theorize that the bedrock was disrupted in the past, giving it the tilted angle, most likely via impacts from meteorites.

20

Radiation Dose During Cruise and on SurfaceThis graphic (left) shows the level of natural radiation detected by the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) shielded inside the Mars Science Laboratory on the trip from Earth to Mars from December 2011 to July 2012. The five spikes in radiation levels occurred because of large solar energetic particle events caused by solar activity.

The radiation dose variation measured by the rover’s RAD on the surface is shown (right) from Sol 10 (August 15) through Sol 60 (October 6, 2012). The dose rate of charged particles is in black and total dose rate (from both charged particles and neutral particles) is in red.

The findings indicate radiation exposure for human explorers could exceed NASA’s career limit for astronauts if current propulsion systems are used.

21

Traverse into Different Terrain

- The arrival of the rover onto the lighter-toned terrain corresponds with an abrupt shift in the range of ground temperatures to a consistently smaller spread in values. -- The higher thermal inertia of Yellowknife Bay is most likely due to the greater abundance of exposed bedrock relative to the soil or sand in the area the rover left. - The same transition was seen from orbit by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter marking the arrival at the well-exposed, stratified bedrock. The base image of the map is from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment Camera.

The image maps Curiosity’s traverse from Bradbury Landing to Yellowknife Bay with an inset graphing the range change in the ground temperature recorded by the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS). The rover crossed over a terrain boundary, marked by the green dashed line, between Sol (Martian day) 120 (December 7, 2012) and Sol 121 of the mission on Mars.

FEET

0 330 660

22

Shaler Unit's Evidence of Stream Flow

Scales of this magnitude of cross-bedding in the Shaler Unit is indicative of sediment transport in stream flows. - Currents mold the sediments into small underwater dunes that migrate downstream. - When exposed in cross-section, evidence of this migration is preserved as strata that are steeply inclined relative to the horizontal, thus the term “cross-bedding.” - The grain sizes here are coarse enough to exclude wind transport. The image was taken by the Mast Camera and it has been white-balanced to show what the rock would look like if it were on Earth.

December 7, 2012 - This image shows inclined layering known as cross-bedding in an outcrop called “Shaler” on a scale of a few tenths of a yard. The superimposed scale bar is about 20 inches. This stratigraphic unit is called the Shaler Unit. The image was taken by the Mast Camera and it has been white-balanced to show what the rock would look like if it were on Earth.

0

Inches2010

23

Mineral Veins Found in Sheepbed Outcrop

- The vein fills are characteristic of the stratigraphically lowest unit in the Yellowknife Bay area known as the Sheepbed Unit. -- These veins form when water circulates through fractures, depositing minerals along the sides of the fracture, to form a vein. The right Mast Camera obtained this mosaic of images.

December 13, 2012 - This image, covering an area of about 16 inches across an outcrop, shows well-defined veins filled with whitish minerals, interpreted as calcium sulfate. The outcrop is part of a geologic layer, known as “Sheepbed,” which is a mudstone with abundant evidence for ancient aqueous processes. The veins are Curiosity's first look at minerals that formed within water that percolated within a subsurface environment.

Vein(Typical)

24

Evidence for Past Mars Microbial Life Found

Analysis of the collected John Klein rock sample by the Chemistry and Mineralogy and Sample Analysis at Mars instruments inside Curiosity produced evidence of an ancient wet environment that provided favorable conditions for microbial life. - This included elemental ingredients for life plus a chemical energy gradient such as some terrestrial microbes exploit as an energy source.

The site is on a patch of flat rock called John Klein in the Yellowknife Bay area of Mars’ Gale Crater. The two 0.63 inch diameter holes are where Curiosity used its drill on the rock target John Klein. The self-portrait combines dozens of exposures taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on February 3, 2013 plus three exposures taken on May 10, 2013 to update the appearance of part of the ground beside the rover. - MAHLI is mounted on the turret at the end of the robotic arm.

2 Holes

Turret

25

John Klein Rock Sample Drilled and TransferredThe left image shows the first holes into rock drilled by Curiosity with drill tailings around the holes plus piles of powdered rock collected from the deeper hole. The sample was later discarded after other portions of the sample had been delivered to analytical instruments inside the rover. The image was taken by the Mast Camera on March 29, 2013.

The right image shows the first sample of powdered rock extracted by the rover's drill. - The image was taken after the sample was transferred from the drill to the rover's 1.8 inch wide scoop. In planned subsequent steps, the sample was sieved, and portions of it delivered to the Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument and the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument. The image was photographed by the Mast Camera on February 20, 2013.

26

John Klein Drill Site Located in Alluvial Fan

The alluvial fan, or fan-shaped deposit where the debris spread out down slope, has been highlighted in lighter colors for better viewing. - Red indicates a surface material that retains its heat longer into the evening than other areas, suggesting differences relative to its surroundings. - The black oval indicates the targeted landing area for the rover and the black cross shows where the rover touched down at the landing site. - The blue circle indicates where the John Klein drill site is within the Yellowknife Bay area. This image was obtained by the Thermal Emission Imaging System on the Odyssey orbiter.

The John Klein outcrop is part of a geologic layer known as “Sheepbed” and it is located in an alluvial fan. It seems likely that sediments were transported downhill from the eroding crater rim and became part of the alluvial fan systems. The materials then flowed out where water and sediments accumulated to form a habitable environment represented by the Sheepbed mudstone.

27

Variations of DAN Measurements Along Traverse

DAN provided evidence of subsurface water, amounting to as much as 4% water content, down to a depth of 2.0 ft, in the rover’s traverse from the Bradbury Landing site to the Yellowknife Bay area in the Glenelg terrain. - At the rover’s very dry study area on Mars, the detected hydrogen was mainly in water molecules bound into minerals. - Signal variation along the traverse from the landing point to Yellowknife Bay was identified by DAN. -- More water was detected at Yellowknife Bay than earlier on the route. --- Even within Yellowknife Bay, significant variation was seen.

March 18, 2013 - This chart graphs measurements made by the rover’s Russian-built Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument against the distance Curiosity had driven. In the active data mode (blue), DAN shoots neutrons into the ground and senses how they are reflected. In the passive data mode (red), DAN does not shoot neutrons into the ground, but relies on galactic cosmic rays, as a source of neutrons, that are reflected by subsurface hydrogen and detected by DAN.

0 656 1,312 1,968Odometry (feet)

28

Curiosity’s Second Drilling at Cumberland May 14, 2013 - The left image depicts Curiosity’s location when it was driven into position for drilling into the second rock target at Cumberland. This image also shows the proximity of Cumberland to John Klein, which is about 9 ft. - The outline of the rover is from the Rover Sequencing and Visualization Program software, with ground imagery from a mosaic of images taken by the Navigation cameras. The tailings from Cumberland were used to confirm the findings at the mission's first drilling target, John Klein.

The right image shows a row of small pits created by firing the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument’s laser at the tailings near the 0.6 inch diameter drill hole on May 21, 2013.- ChemCam was used to check the composition of the gray tailings from the hole in the rock target at Cumberland that the rover drilled on May 19, 2013. The image was taken by the Mast Camera.

John KleinDrill Hole 1

CumberlandDrill Hole

Drill Hole with Tailings

ChemCam Pits(Typical)

29

More Evidence for Mars Atmospheric Loss

The chart shows the ratio of the argon isotope argon-36 to the heavier argon isotope argon-38, in various measurements. - The point farthest to the right designates a new (2013) measurement of the ratio in the atmosphere of Mars, made by the quadrupole mass spectrometer in the Curiosity Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) suite of instruments. -- For comparison, the previous measurement at Mars by the Mars Viking project in 1976 is also shown. --- The SAM result is at the lower end of the range of uncertainty of the Viking data, but compares well with ratios of argon istotopes from some Mars meteorites. -- The value determined by SAM is significantly lower than the value in the sun, Jupiter and Earth, which implies loss of the lighter isotope compared to the heavier isotope over geologic time. The argon isotope fractionation provides clear evidence of the loss of Mars atmosphere.

April 8, 2013 - New evidence has strengthened past findings that Mars has lost much of its original atmosphere by a process of gas escaping from the top of the atmosphere. NASA reported that much of the atmosphere has been lost based on argon isotope ratios studies.- The atmosphere has about four times as much of a lighter stable isotope (argon-36) compared to a heavier one (argon-38).

30

The accumulation of punctures and rips in the Curiosity wheels (left) increased in the fourth quarter of 2013. Among the responses to the wheel wear, the team now drives the rover with added precautions, thoroughly checking the condition of the wheels frequently.

The team also evaluated routes and driving methods that could avoid some wheel damage. - The image to the left shows the rover’s old and new routes to lower Mount Sharp.-- The green star marks Curiosity’s position on the September 9, 2014 (744th Martian day after landing).- This new route provided excellent access to many features in the Murray Formation and passed by the Murray Formation's namesake, Murray Buttes, previously considered to be the entry point to Mount Sharp.- The image is composed of color strips taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

744

Wheel Wear Considered in New Route

31

Future Route from Dingo Gap Sand Dune

January 30, 2014 - The team operating Curiosity chose this valley as the routetoward mid-term and long-term science destinations. The foreground dune, at a location called “Dingo Gap,” is about 3 feet high in themiddle and tapered at south and north ends onto low scarps on either side of the gap.- The largest of the dark rocks on the sand in the right half of the scene are about 2 feetacross. This view combines several frames taken by the Mast Camera, looking into a valley tothe west from the eastern side of a dune at the eastern end of the valley during earlyafternoon of the 528th Martian day, or sol.- The center of the view is about 10 degrees south of straight west. - The left edge is about 20 degrees west of straight south; the right edge is northwest. - The image has been white-balanced to show what the rocks would look like if they were on Earth.

32

Curiosity Arrives at Base of Mount Sharp

September 11, 2014 - Curiosity reached Mount Sharp, the Mount Rainier-size mountain at the center of the vast Gale Crater and the rover mission's long-term prime destination. Curiosity crossed into this terrain and is on the Mount Sharp side of the transition zone that represents a boundary between the plains of Gale Crater, named Aeolis Palus, and the layered slopes of Mount Sharp, or Aeolis Mons. This view shows the “Amargosa Valley” on the slopes leading up to Mount Sharp. The image was taken by the rover's Mast Camera. - It has been white-balanced to show how the scene would appear under Earth's lighting conditions. The rover headed toward the “Pahrump Hills” outcrop, seen at the image upper center.

33

Rover Drills at Confidence Hills

- Curiosity collected a drilled sample of rock powder at the target in September 2014 and delivered portions of the powder into analytical instruments inside the rover.-- The drill site is on a patch of flat rock called Confidence Hills; it is the first drill site since the rover reached the base of Mount Sharp. In June 2018, a NASA investigation team disclosed the Confidence Hills mudstone samples contained diverse collections of organic molecules potentially from ancient life or they could have been food for life.

Confidence Hills Drill Site

September 17, 2014 - The rover team used these images (left) to select the first drilling site on “Pahrump Hills” which is part of the base layer of Mount Sharp. This southeastward-looking vista shows the Pahrump Hills outcrop and surrounding terrain seen from a position about 70 ft northwest of the outcrop. - Investigation of the layered mountain began at the low edge of the Pahrump Hills outcrop, at the target “Confidence Hills,” at a Martian ancient lake bed.

Confidence Hills Drill Hole

34

Detection of Organics in Atmosphere

The measurements were made using the Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) instrument in the rover's Sample Analysis at Mars laboratory suite.- The TLS measurements are indicated by small black squares on the graph, each with a vertical bar representing the margin of uncertainty in that sol’s measurement. -- The graph covers a span of time from August 2012 to September 2014, labeled on the horizontal axis by the number of sols (Martian days since landing on Mars - sols 1 to 750). Methane concentration in the Martian atmosphere samples climbed to several parts per billion by volume (ppbv, meaning several methane molecules per billion molecules of Martian atmosphere) during a short portion of that period. - It averaged about 7 ppbv in those measurements.

December 16, 2014 - NASA reported Curiosity detected a “tenfold spike,” likely localized, in the amount of methane in the Martian atmosphere. Sample measurements taken a dozen times over 20 months showed increases in late 2013 and early 2014, averaging 7 parts of methane per billion in the atmosphere. - Before and after that, readings averaged around one-tenth that level.

Note: The Enrichment process removes about 96% of the carbon dioxide resulting in smaller error bars.

35

Curiosity Drills at Mojave

Confidence HillsMojave Drill Site

Upper Mount Sharpe Gale Crater Rim

January 2015 - The self-portrait of the Curiosity Mars rover shows the vehicle at the target “Mojave” where it collected the mission’s second sample from the base layer of Mount Sharp; the first sample was taken at Confidence Hills. The scene combines dozens of images by the Mars Hand Lens Imager camera at the end of the rover’s robotic arm. The pale “Pahrump Hills” outcrop, at an ancient lake bed, surrounds the rover; the upper portion of Mount Sharp and the rim of Gale Crater is visible on the horizon. Curiosity used a drill to collect a sample of rock powder from Mojave and delivered portions of the powder into instruments where it was analyzed. In June 2018, a Goddard Space Flight Center investigation team disclosed that the Mojave and Confidence Hills samples contained diverse collections of organic molecules and a possible chemical process for preserving organics amid Mars’ high radiation levels.

36

Panorama from Sol 1000 Location

May 30, 2015 - This 360-degree panorama from the Navigation Camera shows the surroundings of a site on lower Mount Sharp where the rover spent its 1,000th Martian day, or Sol. The center of the scene is toward the south, with north at both ends. - Tracks from the rover’s drive to this site are visible at the right. The rover team chose this location near Marias Pass because images from orbit showed what appeared to be a contact between two types of bedrock. - The bedrock close to the rover is pale mudstone similar to what Curiosity examined in 2014 and early 2015 at “Pahrump Hills.” - The darker, finely bedded bedrock above it is sandstone that the rover team calls the “Stimson” unit. -- The largest-looking slab of Stimson sandstone in the image, in the lower left quadrant, is a target called “Ronan,” selected for close-up inspection.

Mount Sharp Marias Pass

37

Rover Team Confirms Ancient Lakes

Finely laminated mudstones are in abundance that look like lake deposits.- The mudstone indicates the presence of bodies of standing water in the form of lakes that remained for long periods of time, possibly repeatedly expanding and contracting during hundreds to millions of years. - These lakes deposited the sediment that eventually formed the lower portion of the mountain. The image is the “Kimberley” formation taken by the Mast Camera on March 25, 2014 (Sol 580). - The strata in the foreground dips toward the base of Mount Sharp, indicates a flow of water toward a basin that existed before the larger bulk of the mountain formed. - The colors are adjusted so that rocks look approximately as they would if they were on Earth, to help geologists interpret the rocks. -- This adjustment for the lighting overly compensates for the absence of blue on Mars, making the sky appear light blue and sometimes giving dark, black rocks a blue cast.

October 8, 2015 - A study from the Curiosity team has confirmed that Mars was once capable of storing water in lakes over an extended period of time. Observations from the rover suggest that a series of long-lived streams and lakes existed at some point about 3.3 to 3.8 billion years ago, delivering sediment that slowly built up the lower layers of Mount Sharp.

38

Panorama beside Namib Dune

December 18, 2015 - This view of the downwind face of “Namib Dune” was taken on Sol 1,197 by the Mast Camera and covers 360 degrees. Examination of dunes in the Bagnold field, along the rover’s route up the lower slope of Mount Sharp, is the first close look at active sand dunes anywhere other than Earth.- Images taken from orbit indicate that dunes in the Bagnold field move as much as about 3 ft per Earth year. The site is part of the dark-sand “Bagnold Dunes” field along the northwestern flank of

Mount Sharp. - A portion of Mount Sharp can be seen on the horizon. The center of the scene is toward the east; both ends are toward the west. The bottom of the dune nearest the rover is about 23 ft from the camera. - This downwind face of the dune rises at an inclination of about 28 degrees to a height of about 16 ft above the base. A color adjustment has been made so that rocks and sand appear approximately as they

would appear under Earth’s sky to help geologists interpret the rocks.

39

Routine Inspection of Wheel Wear and Tear

Team members are keeping a close eye for when any of the zig-zag shaped treads, called grousers, begin to break. Longevity testing with identical wheels on Earth indicates that when three grousers on a given wheel have broken, that wheel has reached about 60% of its useful mileage. Curiosity’s current odometry of 7.9 miles is about 60% of the amount needed for reaching all the geological layers planned for the mission’s science destinations. - Since no grousers have yet broken, the accumulating damage to wheels is not expected to prevent the rover from reaching those destinations on Mount Sharp. The rover’s six aluminum wheels are about 20 inches in diameter and 16 inches wide. - Each of the six wheels has its own drive motor, and the four corner wheels also have steering motors.

April 18, 2016 - The team operating Curiosity uses the Mars Hand Lens Imager camera on the rover’s arm to check the condition of the wheels at routine intervals. This image of Curiosity’s left-middle and left-rear wheels is part of an inspection set taken on Sol 1,315. Holes and tears in the wheel, seen in red circle, worsened significantly during 2013 as Curiosity was crossing terrain studded with sharp rocks on its route from near its 2012 landing site to the base of Mount Sharp.

40

Murray Buttes

September 4, 2016 - The 360-degree panorama was taken by the Mast Camera while the rover was in an area called “Murray Buttes” on lower Mount Sharp. The rover recorded this scene when it reached its Sol 1448 drive. This area is one of the most scenic landscapes any Mars rover has visited. North is at both ends and south is in the center. The dark, flat-topped mesa near the center of the scene rises to about 39 ft.- From the rover’s position, the top of this mesa is about 131 ft away, and the beginning of the debris apron at the base of the mesa is about 98 ft away. In the left half of the image, the dark butte that appears largest sits eastward from the

rover and about 33 ft high. - An upper portion of Mount Sharp appears on the horizon to the right of it. The relatively flat foreground is part of a geological layer called the Murray formation,

which includes lakebed mud deposits. - The buttes and mesas rising above the surface are eroded remnants of ancient sandstone originating when winds deposited sand after lower Mount Sharp was formed.

41

Color Variations on Lower Mount Sharp

November 10, 2016 - This Sol 1,516 scene from the Mast Camera shows purple-hued rocks near the rover’s late 2016 location on lower Mount Sharp as well as middle distance higher layers that are future destinations for the mission. The view spans about 15 compass degrees, with the left edge toward southeast. - The rover's planned direction of travel from this location is generally southeastward. - The triangles indicate distance and elevation relative to the rover’s location. Variations in color of the rocks hint at the diversity of their composition.- The orange-looking rocks just above the purplish foreground ones are in the upper portion of the Murray formation, which is the base section of Mount Sharp, extending up to a ridge-forming layer called the Hematite Unit. - Beyond that is the Clay Unit, which is relatively flat and hard to see from this viewpoint. - The next rounded hills are the Sulfate Unit, Curiosity's highest planned destination. The most distant slopes in the scene are higher levels of Mount Sharp, beyond where Curiosity will drive.

Murray FormationHematite Unit

Sulfate Unit

11.2 miles distance8,858 ft above rover

2.3 miles distance1,640 ft above rover

1.9 miles distance1,115 ft above rover

42

Rover Examines Possible Mud Cracks

December 20, 2016 - This view of a Martian rock slab called “Old Soaker,” which has a network of cracks that may have originated in drying mud, comes from the Mast Camera. Several images from the Mast Camera were combined into this mosaic view taken during Sol 1,555. The location is within an exposure of Murray formation mudstone on lower Mount Sharp. Mud cracks would be evidence of a time more than 3 billion years ago when dry intervals interrupted wetter periods that supported lakes in the area. - Curiosity has found evidence of ancient lakes in older, lower-lying rock layers and also in younger mudstone that is above Old Soaker. The Old Soaker slab is about 4 ft long. The scale bar is 12 inches long.

0

Inches

6 12

43

Wind Rules on Mars

February 1, 2017 - Wind has been shaping the Martian landscapes for billions of years and continues to do so today. Studies using both Curiosity and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal its effects, on scales tiny to grand, on the strangely structured landscapes within Gale Crater.- On Mars as on Earth, dust devils are whirlwinds that result from sunshine warming the ground prompting convective rising of air that has gained heat from the ground.-- Set within a southward view from the rover’s Navigation Camera, the rectangular area outlined in black was imaged multiple times over a span of several minutes to check for dust devils; select https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8lfJ0c7WQ8 to see them.- Gale Crater was born when the impact of an asteroid or comet, more than 3.6 billion years ago, excavated a basin nearly 100 miles wide. -- Sediments later filled the basin, some delivered by rivers flowing from higher ground.--- Curiosity has found evidence of that wet era from more than 3 billion years ago. -- Mount Sharp formed when net accumulation of sediments flipped to net removal by wind erosion that may have coincided with a key turning point in the planet’s climate as Mars became drier.--- A recent study calculated the volume of material removed was about 15,000 cubic miles and it is consistent with orbital observations of wind effects in and around the crater when multiplied by a billion or more years.

44

Vera Rubin Ridge Prior to Curiosity Ascent

August 13, 2017 - Researchers used the Mast Camera to show details of the sedimentary rocks that make up the “Vera Rubin Ridge.” Two 6 feet scale bars provide size information for features near the bottom of the ridge and at the highest point visible; it is approximately 8 stories tall and about 4 miles long. This distinct topographic feature, located on the lower slopes of Mount Sharp, is characterized by the presence of hematite, an iron-oxide mineral that precipitates out of water on Earth, which had been detected by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The partial image shows that the rocks making up the lower part of the ridge are characterized by distinct horizontal stratification with individual rock layers on the order of several inches thick. Mission scientists are using these images to determine the ancient environment where the rocks were deposited. The repeated beds indicate progressive accumulation of sediments that now make up the lower part of Mount Sharp; from this distance, it is not possible to know if they were formed by aqueous or wind-blown processes. - Close-up images collected as the rover climbs the ridge will help answer this question.

0 6 feet

0 6 feet

45

Mount Sharp from Vera Rubin Ridge

December 13, 2017 - A segment from a 360-degree panorama taken by Curiosity looks toward Mount Sharp from the top of Vera Rubin Ridge. The hills look impassable in this direction, which is one reason the rover will be driving significantly toward the left (east) before descending Vera Rubin Ridge, crossing the clay-rich area behind it, and ascending the sulfur-rich lower layers of the mountain. Curiosity’s robot arm elbow can be seen in the lower right.

46

Rover Approaches Clay-Bearing Rocks

January 2018 - This Mosaic was taken by the Mast Camera looking uphill at Mount Sharp; highlighted in white is an area with clay-bearing rocks that scientists are eager to explore. The formation of clay minerals requires water. - Scientists have already determined that the lower layers of Mount Sharp formed within lakes that once spanned Gale Crater’s floor. The area ahead could offer additional insight into the presence of water, how long it may have persisted, and whether the ancient environment may have been suitable for life. The scene has been white-balanced so the colors of the rock materials resemble how they would appear under daytime lighting conditions on Earth.

47

Rover Drills First Sample Since Late 2016

Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA had to innovate a new way for the rover to drill in order to restore the capability to collect rock samples. - The new technique, called Feed Extended Drilling, keeps the drill’s bit extended out past two stabilizer posts that were originally used to steady the drill against Martian rocks. -- It lets Curiosity drill using the force of its robotic arm, more like a human would while drilling into a wall at home.

May 20, 2018 -Curiosity successfully drilled a .6 inches wide hole, 2 inches deep, in a target called “Duluth.” It was the first rock sample captured by the drill since October 2016. A mechanical problem with the drill sidelined the search for organics in December 2016. The image was taken by the Mast Camera.- It has been white balanced and contrast-enhanced.

48

SAM Detects Methane Seasonal Changes

June 2018 - The rover used the Turnable Laser Spectrometer in the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument to detect seasonal changes in atmospheric methane in Gale Crater. The methane signal has been observed for nearly three Martian years (about six Earth years), peaking each summer. Scientists still have not been able to determine the source of the methane including whether its release into the atmosphere is from biological or abiotic (non-biological) processes.

49

Curiosity Survives Massive Dust Storm

Once sampling activities were complete, the rover discarded the remaining drilled material forming a small pile that appears as an orange streak on the sandy ground just in front of the rover. Since September 15, 2018, a glitch in the rover’s active computer (Side-B) has prevented Curiosity from storing science and key engineering data. On October 3, 2018, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA began operating Curiosity on its backup computer (Side-A). Curiosity will store science and engineering data normally using its Side-A computer until the cause of the glitch in Side-B is determined and remedied.

Duluth Drill Hole

Discarded Drilled Material Pile

June 15, 2018 - A self-portrait was taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager during a Martian dust storm that reduced sunlight and visibility at the “Duluth” drill site just north of the Vera Rubin Ridge. The background looks across the floor of Gale Crater, now filled with haze from the ongoing storm. A drill hole is located on the large boulder to the left of the rover.

50

Rover Drills First Clay Unit Hole

Duluth Drill Hole

Discarded Drilled Material Pile

April 6, 2019 (Sol 2,370) - Curiosity drilled a piece of bedrock nicknamed “Aberlady” and delivered the sample to its internal mineralogy laboratory on April 10. Scientists have been excited to explore a region called “the clay-bearing unit” since before the spacecraft launched. Now, the rover has finally tasted its first sample from this part of Mount Sharp. The rover’s drill chewed easily through the rock, unlike some of the tougher targets it faced nearby on Vera Rubin Ridge.

- It was so soft that the drill did not need to use its percussive technique, which is helpful for snagging samples from harder rock. This was the mission’s first sample obtained using only rotation of the drill bit. Scientists are eager to analyze the sample for traces of clay minerals because they usually form in water. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spied a strong clay “signal” here long before Curiosity landed. - Pinpointing the source of that signal could help the science team understand if a wetter Martian era shaped this layer of Mount Sharp, the 3-mile-tall mountain Curiosity has been climbing.

51

Scientists Measure Seasonal O2 Changes November 12, 2019 - For the first time in the history of space exploration, scientists have measured the seasonal changes in the gases that fill the air directly above the surface of Gale Crater. As a result, they noticed oxygen (O2) behaves in a way scientists cannot explain through any known chemical processes.

- Over the course of three Martian years (about six Earth years), the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument characterized the air of Gale Crater and scientists analyzed its composition. -- There were no surprises; however, the team found that O2 levels did not follow the same seasonal patterns as the other gases, rising considerably higher than predicted in the spring and summer and falling below expected levels during the Gale Crater winter.--- O2 levels rising as much as 30% was definitely a surprise.--- The scientists stressed that the mystery does not justify jumping to the conclusion that Mars’ microbes were involved. ---- Team members emphasized that the same type of geological process is likely to be responsible. ---- Both methane and oxygen can be produced by abiotic and biological processes.

52

Curiosity Status (as of December 4, 2019)

The scale bar is 1 kilometer (~0.62 mile) on the large map and 20 meters (~65.6 ft) on the small map. The base image from the map is from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment Camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. On Sol 2604 (December 4, 2019), Curiosity had driven 13.38 miles of total driving since landing.

This map shows the route driven by Curiosity starting where the rover landed, named Bradbury Landing, through Sol 2604 (December 4, 2019) of the mission. The yellow line from Bradbury Landing is the rover’s path and the white line is the path on the small map.- Numbering of the dots along the line indicate the sol number (Martian day after landing) of each drive.

North

East

53

Curiosity’s Status - Planned RouteThis map shows the route driven by Curiosity from the location where it landed in August 2012 to its location in August 2019, and its planned path to additional geological layers of lower Mount Sharp. The blue star near top center marks “Bradbury Landing,” the site where Curiosity arrived on Mars on August 5, 2012.- Curiosity landed on “Aeolis Palus,” the plains surrounding “Aeolis Mons” (Mount Sharp) in Gale Crater.

- “Bagnold Dunes” forms a band of dark, wind-blown material at the foot of Mount Sharp. Curiosity’s route continued past the top of “Vera Rubin Ridge” and then to geological units where clay minerals and sulfate minerals have been detected from orbit.- This route could change depending on the rover’s experience on the ground. The scale bar is approximately one kilometer or about 0.62 mile. The base image from the map is from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment Camera in the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

North

54

Curiosity Rover Highlights - Page 1 of 4Nov. 26, 2011 - Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) with Curiosity was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL.Dec. 2011 to July 2012 - MSL’s Radiation Assessment Detector documents natural radiation on the trip from Earth to Mars. Radiation exposure levels measured by Curiosity on the Martian surface could exceed NASA’s career limit for astronauts if current propulsion systems are used.Aug. 6, 2012 - Curiosity lands in Gale Crater. The rover touched down well within the targeted landing area. The landing site, named Bradbury Landing, is near the 3.4 mile high Mount Sharp located in Gale Crater.Sept. 14, 2012 - The rover finds evidence for an ancient, flowing stream.March 2013 - Curiosity obtains evidence of an ancient wet environment that provided favorable conditions for microbial life. April 8, 2013 - New evidence from the rover strengthens past findings that Mars has lost much of its original atmosphere.Sept. 11, 2014 - Curiosity arrives at the base of Mount Sharp.Sept. 2014 and Jan. 2015 - Samples of rock powder from Confidence Hills and Mojave drilling sites contain diverse collections of organic molecules. In June 2018, a NASA investigation team disclosed the samples contained organic molecules and they were potentially from ancient life or they could have been food for life.

55

Curiosity Rover Highlights - Page 2 of 4Dec. 16, 2014 - The rover detects a “tenfold spike” in the amount of methane in the Martian atmosphere. May 31, 2015 - Curiosity celebrates 1000 Sols (Martian days) on Mars.Oct. 8, 2015 - The rover team confirms that Mars was once capable of storing water in lakes over an extended period of time. Rover observations suggest a series of long-lived streams and lakes existed about 3.3 - 3.8 billion years ago. - The streams and lakes delivered sediment that slowly built up the lower layers of Mount Sharp.Dec. 18, 2015 - Examination of Bagnold field is the first close look at active sand dunes anywhere other than Earth.April 18, 2016 - Team members are keeping a close eye when any of the six wheel zig-zag shaped treads, called grousers, begin to break due to wear. The conditions of the wheels are noticed during inspections at routine intervals.Dec. 20, 2016 - Murray formation mudstone cracks provide evidence of a time more than 3 billion years ago when dry intervals interrupted wetter periods that supported lakes in the area.Jan. 17, 2017 - The rover team scientists suggest that a likely scenario for the history of “Old Soaker” is more than one generation of fracturing. The mud cracks first, with sediment accumulating in them, then a later episode of underground fracturing and vein forming.

56

Curiosity Rover Highlights - Page 3 of 4Feb. 1, 2017 - Wind has been shaping the Martian landscapes for billions of years and continues to do so today. Studies using both Curiosity and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal its effects, on scales tiny to grand, such as dust devils and Mount Sharp, respectively, in Gale Crater.August 2, 2017 - Curiosity has taught us a lot about the history of Mars and its potential to support life since landing. The evidence points to Gale Crater, and Mars in general, as a place where life, if it ever arose, might have survived for some time. Sept. 2017 - The rover reaches the top of Vera Rubin Ridge. The ridge has been characterized by the presence of hematite, an iron-oxide mineral that precipitates out of water on Earth, that had been detected by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.May 20, 2018 - Curiosity drills first rock sample since late in 2016. A mechanical problem sidelined the drill; NASA engineers developed a new way for the rover to drill in order to restore the capability to collect rock samples. June 2018 - The rover detected seasonal changes in atmospheric methane in Gale Crater. The methane signal has been observed for nearly three Martian years, peaking each summer. Scientists still have not been able to determine the source of the methane including whether its release into the atmosphere is from biological or abiotic (non-biological) processes.June 2018 - Curiosity survives massive dust storm. The storm reduced sunlight and visibility at the “Duluth” drill site just north of the Vera Rubin Ridge.

57

Curiosity Rover Highlights - Page 4 of 4Oct. 3, 2018 - The rover switched to its backup computer (Side-A). Since Sept. 15, 2018, a glitch in the rover’s active computer (Side-B) had prevented Curiosity from storing science and key engineering data.April 6, 2019 - Curiosity drilled a piece of bedrock named “Aberlady” and delivered the sample to its internal mineralogy laboratory on April 10. Scientists are eager to analyze the sample for traces of clay minerals because they usually form in water. Nov. 12, 2019 - For the first time, scientists measured the seasonal changes in the gases that fill the air directly above the surface of Gale Crater. The team found that oxygen levels rose as much as 30% throughout spring and summer and emphasized that a geological process is likely to be responsible.

58

Reference Information - Page 1 of 2Images:Courtesy of NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, and credited

Text:http://marsrover.nasa.gov/http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/http://www.nasa.gov/http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/http://en.wikipedia.org/http://spaceflightnow.com/https://spacenews.com/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/https://mars.nasa.gov/Mission Accomplishment, Irene Klotz, Aviation Week and Space Technology; June 18 -July 1, 2018; Volume 180, Number 12, page 52 to 56 - Curiosity team explores, discovers and restores capability to collect rock sampleshttp://www.planetary.org/http://www.mdacorp-us.com/https://www.space.com/http://msl-scicorner.jpl.nasa.gov/http://www.ne.doe.gov/http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/

59

Reference Information - Page 2 of 2EndCuriosity Parts Interactive:

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/rover-3d/

Video:Gale Crater dust devilshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8lfJ0c7WQ8A Guide to Gale Craterhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-uAz82sH-E

60

http://mars.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/2016/curiositys-traverse-map-through-sol-1555

61

62

MSL Atlas V Launch VehicleThe United Launch Alliance Atlas V-541 vehicle was selected for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission because it had the right liftoff capability for the heavy weight requirements, and rockets in the same family have successfully lifted NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and New Horizons missions. Atlas V rockets are expendable launch vehicles meaning they are only used once. The numbers in the 541 designation signify a payload fairing that is approximately 5 meters (16.4 ft) in diameter; 4 solid-rocket boosters fastened alongside the central common core booster; and a one-engine Centaur upper stage.

The major elements of the Atlas V-541 rocket that will be used for the MSL mission are: Core Stage - includes the fuel and oxygen tanks that feed an engine for the ascent and powers the spacecraft into Earth orbit. Solid Rocket Motors - 4 motors increase engine thrust during ascent. Upper Stage - a Centaur upper stage with fuel and oxidizer and the vehicle's “brains.” It fires twice, once to insert the vehicle-spacecraft stack into low Earth orbit and then again to accelerate the spacecraft out of Earth orbit and on its way towards Mars. Payload Fairing - a thin composite or nose cone protects the spacecraft during the ascent through Earth's atmosphere.

63

Curiosity Rover - Page 1 of 3Engineering cameras: Hazard Avoidance Cameras (Hazcams) - four pairs of black and white cameras, mounted on the lower portion of the rover (front and rear), capture 3-D imagery that safeguards against Curiosity getting lost or inadvertently crashing into unexpected obstacles. Navigation Cameras (Navcams) - two pairs of black and white cameras are mounted on the rover mast to gather panoramic, 3-D imagery that supports ground navigation planning by scientists and engineers. The Navcams work in cooperation with the Hazcams to provide a complementary view of the terrain.Primary science cameras: Mast Camera (Mastcam) - a two camera system that takes color images and color video footage of the terrain. Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) - a camera that provides close-up views of the minerals, textures, and structures in Martian rocks and the surface layer of rocky debris and dust. Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) - a camera that produces a video stream of high-resolution, overhead views of the landing site. It will continue acquiring images until the rover lands, storing the video data in digital memory. The MARMDI also provides information about the surrounding the landing site.Primary science instruments: Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) - measures the abundance of chemical elements in rocks and soils. Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) - a spectrometer that looks at rocks and soils from a distance, firing a laser and analyzing the elemental composition of the vaporized materials from very small areas on the surface of rocks and soils.

64

Curiosity Rover - Page 2 of 3Primary science instruments (Continued): Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) - a suite of three instruments that searches for compounds of the element carbon, including methane, that are associated with life and explores ways they are generated and destroyed in the Martian ecosphere. Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) - measures and identifies all high-energy radiation on the surface, such as protons, energetic ions of various elements, neutrons, and gamma rays. Dynamics of Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) - a pulsing neutron generator sensitive enough to detect very low water content and resolve layers of water and ice beneath the surface. Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) - identifies and measures the abundances of various minerals on Mars. Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) - measures and provides daily and seasonal reports on atmospheric pressure, humidity, ultraviolet radiation at the surface, wind speed and direction, air temperature, and ground temperature around the rover. MSL Entry, Descent and Landing Instrumentation (MEDLI) - collects engineering data during the spacecraft's high-speed, extremely hot entry into the Martian atmosphere. The data will help engineers design systems for entry into the Martian atmosphere that are safer, more reliable, and lighter weight.Miscellaneous components: Organic Check Material (OCM) - five bricks of OCM mounted in canisters on the front of the rover used to assess the characteristics of organic contamination at five different times during the mission. - Steps have been taken to ensure that measurements of soil and rocks on Mars do not contain terrestrial contaminants; however, a slight amount of contamination may be present.

65

Curiosity Rover - Page 3 of 3Miscellaneous components (Continued): Robot Arm (RA) - the arm extends the rover’s reach and collects rock and soil samples.- Much like a human arm, the 7.5 ft robotic arm has flexibility through the shoulder, elbow and wrist (5 degrees-of-freedom). - At the end of the arm is a turret, shaped like a cross. This turret, a hand-like structure, holds 5 devices that can spin through a 350 degree turning range.-- The 5 turret-mounted devices include a drill, brush, soil scoop, sample processing device, and the mechanical and electrical interfaces to the two contact science instruments APXS and MAHLI.--- The drill is capable of exchanging bits with the extra spare bits located in Bit Boxes. Observation Tray - soil and rock samples that have passed through the 150-micron sieve of CHIMRA can be deposited on the tray and observed by the APXS and MAHLI.- The CHIMRA (Collection and Handling for Interior Martian Rock Analysis), located on the arm turret, sieves and portions the samples from the scoop and the drill which are then distributed to the analytical instruments, SAM and CheMin. Instrument Inlet Covers - deck mounted covers near the front protect the SAM and CheMin solid sample inlets from being contaminated by particulates from the atmosphere or rover deck. Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) - produces the rover’s electricity from the heat of plutonium-238’s radioactive decay.- Solid-state thermocouples convert the heat energy to electricity. - Warm fluids heated by the generator’s excess heat are plumbed throughout the rover to keep electronics and other systems at acceptable operating temperatures.- The MMRTG will provide reliable power to operate the Curiosity rover for at least one Martian year or 687 Earth days.

66

Curiosity Telecommunications - Page 1 of 2During Mars surface operations, the rover has multiple options available for receiving commands from mission controllers on Earth and for returning rover science and engineering information. Curiosity has the capability to communicate directly with Earth via X-band links with the Deep Space Network. - This capability will be used routinely to deliver commands to the rover each morning. The rover can also be used to return information to Earth, but only at relatively low data rates, on the order of kilobits per second, due to the rover’s limited power and antenna size, and to the long distance between Earth and Mars.- Curiosity will return most information via UHF relay links, using one of its two redundant Electra-Lite radios to communicate with a Mars orbiter passing overhead. -- In their trajectories around Mars, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey orbiter each fly over the Curiosity landing site at least once each afternoon and once each morning before dawn. --- While these contact opportunities are short in duration, typically lasting only about 10 minutes, the proximity of the orbiters allows Curiosity to transmit at much higher data rates than the rover can use for direct-to-Earth transmissions. --- The rover can transmit to Odyssey at up to about 0.25 megabit per second and to the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter at up to about 2 megabits per second. --- The orbiters, with their higher-power transmitters and larger antennas, then take the job of relaying the information via X-band to the Deep Space Network on Earth. Mission plans call for the return of 250 megabits of Curiosity data per Martian day over these relay links. --- The links can also be used for delivering commands from Earth to Curiosity.

67

Curiosity Telecommunications - Page 2 of 2Mars surface operations telecommunications (Continued):While not planned for routine operational use during the rover’s surface mission, the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter will be available as a backup communications relay asset should NASA’s relay orbiters become unavailable for any period of time.Curiosity has three telecommunications antennas that serve as both its voice and its ears. The antennas are located on the rover equipment deck (top surface). The multiple antennas provide backup options. The three antennas are:1) Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) Antenna - Most often, Curiosity will likely send radio waves through its UHF antenna (about 400 Megahertz) to communicate with Earth through NASA's Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiters.2) High-Gain Antenna (HGA) - Curiosity will likely use its high-gain antenna to receive commands for the mission team back on Earth. - The HGA can send a “beam” of information in a specific direction and it is steerable, so the antenna can move to point itself directly to any antenna on Earth.3) Low-Gain Antenna (LGA) - Curiosity will likely use its LGA primarily for receiving signals. - The LGA can send and receive information in every direction; that is, it is omni directional.- The LGA transmits radio waves at a low rate to the Deep Space Network antennas on Earth.

68

A Guide to Gale Crater - Page 1 of 2The Curiosity rover has taught us a lot about the history of Mars and its potential to support life since landing in August 2012. Select https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-uAz82sH-E to view the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, August 2, 2017, video titled “A Guide to Gale Crater.” The following is a transcript of the video: - In 2012, NASA’s Curiosity Rover went to Mars to explore Gale Crater, a large impact basin with a massive, layered mountain in the middle. How did this strange landscape come to be? And what can its history teach us about the potential for life on Mars? After several years of exploration, here’s what we think could have happened. -- Around 3.7 billion years ago, a large meteor impact blasts out the initial crater, cracking the rock below and leaving a central peak as the surface rebounds. It’s a wetter time in Mars’ history. Groundwater seeps into the new crater, while rivers fed by rain or melting snow also flow in, forming a large lake and carrying in gravel, sand and silt. -- This material keeps building up over millions of years. And as each layer cements into rock, it records a snapshot of the environment that shaped it. In time, the gradual drying of Mars shuts off the rivers. But sediment keeps piling up as sand and dust blow into the crater, deeply burying the deposits laid down in water. -- Meanwhile, groundwater remains deep below the dusty surface. At some point, winds that once carried sediment in begin scouring it back out. In areas closer to the crater rim, these winds dig all the way down into the ancient lake deposits. And as the heavy weight above is lifted, these layers crack, which helps groundwater flow through and alter them again before they dry out.

69

A Guide to Gale Crater - Page 2 of 2The Curiosity rover has taught us a lot about the history of Mars and its potential to support life since landing in August 2012. Video transcript (Continued): - By about 3 billion years ago, we’re left with the basic form we see today. It’s in this version of Gale Crater that Curiosity has helped piece together the story: -- Sediment patterns show a lot of water was present, continually, over many millions of years - both as persistent groundwater, and a long-standing lake (with occasional dry spells). -- Mineral and chemical readings show that water from both the lake and subsurface was friendly for potential microbes. Drill samples from the lakebed show key elements, organic molecules, nutrients and energy sources that microbes could have used. Water flowing through underground fractures could have supported life even in deeply buried rocks. And the composition of some layers makes them good for preserving potential signs of past life. -- Taken together, the evidence points to Gale Crater (and Mars in general) as a place where life - if it ever arose - might have survived for some time. - With our primary mission fulfilled, we continue exploring: uncovering the history of Mars, and learning more about how and where future missions can search for the signatures that ancient life may have left behind.

70

Major Gases Released from John Klein Samples

Analysis Steps and Results:- First step was to heat a portion of the sample in a quartz oven to 1,535 degrees Fahrenheit and analyze the gases as they were released using the quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS). Five are shown in the graph. These traces are diagnostic of water, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and two forms of sulfur (sulfur dioxide, the oxidized form, and hydrogen sulfide, the reduced form) measured by the QMS. - Second step was to send a portion of gas released from the sample to the tunable laser spectrometer to measure isotopes of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen, in both water and carbon dioxide. - Third step was to inject gas trapped during the heating process into the gas chromatograph (a prime tool in the search for organic compounds).- Results indicated a significant amount of available chemical energy because oxidized and less oxidized versions of molecules are present. This result, combined with suitable aqueous conditions at this site in the distant past, made this a potentially habitable environment.

February 27, 2013 - An analysis of a John Klein drilled rock sample by the rover’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument showed the presence of water, carbon dioxide, oxygen, sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide released on heating. The results from analyzing the high temperature water release are consistent with smectite clay minerals.- Smectites help preserve organics if present.

71

Possible Mars Methane Sources and Sinks

CH4 can be generated by microbes and can also be generated by processes that do not require life, such as reactions between water and olivine (or pyroxene) rock. Ultraviolet radiation (UV) can induce reactions that generate CH4 from other organic chemicals produced by either biological or non-biological processes, such as comet dust falling on Mars. CH4 generated underground in the distant or recent past might be stored within lattice-structured CH4 hydrates called clathrates, and released by the clathrates at a later time, so that CH4 being released to the atmosphere today might have formed in the past.Winds on Mars can quickly distribute CH4 coming from any individual source, reducing localized concentration of CH4. CH4 can be removed from the atmosphere by sunlight-induced reactions (photochemistry).

This illustration portrays possible ways that methane might be added to the atmosphere (sources) and removed from the atmosphere (sinks). The rover has detected fluctuations in methane concentration in the atmosphere, implying both types of activity occur in the modern Martian environment. A molecule of methane (CH4) consists of one atom of carbon and four atoms of hydrogen.

Sun

72

Possible Mud Cracks Preserved in Rock January 17, 2017 - The rover team scientists suggest that a likely scenario for the history of “Old Soaker” is more than one generation of fracturing: the mud cracks first, with sediment accumulating in them, then a later episode of underground fracturing and vein forming. The slab bears a network of four- and five-sided polygons about half an inch to 1 inch across, which matches the pattern commonly formed when a thin layer of mud dries. - Some edges of the polygons are ridges of material the same color as the surrounding rock. -- This could result from a three-step process after cracks form due to drying: Wind-blown sediments accumulate in the open cracks. -- Later, these sediments and the dried mud become rock under the pressure of multiple younger layers that accumulate on top of them. -- Most recently, after the overlying layers were eroded away by wind, the vein-filling material resists erosion better than the once-muddy material, so the pattern that began as cracks appears as ridges.--- Note that some of the cracks contain material much brighter than the surrounding; these are mineral veins. ---- Curiosity has found such bright veins of calcium sulfate in many rock layers the rover has investigated. ---- These veins form from circulation of mineral-laden groundwater through underground cracks. The target rock’s name comes from the name of an island off the coast of Maine near Bar Harbor.