The Curiosity Rover: Robotic Geologist and Explorer · 5/21/2013 · Curiosity’s Science...

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May 21, 2013

6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern time

The Curiosity Rover:

Robotic Geologist and Explorer

Presented by: Jordan Evans

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Introducing today’s presenter…

Introducing today’s presenters

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Jordan Evans NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Pasadena, CA

The Curiosity Rover: Robotic Geologist and

Explorer

Jordan Evans

JPL/Caltech/NASA

@Jordan2Mars

Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology

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Brief Biography…

• Led the “Flight System” design, build, test,

launch, and operations on the Mars Science

Laboratory Project

• Aerospace Engineering – San Diego State

University and University of Maryland

• Worked on both Aircraft and Spacecraft

• Jazz Musician (Bass)

• Bacon Maker

• Science Advisor

• Woodworker

• Camper Restorer 6

Blaine Baggett

Executive Manager, Office of

Communications and Education

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Pasadena, CA

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Why Mars?

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The wonderful future

From the 1956 book, The Exploration of Mars,

by von Braun and Willy Ley, with paintings by

Chesley Bonestell

Mars Exploration is CHALLENGING

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Did you watch Curiosity’s

landing on the night of

August 5th (PT)?

✔ Yes

✖ No

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Did you watch Curiosity’s

landing on the night of

August 5th (PT)?

An estimated 50 million people

watched the landing!

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Only 50% of Mars landers

launched have worked

USSR: Mars 2 1971 (crashed)

USSR: Mars 3 1971 (landed, radio died)

USSR: Mars 6 1973 (aero data, crashed?)

USSR: Mars 7 1974 (missed Mars)

US: Viking 1 1975

US: Viking 2 1975

USSR: Mars ‘96 (2) 1996 (failed launch)

US: Mars Pathfinder 1996

US: Mars Polar Lander 1998 (crashed?)

US: DS-2 Microprobes (2) 1998 (crashed?)

EU/UK: Beagle II 2003 (crashed?)

US: MER Spirit 2003

US: MER Opportunity 2003

US: Phoenix 2007

US: MSL Curiosity 2011 [launch dates]

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Thousands of problems to solve.

Testing

More testing

2010

Finally, a real

Mars Science

Lab!

Rover Packaging

Ready for flight

Ready for the fairing

Encapsulation at

KSC ATLAS V fairing

Launch Complex 41 NASA/KSC

Atlas V

Careful ….

MSL Launch: Nov 26, 2011

Does every Mars-faring nation

use the same approach to get to

Mars?

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✔ Yes

✖ No

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Does every Mars-faring nation

use the same approach to get to

Mars?

The mission ….

SURFACE MISSION • Prime mission is one Mars year

(687 days)

• Latitude-independent and long-

lived power source

• Ability to drive out of landing

ellipse

• 84 kg of science payload

• Direct (uplink) and relayed

(downlink) communication

• Fast CPU and large data storage

ENTRY, DESCENT, LANDING • Guided entry and powered

“sky crane” descent

• 20×25-km landing ellipse

• Access to landing sites ±30°

latitude, <0 km elevation

• 900-kg rover

CRUISE/APPROACH • 8.5-month cruise

• Arrived August 5, 2012

LAUNCH • Nov. 26, 2011

• Atlas V (541)

Mission Overview

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Rover Family Portrait

ChemCam (Chemistry)

Mastcam (Imaging)

REMS (Weather)

DAN (Subsurface Hydrogen)

SAM (Chemistry and Isotopes)

CheMin (Mineralogy)

MARDI (Imaging)

APXS (Chemistry) MAHLI

(Imaging) RAD

(Radiation)

Drill Scoop Brush Sieves

Curiosity’s Science Payload 35

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Spacecraft

Computers Rover Motor

Controller

X-Band Radio

UHF Radio

Power Electronics

& Batteries

Thermal

Fluid Loop

SAM

ChemMin

What’s Under the Hood?

The Complexity and Beauty of Curiosity

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Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) How Did it Go?

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Landing area

(photo taken by Mars Reconnaissance orbiter)

Curiosity’s Descent stage

Before

After (photo taken by Mars Reconnaissance orbiter)

(photos taken by Mars

Reconnaissance orbiter)

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Backshell

Separation

ERT: 10:30:51

Altitude: 1670 m

Velocity: 78.6 m/s

Note:

Powered Descent

Duration: 37

Fuel usage: 260 kg

Note: Fuel usage

was lower than

expected

Sky Crane

Flyaway

Heatshield

Separation

ERT: 10:29:13

Mach: Pending

Note: Separation

rates as expected,

no tumbling

Peak Heating

ERT: Pending

Qmax: Pending

Hypersonic

Aero-maneuvering

Numb of bank reversals: 3

Guidance performance:

Great

Note: Possible tailwind/low

density during final 50-100 km

of flight

Entry Interface

ERT: 10:24:33 PM

Delivery error: 0.013 deg FPA

Peak Deceleration

ERT: 10:17:44 PM

Deceleration: ~12.2 g’s

Parachute Deploy

ERT: 10:28:53 PM

Mach: 1.72

Deceleration: ~6 g’s

Note: Lower than

expected parachute

inflation loads

Cruise Stage Separation

ERT: 10:14:34 PM

CBMD

Separation

ERT: 10:16:24 PM

Radar

Ground Solution

ERT: 10:29:21

Alt: 8.3 km

Error (alt): 113.4 m

Error (velo): 0.7

m/s

Note: Better range

at lock-up and

lower error than

expected

Touchdown

ERT: 10:31:49 PM

Velo: 0.75 m/s

Lat/Lon: -

4.5895°/137.4417°

Mobility

Deploy

Alt: 21.1

Rover

Separation

Alt: 21.5 m

Velo: 0.77 m/s

Note: gnd solution

change of ~1m near

rover sep

Flyaway

Impact ERT: <10:32:40 PM

Distance: 640 m

Note: Impact pattern may

be different than expected

Sky Crane Detail

Variance from

prediction

< 1 s

1-2 s

>2 s

All Times in ERT PDT

FS Infrastructure

Voltage at TD: 32.1 V

Comm: Great

Prop: Good

Thermal: Good

Mech: Good

AVS/FSW: Good

SECC: N/A

ISAs: 52822, 52845, 53000 (see following)

EDL Performance Summary

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24

Gale Crater and Mount Sharp

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Mt. Sharp

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Curiosity’s Exploration and Science Since Landing

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Looking North to Crater Rim

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Timekeeping on Mars

Timekeeping on Mars

Martian Day = “Sol”

1 Sol = 24h 39m 35s

Timekeeping on Mars


1 Sol = 24h 39m 35s

“Yestersol”

Timekeeping on Mars


1 Sol = 24h 39m 35s

“Yestersol”

“Tosol”

Timekeeping on Mars


1 Sol = 24h 39m 35s

“Yestersol”

“Tosol”

“Nextersol”

“Morrowsol”

“Sol-orrow”

Recent Mars Weather

June

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Ear-Popping Daily Pressure Changes

100 Pa swing is…

15% of Mars Pressure

0.15% of Earth

Pressure

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Driving!

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Sol 24 Navcam: Bradbury Landing Site

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Rover tracks

(photo taken by Mars

Reconnaissance orbiter)

Stretching Out the Arm for Contact Science

on Rock Named “Jake Matijevic”

Science

Instruments at the

End of Curiosity’s

Robotic Arm

NASA/JPL-

Caltech/MSSS

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. ---

. --.

. .--

. ---

. --.

. .--

J

P

L

Curiosity’s Science Objectives

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Curiosity’s primary scientific goal is to explore and quantitatively assess a local region on Mars’ surface as a potential habitat for life, past or present

• Biological potential

• Geology and geochemistry

• Role of water

• Surface radiation

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ChemCam Laser

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ChemCam’s laser induced breakdown

spectrometer acquires a 5-spot raster

NASA/JPL-

Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP/LPGN/CNRS

Before After

Target: Beechey (Sol 19)

Power: 1 Gigawatt

Shots per spot: 50

8

cm(

3”)

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Remnants of Ancient Streambed on Mars

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The SAM Tunable Laser Spectrometer and Mass

Spectrometer measure atmospheric composition

SAM found that argon,

rather than nitrogen is the

second most abundant gas

SAM also found that Mars’

atmosphere is enriched in

the heavy versions of

isotopes, indicating that

atmospheric loss has

occurred

Methane has not been

definitively detected

TLS uses infrared lasers

and mirrors to measure the

absorption of light by

atmospheric gases

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Goddard

Atmospheric Gas

Abundances

Measured by SAM

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Scoop and Delivery for Chemistry and

Mineralogy

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Sol 61: First Scoop!

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What did Curiosity discover in

the Rocknest Sand Dune?

A. A habitable environment conducive to

microbial life

B. Mars dust and sand dunes are a global

phenomenon and aren’t necessarily habitable

C. The “Rocknest Monster”

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SAM and

CheMin

analyses

of

Rocknest

Sand

composed of

unaltered

basaltic

minerals,

similar to soils

on Mars

X-ray

diffraction

pattern

from

CheMin

NASA/JPL-

Caltech/MSSS

NASA/JPL-

Caltech/Ames

Gases

released

during SAM

experiments

NASA/JPL-

Caltech/Goddard

Also evidence for water,

sulfates, carbonates, and

potentially perchlorates

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How far across SDSU would Curiosity

have travelled in the 9 months thus far?

How far across SDSU would Curiosity

have travelled in the 9 months thus far?

Aztec

Center

Sol

39 Sol

43 Sol

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Current

Position ✖ Sols

55-100

MSL Rotary-Percussive Drill in Testbed at JPL

Heading into Yellowknife Bay

NASA/JPL-

Caltech/MSSS

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Postcards

from

Yellowknife

Bay NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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“Sheepbed” rocks contain 1 to 5-mm fractures filled with

calcium sulfate minerals that precipitated from fluids at low to

moderate temperatures

NASA/JPL-

Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP/

LPGNantes/CNRS/LGLyon/Planet-

Terre ChemCam spectra from sol

125 “Crest” and 135

“Rapitan”

ChemCam

Remote Micro-

Imager

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NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Spherules Suggest Water Percolation 97

NASA/JPL-

Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP/LPG

Nantes/CNRS

Drilling at John Klein: A “Goldmine” of Info

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Wet

Neutral pH

Energy Gradients (Oxidation)

Mildly Salty

Key Chemicals (C,H,N,O,P,S)

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Wet

Neutral pH

Energy Gradients (Oxidation)

Mildly Salty

Key Chemicals (C,H,N,O,P,S)

Conditions Favorable for Life!

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“Cumberland” –

Curiosity’s Second

Drill Target

What’s Next for Curiosity?

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Curiosity’s Ultimate Goal: Mount Sharp

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of

Arizona 109

NASA/JPL-

Caltech/MSSS

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NASA/JPL-

Caltech/MSSS

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Layers, Canyons, and Buttes of Mount Sharp 112

Layers, Canyons, and Buttes of Mount Sharp

This boulder is the

size of Curiosity

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Questions?

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Thanks to today’s presenter!

Introducing today’s presenters

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Jordan Evans NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Pasadena, CA

Thank you to the sponsor of

tonight’s web seminar:

This web seminar contains information about programs, products, and services

offered by third parties, as well as links to third-party websites. The presence of

a listing or such information does not constitute an endorsement by NSTA of a

particular company or organization, or its programs, products, or services.

Thank you to the sponsor of tonight’s web seminar—1 of 6

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Thank you to NSTA administration—2 of 6

National Science Teachers Association

David Evans, Ph.D., Executive Director

Zipporah Miller, Associate Executive Director, Conferences and Programs

NSTA Web Seminar Team

Al Byers, Ph.D., Assistant Executive Director, e-Learning and Government Partnerships

Brynn Slate, Manager, Web Seminars, Online Short Courses, and Symposia

Jeff Layman, Technical Coordinator, Web Seminars, SciGuides, and Help Desk

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The Curiosity Rover: Robotic Geologist and Explorer · 5/21/2013 · Curiosity’s Science...

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