The Mars rover Curiosity of the American space agency NASA has started this week with a ‘road trip’ over approximately 1.6 kilometers of terrain on the ‘Red Planet’. Curiosity is expected to arrive at its destination in late September, around the beginning of autumn.
A trip of 1.6 kilometers does not sound like much, but the vehicle has to go through difficult and sometimes unknown terrain, while it can only travel 25 to 100 meters per hour. For example, it has to go through a large sandy area where the vehicle may get stuck.
The road trip may also be delayed if scientists decide to have Curiosity take another soil sample during the trip.
Curiosity will automatically cover part of the journey, for example when the mission control on earth does not have (clear) images of a section of route. In other parts, ‘rover planners’ on Earth will lead Curiosity through the rugged landscape of the ‘Red Planet’.
––
–
–
The Gale Crater on Mars, photographed by the Curiosity rover. (Photo: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS)
Rover moves from clay to sulphate region
Curiosity drives around the Gale Crater, on Mount Aeolis Mons, also known as Mount Sharp. There, it has been investigating a clay-rich area on the mountain since 2019, but now it will continue to an area rich in sulfate.
NASA hopes to use research in these areas to learn more about the waters that used to flow over Mars and the possible (microscopic) life that previously existed on the planet.
–
