Diamond Member SpaceMan 0 Posted May 8, 2025 Diamond Member Share Posted May 8, 2025 Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up Science This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up Multimedia This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up Mars Missions This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up 2 min read Sols 4532-4533: Polygon Heaven This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image, showing an example of the polygonally fractured terrain that it has been driving over, using its Right Navigation Camera. The rover captured the image on May 4, 2025 — Sol 4530, or Martian day 4,530 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 18:07:04 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Written by Catherine O’Connell-Cooper, Planetary Geologist at University of New Brunswick Earth planning date: Monday, May 5, 2025 Our 29-meter weekend drive (about 95 feet) was successful, and we are still in the band of polygon-rich bedrock. The origin of these cracks is not clear — could they have formed as desiccation cracks as Mars began to get drier, billions of years ago? Or during later periods when groundwater moved through the bedrock? Spending time in this area will help us to tease out their origin by sampling as much of the diversity as we can, from regular bedrock to the stranger textured targets. Touch and Go plans allow only a few hours of science at a given workspace — in this plan, the rover turns on around 9 a.m. local time, and by 2 p.m. we have picked up and moved on to the next stop. So planning on a day like today is quite the balancing act, trying to cram in as much science, as efficiently as possible, in a small amount of time. This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up on some of the polygon features, so today we were able to concentrate on more typical bedrock without polygonal features, to compare with our last targets. We wiIl acquire a short APXS integration on the brushed target “Encinitas,” and image the target with MAHLI. In contrast, ChemCam will use LIBS to analyze “Jack Creek,” an elongated vein feature about 30 centimeters long (about 12 inches), which may be related to the polygon features. Both Mastcam and MAHLI will image this vein. Beyond the workspace, but relatively closer to the rover, Mastcam will image “Loma Verde” on a small, overturned block and “Temescal Canyon,” looking at a larger expanse of bedrock with polygonal structures. Further afield, ChemCam will acquire a long-distance image at “Agua Tibia,” which is close to “Torote Bowl,” a circular feature that we have been imaging periodically since sol 4486. Once all the science has been gathered here in our very busy morning, we move on in a 26-meter drive (about 85 feet). We are edging closer to the “boxwork structures” — it feels like we have been saying this in every blog for a long time, but we will have “wheels on” for the first time within the next few drives. Share Details Last Updated May 08, 2025 Related Terms This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up Explore More This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up Article 2 days ago This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up Article 3 days ago This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up Article 4 days ago This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Mars This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up All Mars Resources This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up Rover Basics This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up Mars Exploration: Science Goals This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up 0 Quote Link to comment https://hopzone.eu/forums/topic/243574-nasa-sols-4532-4533-polygon-heaven/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
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