[meteorite-list] Curiosity Update: First Scoopful A Success

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2012 12:24:44 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201210081924.q98JOiIL008805_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1370

First Scoopful A Success
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
October 8, 2012

On the mission's 61st Martian day, or sol (Oct. 7, 2012), NASA's Mars
rover Curiosity used its soil scoop for the first time, collecting a
scoopful of sand and powdery material at the "Rocknest" site. Imaging
verified collection of the sample. The collected material will be used
for cleaning interior surfaces of the rover's sample-handling mechanism.
It will be held and vibrated inside each chamber of the mechanism before
the material is discarded. Curiosity's Collection and Handling for
In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA) device, on the robotic arm,
includes the scoop and the mechanism for sieving and portioning samples
of soil and powdered rock.

A Sol 61 raw image from Curiosity's left navigation camera, at
http://1.usa.gov/OMDbxy, shows where the soil collected by the scoop was
removed from the ground. The scoop leaves a hole 1.8 inches (4.5
centimeters) wide.

The rover's ability to put scooped and sieved samples of soil into on
board laboratory instruments is an important part of the mission. Those
instruments -- Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) and Sample Analysis at
Mars (SAM) -- will play crucial roles in evaluating whether the study
area has ever had a favorable environment for microbial life. Still to
be used for the first time is the rover's capability to take powdered
samples from rocks, using a percussive drill, for delivery to those same
instruments.

Sol 61, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 11:44
p.m. Oct. 7, PDT (2:44 a.m. Oct. 8, EDT).
Received on Mon 08 Oct 2012 03:24:44 PM PDT