[meteorite-list] Curiosity Update: Object Likely Benign Plastic from Curiosity Rover

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2012 12:31:53 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201210091931.q99JVroQ003575_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1372

Object Likely Benign Plastic from Curiosity Rover
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
October 9, 2012

Curiosity's main activity in the 62nd sol of the mission (Oct. 8, 2012)
was to image a small, bright object on the ground using the Remote
Micro-Imager of the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument.

The rover team's assessment is that the bright object is something from
the rover, not Martian material. It appears to be a shred of plastic
material, likely benign, but it has not been definitively identified.

To proceed cautiously, the team is continuing the investigation for
another day before deciding whether to resume processing of the sample
in the scoop. Plans include imaging of surroundings with the Mastcam.

A sample of sand and dust scooped up on Sol 61 remains in the
scoop. Plans to transfer it from the scoop into other chambers of the
sample-processing device were postponed as a precaution during planning
for Sol 62 after the small, bright object was detected in an image from
the Mast Camera (Mastcam).

A Sol 62 raw image from ChemCam, at http://1.usa.gov/R1fZHt, shows the
object in question just to left of center of the image.

Sol 62, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, will end at 12:23
a.m. Oct. 9, PDT (3:23 a.m., EDT).
Received on Tue 09 Oct 2012 03:31:53 PM PDT