[meteorite-list] Scars on Mars from 2012 Rover Landing Fade -- Usually

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 29 Mar 2015 23:28:32 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201503300628.t2U6SWpO016456_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4527

Scars on Mars from 2012 Rover Landing Fade -- Usually
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
March 27, 2015

A series of observations from Mars orbit show how dark blast zones that
were created during the August 2012 landing of NASA's Curiosity rover
have faded inconsistently.

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter made the observations on multiple dates from
landing to last month. After fading for about two years, the pace of change
slowed and some of the scars may have even darkened again.

The images track changes in blast zones at four locations caused by different
pieces of Curiosity hardware, such as the heat shield and the descent
stage. The four series, each with images from five to seven different
dates since landing, are available online at:

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA19159

"Spacecraft like Curiosity create these dark blast zone patterns where
bright dust is blown away by the landing," said Ingrid Daubar, a HiRISE
team scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California,
who has used similar blast zones to find fresh meteor impact sites on
Mars. "We expected to see them fade as the wind moved the dust around
during the months and years after landing, but we've been surprised to
see that the rate of change doesn't appear to be consistent."

One purpose for repeated follow-up imaging of Curiosity's landing area
has been to check whether scientists could model the fading and predict
how long it would take for the scars to disappear. Daubar's work on this
aids preparations for NASA's next Mars lander, InSight, on track for launch
in March 2016. The InSight mission will deploy a heat probe that will
hammer itself a few yards, or meters, deep into the ground to monitor
heat coming from the interior of the planet. The brightness of the ground
affects temperature below ground, because a dark surface warms in sunshine
more than a bright one does.

HiRISE is one of six instruments with which NASA's Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter has been studying Mars since 2006.

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project has been using the Curiosity rover
to examine ancient Martian environments favorable for microbial life.

With three active NASA Mars orbiters and two Mars rovers, NASA seeks to
characterize and understand Mars as a dynamic system, including its present
and past environment, climate cycles, geology and biological potential.
In parallel on its journey to Mars, NASA is developing the capabilities
needed for human missions there.

The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colorado. JPL, a division
of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter Project, the Mars Science Laboratory Project and
the InSight Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the orbiter and collaborates
with JPL to operate it.

Links for additional info:

About HiRISE:

http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu

About NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter:

http://mars.nasa.gov/mro

About Curiosity and NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project:

http://mars.nasa.gov/msl

About InSight:

http://insight.jpl.nasa.gov

Media Contact
Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-6278
guy.webster at jpl.nasa.gov

2015-102
Received on Mon 30 Mar 2015 02:28:32 AM PDT