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paulhammond5155

@ paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

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3 yr. ago

  • Lift and shake - Animated GIF

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  • I’m starting to really enjoy this saga.

    Latest images (just in) show it's still hanging onto the drill bit (sol 4882 - May 1, 2026)

    Not sure what they'll try next :)

  • What are these?

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  • These are Fiducial Markers (or fiducials for short). Fiducials basically allow the rover's computers to measure itself.

    The markings are a staple of engineering that can serve two parallel purposes, to calibrate cameras and to calibrate various mechanisms on the rover.

    They’re a common feature in high-tech photography and robotics here on Earth, but the use of fiducials on extra-terrestrial robots is relatively new.

    The technique started informally on the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission, which landed Spirit and Opportunity on the Red Planet’s surface in 2004.

    JPL engineers noticed that, over time, the accuracy of the MER robotic arm was degrading, and they weren’t really sure why. So some of the JPL engineers came up with an algorithm that would just recognize a circular feature on the end of the arm. Then every day, it could track where that actually was versus where the robotic rovers thought it was. The idea blossomed into more than just an engineering hack with Curiosity. JPL engineers came up with the design for the fiducials for Curiosity, as they needed something that would be easy for either a computer program or a person to accurately pick the center of. Having that intersection in the middle makes it easier for a person, as they can zoom in on the image and click exactly on that intersection, and the design also makes it easy for a computer, because it can compute the center of a circle. From there, basic trigonometry lets engineers piece together the positions and orientations of the various parts of the rover.

    To measure all of the mechanisms on the rover, fiducials are installed all over the turret, on the end of the rover's arm, as well as on the tops of the steering actuators and on the top deck of the rover.

    They were so useful they are were installed on the Mars Insight lander and the M2020 rover.

    M2020 also uses the smaller 'April Tags'. They're fiducial markers for machine vision systems and are "robust to lighting and viewing angle".

  • Lift and shake - Animated GIF

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  • These are the two frames that show the 'Shake'

    Looks like material is moving on the surface of the rock and falling onto the ground as seen in this short animation

  • NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover @lemmy.world
    paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

    Lift and shake - Animated GIF

  • Rover Lifts Rock With its Drill (sol 4881)

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  • no Martians under this rock

    Many were hoping for a sand worm :)

  • NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover @lemmy.world
    paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

    Rover Lifts Rock With its Drill (sol 4881)

  • Attempt # 1 to free the stuck drill fails (Sol 4879)

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  • Thanks for all the information!

    You're welcome, glad to be of help.

    I'm just a mission nerd, that's followed this mission since its design stage, and more than happy to answer questions :)

  • Attempt # 1 to free the stuck drill fails (Sol 4879)

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  • Oh, no! So it basically got its finger stuck in a hole? Can they detach the drill bit if they can’t get it loose?

    Yup it's stuck.

    There is a documented method where they can detach the Drill Bit Assembly (DBA) See image below of the complete DBA.

    That would leave the DBA and the drill bit in the rock.

    There are two brand new DBAs mounted to the front of the rover that in theory can be used to replace the DBA stuck in the rock.

    However there is an actuator in the drill that is designed to release the DBA and re-engage with a new DBA mounted on the front of the rover in its Bit Box.

    1. At this time we don't know if that release actuator is still in working order, as since landing in 2012 they have not needed to change a drill bit.

    2. There is a Drill Feed Mechanism on the drill. This has been locked up for many years after its internal locking brake failed. That failure forced the team to establish a new way of drilling sample holes and retaining powdered rock without using the stabilizers on either side of the drill or CHIMRA. This however left the drill in its fully extended position.

    3. I have no idea if unlatching and re-latching a new DBA is still possible with the drill feed mechanism fully extended.

    I'm sure the team have plenty more ideas to attempt to release the bit. They are normally very conservative in these situations and will try the less risky things first, gradually digging deeper into their bag of tricks. Fingers crossed they can release this bit and test it to ensure it is working properly before drilling its next sample hole.

    Here's a rover selfie that shows the 2 spare DBAs mounted on the front of the rover

    Hopefully this situation will be addressed / explained in a future mission update / blog

    Watch this space...

  • NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover @lemmy.world
    paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

    Attempt # 1 to free the stuck drill fails (Sol 4879)

  • Did Curiosity's drill bit get stuck in the rock when they tried to pull it out of the freshly drilled hole on sol 4877?

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  • leave no stone unturned, lil buddy.

    I think it got jealous of the other rover taking samples, so it wanted to keep one of its own :)

  • Looking Southwest after a drive on April 26, 2026 (Sol 1842)

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  • Details of the drive and assorted stats

  • Looking Southwest after a drive on April 26, 2026 (Sol 1842)

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  • Map with 20m scale. The path of this drive is highlighted yellow

  • Looking Southwest after a drive on April 26, 2026 (Sol 1842)

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  • Map with 500m scale

  • NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover @lemmy.world
    paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

    Looking Southwest after a drive on April 26, 2026 (Sol 1842)

  • Did Curiosity's drill bit get stuck in the rock when they tried to pull it out of the freshly drilled hole on sol 4877?

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  • Re-post of the animated GIF.

    The original animation was assembled in the wrong order, here is the corrected version

  • Did Curiosity's drill bit get stuck in the rock when they tried to pull it out of the freshly drilled hole on sol 4877?

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  • Whether it’s checking for sandworms or the Epstein files, I applaud the science team for this new, aggressive search tactic.

    Let's hope it's checking for both ;)

  • NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover @lemmy.world
    paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

    Did Curiosity's drill bit get stuck in the rock when they tried to pull it out of the freshly drilled hole on sol 4877?

  • NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover @lemmy.world
    paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

    Mars Guy Episode 264

  • Curiosity Finds Organic Molecules Never Seen Before on Mars

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  • Either it does and life is incredibly unique and rare or it isn’t and life is incredibly common

    Given the size of our universe and the numbers of earth-like rocky planets that are out there that orbit their sun in its Goldilocks zone. I'd say the chances of life forming in any of those places as being statistically favorable. I believe Mars had the ability to sustain life (if it formed) before Earth did. Sadly Mars climate changed.

  • Curiosity Finds Organic Molecules Never Seen Before on Mars

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  • Life on Mars?

    IMHO - It's the best indicator yet of past life on Mars. However to prove it the scientists would need samples returned to Earth so they could be measured here with instruments that could prove that those organic molecules were from past life or came from a naturally occurring source.

  • NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover @lemmy.world
    paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

    Curiosity Finds Organic Molecules Never Seen Before on Mars

    www.nasa.gov /missions/mars-science-laboratory/curiosity-rover/nasas-curiosity-finds-organic-molecules-never-seen-before-on-mars/

  • Check out the terrain in this mosaic

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  • The left eye of the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity took this image of the camera on the rover's arm, the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), during the 30th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Sept. 5, 2012). MAHLI is one of the tools on a turret at the end of the rover's robotic arm. When this image was taken, the arm had raised the turret to about the same height as the camera on the mast. The Mastcam's left eye has a 34-millimeter focal length lens.

    The image shows that MAHLI has a thin film or coating of Martian dust on it. This dust accumulated during Curiosity's final descent to the Martian surface, as the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft's descent stage (or sky crane) engines were disrupting the surface nearby.

    Effects of the dust were seen in the first image taken of Mars by MAHLI, on the day after landing (PIA15691). The MAHLI lens is protected from dust accumulation by a transparent dust cover. If the dust cover were clean, the images would appear as clear as if the cover were open.

    The reddish circle near the center of the Mastcam Sol 30 image is the window of MAHLI's dust cover, with a diameter a little less than a soda can's diameter. Inside the lens, each of the nine glass lens elements and the front sapphire window are bonded or cemented in place by a red-colored silicone RTV (room temperature vulcanizing) material. This is a space-qualified "glue" that holds the lens elements in place. When the MAHLI is viewed from certain angles, this material gives one the impression that the inside of the lens is red.

    The mechanism at the right in this image is Curiosity's dust removal tool, a motorized wire brush.

    Reminder: This image was taken about a month after landing in Gale crater, 13.5 years ago!

  • NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover @lemmy.world
    paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

    Check out the terrain in this mosaic

  • NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover @lemmy.world
    paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

    Curiosity Blog, Sols 4867-4872: Sand Fill In Antofagasta Crater and Finding Our Next Drill Target

    science.nasa.gov /blog/curiosity-blog-sols-4867-4872-sand-fill-in-antofagasta-crater-and-finding-our-next-drill-target/

  • Details of the 90 minute drive on April 19, 2026 (Sol 1835)

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  • Map with a scale of 20 meters, the path of the sol 1835 is indicated by the yellow line.

    North is up on all these maps

  • Details of the 90 minute drive on April 19, 2026 (Sol 1835)

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  • Map with a scale of 200 meters

  • NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover @lemmy.world
    paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

    Details of the 90 minute drive on April 19, 2026 (Sol 1835)

  • Long drive on April 19, 2026 (Sol 1835)

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  • Ugh, imagine getting to Mars and finding out your camera sensor has a couple of dead pixels

    Several cameras have either dead pixels or some sort of contamination on the CCDs, some of those defects were noticed just before launch in final testing, but it was too late to change, replace the CCD or clean inside of the affected cameras :(

    All in all, the affect on the images is minimal, and only really noticed when they image monotone areas

  • Long drive on April 19, 2026 (Sol 1835)

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  • why does it look like a bird is flying in the very far background?

    It's a small group of dead pixels on the left side NavCam camera (L-NavCam)

    We only usually see those when that section of the upper left tile of a 4 tile NavCam captures the sky

    Here are a pair of raw upper left NavCam tiles from Sols 1833 and 1835 that I have annotated, note the dead pixels in the same location in the sky.

    If you go back through the image server you'll find the same dead pixels on L-NavCam images, I've include an example from December 13, 2023 (Sol 1000)

  • NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover @lemmy.world
    paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

    Long drive on April 19, 2026 (Sol 1835)

  • NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover @lemmy.world
    paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

    Mars Guy - Ep 263

  • NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover @lemmy.world
    paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

    Drive on sol 4868 - images etc in the comments

  • NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover @lemmy.world
    paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

    Polygons in the workspace

  • NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover @lemmy.world
    paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

    Four years ago! (April 2022)

  • NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover @lemmy.world
    paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

    Blog for Sols 4859-4866: One Small Crater and Thousands of Polygons

    science.nasa.gov /blog/curiosity-blog-sols-4859-4866-one-small-crater-and-thousands-of-polygons/
  • NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover @lemmy.world
    paulhammond5155 @lemmy.world

    Ending a drive at an Impact Crater - Sol 4865 (April 13, 2026)