I am involved in several planetary missions. I am the project scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, which is a rover the size of a small car that launched in November 2011. I am also a participating scientist for the Mars Exploration Rovers and for the HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
A long-standing goal of Mars environmental studies has been to understand the role of water throughout its geologic history. The presence of water is a strong indicator of potential habitability as well as of formerly different climatic conditions. Prior to studies by the Mars Exploration Rovers, most studies of water-related processes had been based on analysis of geomorphic attributes. However, we can now examine the record of past surface processes, including the role of water, through sedimentologic studies of the stratigraphic record of Mars. Many processes that operate at a planetary surface have the potential to create a record of sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rocks can provide clues that allow past environmental conditions to be reconstructed. Therefore, the detection of sediment transport by water and wind in ancient sedimentary layers is important, because it provides insight into past climatic regimes and potential habitability.
The HiRISE Camera has allowed new views of Mars at unprecedented resolution. Studies using images acquired by this camera allow us to study sedimentary rocks on Mars from orbit. By combining maps of geomorphic features and dips of layers measured from stereo pairs of images processed into a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), we can begin to untangle the detailed history of particular areas on Mars.
MSL launched on Saturday, November 26th at 10:02 am EST on-board an Atlas V-541 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The cruise stage successfully separated from the rocket and the rover is on its way to Mars, due to land on August 5, 2012. During cruise, activities will include health checks and maintenance of the spacecraft, monitoring and calibration of the spacecraft, attitude correction turns, navigation activities, including trajectory correction maneuvers, and preparation for entry, descent and landing in Gale Crater. In addition, the MSL science mission officially began when the RAD Instrument (Radiation Assessment Detector) was powered up and began collecting data Dec. 6, almost two weeks ahead of schedule. RAD is the only instrument scheduled to operate on the journey to Mars and measures the energetic particles inside the spacecraft during cruise. It will also operate on the surface of Mars following landing. Its mission is to determine the planet's habitability and it will do this by using a suite a sophisticated instruments including cameras, spectrometers, environmental sensors, sample-collection tools, and laboratory-quality geochemical instruments.
Entry, descent, and landing will utilize a sky crane touchdown system. Due to the large size of the rover (900 kg), it cannot use airbags like the Mars Exploration Rovers. The sky crane system will place the rover on its wheels, ready to begin surface operations. An animation of the landing can be found at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcJKmBwyVVw
While we wait for the rover to arrive at Mars, the science and engineering teams will be participating in Operation Readiness Tests (ORTs). During these ORTs, entry, descent and landing, as well as surface operations are simulated and the team is trained in their appropriate roles for when the rover lands.
The rover will be landing in northwestern Gale Crater, which is a 154 km diameter crater with a central mountain of sedimentary strata over 5 km high. The lower portion is made up of interbedded sulfates and phyllosilicates, suggesting that deposition occurred during changing environmental conditions. The Gale mound may be the surviving remnant of an extensive sequence of deposits observed over a widespread region. Exploring detailed stratigraphy of the lower mound will help address MSL’s overall goal of searching for habitable environments on Mars.
For more information on the MSL mission, go to http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/
The Mars Science Laboratory being built in the High Bay at JPL
Full scale model of the Mars Science Laboratory
Digital Terrain Model (DTM) of the lower mound of Gale crater at 3x vertical exaggeration
