Can Curiosity Uncover a Mountain on Mars?

Curiosity rover that landed on Mars on Sunday (August 5, 2012), has sent a picture of Mount Sharp. "The mountain is 3.4 miles (5.5 kms) higher than Mount Whitney in California," said Mike Watkins, Manager Curiosity landing mission.

This image taken by NASA's Curiosity shows what lies ahead for the rover -- its main science target, informally called Mount Sharp Monday, Aug. 6, 2012. The rover's shadow can be seen in the foreground, and the dark bands beyond are dunes. Rising up in the distance is the highest peak of Mount Sharp at a height of about 3.4 miles (5.5 kilometers), taller than Mt. Whitney in California. (Picture from: http://www.cbsnews.com/)

According to Watkins, the mountain looming in the distance from the landing of Curiosity in Gale Crater. Spacecraft is planned near Mount Sharp and investigate layers of soil. This is in line with the main focus of Curiosity in the field of geology and chemistry.

Here, NASA provides some perspective for that first, cockeyed landscape photo. The black-and-white scenes on either side of the tipped-up center rectangle are computer simulations built from data provided by two orbiting satellites, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the European Space Agency's Mars Express. (Picture from: http://www.cbsnews.com/)

These are the first two full-resolution images of the Martian surface from the Navigation cameras on NASA's Curiosity rover, which are located on the rover's "head" or mast. The rim of Gale Crater can be seen in the distance beyond the pebbly ground. The topography of the rim is very mountainous due to erosion. The ground seen in the middle shows low-relief scarps and plains. The foreground shows two distinct zones of excavation likely carved out by blasts from the rover's descent stage thrusters. (Picture from: http://www.cbsnews.com/)

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spots the landing sight of Curiosity. (Picture from: http://www.cbsnews.com/)

To explore Mars, NASA team installed monitoring camera at the Curiosity front wheels. There are six wheels, and each has its own motor.

Of a number of images transmitted to Earth, only the Sharp Mountain is visible: clear. The remainder is gravel and shadow alone. "Though vague, these are the most beautiful picture I've ever seen," said Watkins.

A view from one of Curiosity's navigation cameras shows the rim of Gale Crater, the rover's landing spot. (Picture from: http://www.cbsnews.com/)

Sarah Milkovich, ilmuwart HiRISE at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said Sharp Mountain Curiosity snapped when plunging into the Martian surface at high speed. If Curiosity snapped a second faster or longer, would be an empty space in sight. "Without a picture of the mountain," said Milkovich.

A two-year project cost U.S. $ 2.5 billion this seeks to find a signal of such low levels of microbial life on Mars. Vehicle for the car Mini Cooper will explore the crater 150 kilometers wide Gale. In the previous mission discovered ice and indications that water once flowed on the red planet.

In order to analyze the soil on Mars, Curiosity has the tools that are named ChemCam. This tool is capable of firing a laser beam on a small piece of stone. Evaporated material was analyzed to identify the composition of rocks. Other devices are Turret, containing a magnifying camera, a spectrometer. These cameras break down the chemical elements. *** [FOXNEWS | CBSNEWS | CORNILA DESYANA | KORAN TEMPO 3965]

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