Curiosity Read online
Page 34
Sojourner (rover), 42, 53–62, 62, 75
area capable of covering, 231
comparing three generations of Mars rovers, 78
contamination issues, 111–12
driving the rover, 220–21
exploring in Ares Vallis, 60–61
finding evidence of water on Mars, 69–71, 82
length of successful operations, 62
process for obtaining samples, 231
proving concept of a roving vehicle, 75–76
size of, 64
use of solar panels, 58, 65, 79–80
See also Pathfinder mission
sol (a Martian day), 28, 62
tracking Martian time on Earth, 160–64
watch used to track Martian time, 162
solar conjunction, 250, 254, 255
solar panels, 58, 65, 72, 79–80
solar system, 30–31, 80, 103, 113, 127, 260–61
Soviet Union's space programs, 36–46
efforts to reach Mars, 37, 42, 43
efforts to reach Venus, 36–37, 41–42
Space.com, 20, 22, 209
Space Flight Operations Facility at JPL (SFOF). See under Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Space Ghost (TV cartoon series), 193
space programs before Mars explorations, 36–46
space robotics. See robotic arm
SpaceX (Elon Musk's private rocket company), 226
Spear, Tony, 54
Spielberg, Steven, 109
Spirit (rover), 24, 55, 63–74, 75
area expected to cover, 79
comparing three generations of Mars rovers, 78
contamination issues, 113
end of mission for, 51, 72–73
equipment on, 65–66, 231
in Gusev area, 69, 71
importance of advance testing, 68–69
landing area for, 86
process for obtaining samples, 232
size of, 64, 232
use of solar panels, 65, 72, 79–80
See also Mars Exploration Rovers mission; Opportunity (rover)
Squyres, Steve, 65, 66–67, 69, 71
Star Trek (TV series), 127
Steltzner, Adam, 26, 132, 133, 143, 146, 276, 277
on landing of Curiosity, 154, 155–56, 157, 158–59, 159
sterility, recipe for, 265
Stimpy (rock near Sojourner), 194
stromatolites, 17, 19, 107–108
sulfates, 71, 86, 87, 251, 252, 270, 272
sulfur on Mars, 98, 217, 251
Sumner, Dawn, 256
T. Rex (place on Mars), 193
talc, 18, 79
team effort, exploring Mars as a, 165, 230, 272, 277
Teflon contamination issue, 237, 238
temperatures. See weather on Mars
thermal cycling and contraction, 240–41, 242–43, 244
Thermal Emission Spectrometer, 66
thermal inertia, 102, 103, 200, 241
time, watch set to track Mars Time, 160–64, 162
time delay for transmissions between Earth and Mars, 24, 60, 73, 129, 136, 151, 158, 220, 224, 228, 230, 246
Times Square, live coverage of Curiosity landing, 151, 276
Tompkins, Vandi, 25, 28, 190, 225–30, 226, 245
“Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Bodies” (UN report), 109
trench, digging a, 229–30
Trujillo, Diana, 240
Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin, 34–35
tungsten weights, 173
Twin Peaks (rock near Sojourner), 194
Twitter, use of, 151, 200–201, 248–49
Tycho's peak on the Moon, 102
ultraviolet radiation, 93, 104, 112
United Nations, 109
United States (US) space programs, 36–46
supply of plutonium limited, 81
Unix, 182, 185, 221
“untargeted remote sensing,” 187
Uranus (planet), 80, 127
US National Research Council, 116
Valles Marineris, 170
Vasavada, Ashwin, 24–25, 28, 47, 182, 186, 236–37, 247, 253, 254, 260, 269, 274–75
Vatican Observatory, 191
Venus (planet), 30, 31, 34, 127, 261
efforts to explore, 36–37, 41, 42, 67, 244
Verne, Jules, 191
Viking program, 36, 57, 90, 106, 178
contamination issues, 109–11
fuel for, 56
for landers, 80
use of throttleable rockets on the backpack, 143, 145
generating names for features found on Mars, 192–93
goals and purpose of, 76
heat-shield design, 134
landers on Mars, 42–46, 45, 53, 77–78, 137
static landers, 104
landing of Viking 1, 60, 136, 140
Pyle observing video link of, 129–30
looking for microbial life, 76, 97, 99
Viking orbiters, 165
von Braun, Wernher, 35, 119
Voyager program, 66, 80, 178, 257
Wall, Mike, 20, 22
Wall Street Journal (newspaper), 20
Washington Post (newspaper), 20
watch set to track Mars Time, 160–64, 162
water on Mars, 98, 102, 206–207, 256, 273
changes through geological epochs, 262
clays and evidence of water, 18, 71, 84, 87, 102, 103, 244, 251, 252, 270, 272
conclusive evidence of a body of standing water, 266–67
data revealed by drilling at John Klein and Cumberland, 251–52, 254, 263–64
discovery of massive erosional forces, 45–46
following trail of ancient water features and geologic evidence, 77, 82, 83, 84, 86
Malin and Edgett hypotheses about water and sedimentation on Mars, 104–106, 165, 168–71
mudstone as an indicator of, 248, 251, 252
not all water activity had been ancient, 106–107
press release on first Martian soil samples, 217, 218
as primary focus for the Mars programs, 167–68
evidence found by MER rovers, 69–71, 98
evidence found by Sojourner, 62, 82, 98
process of change from wet to arid environment, 273
See also life on Mars; sedimentation exploration
weather on Mars, 255
carrying dust and dirt, 79–80
changes through geological epochs, 262
dust storms, 38, 41, 72, 79–80, 121, 207
Pathfinder reporting on, 61
photos showing hazy, dull reddish brown day, 177
temperature difference between night and day, 240
weathered sedimentation, 105
Webster, Guy, 14, 181, 182, 190, 210
Wedge (rock near Sojourner), 61, 194
wheels, 73
on Curiosity, 47, 60, 73, 90, 112, 147, 204, 229, 244
acting as landing legs, 140, 148, 157, 158
concern about damage and wear, 185, 186, 187, 188, 225, 258–59, 259, 268, 268, 269
monitoring wheel tracks, 185, 201, 205, 221
on MERs, 51, 74, 232
on Sojourner, 58, 61, 231
whimsy as a basis for naming features on Mars, 193, 195, 202
will.i.am, 201
Williams, Rebecca, 161–63
wire brush. See DRT
Yahoo News (news source), 210
Yellowknife, Canada, 195, 196
Yellowknife Bay (region Curiosity explored), 195, 196, 234, 239–40, 242, 251, 256, 267, 269, 270–71, 273–74
Yogi (second rock found by Sojourner), 61, 62, 193
Yogi Bear (cartoon character), 62, 193
Zeiss, Carl, 128
Curiosity
Destination Mars