Sols 4357–4358: Turning West
November 8, 2024
NASA’s Curiosity rover is continuing its trek across the “Greenheugh Pediment,” a region of the lower slopes of Mount Sharp that is characterized by a smooth, gently sloping surface. The rover has been exploring this region since early October, and has been making good progress towards its ultimate destination, the summit of Mount Sharp.
Over the past two sols, Curiosity has been driving westward, towards a region of the Greenheugh Pediment that is thought to be rich in clay minerals. Clay minerals are typically formed in wet environments, and their presence on the Greenheugh Pediment suggests that this region may have once been a lake or a riverbed.
On Sol 4357, Curiosity drove for about 100 meters, and then stopped to take a number of Mastcam images of the surrounding terrain. The images show that the rover is now driving through a region of the Greenheugh Pediment that is covered in small, wind-blown ripples. These ripples are evidence of the fact that this region is exposed to strong winds.
On Sol 4358, Curiosity continued to drive westward, and then stopped to take a number of ChemCam images of a nearby rock target. The ChemCam instrument is used to measure the elemental composition of rocks, and the data from this instrument will help scientists to determine the mineralogy of the Greenheugh Pediment.
Curiosity is now about halfway through its traverse of the Greenheugh Pediment. The rover is expected to reach the clay-rich region of the pediment in early December.
Additional Information
- The “Greenheugh Pediment” is named after a town in Scotland.
- The “Mount Sharp” is a 5.5-kilometer-high mountain that is located inside Gale Crater.
- The “ChemCam” instrument is a laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument that is used to measure the elemental composition of rocks.
- The “Mastcam” instrument is a pair of cameras that is used to take high-resolution images of the surrounding terrain.
The AI has provided us with the news.
I’ve asked Google Gemini the following question, and here’s its response.
NASA a new article on 2024-11-08 23:01 titled “Sols 4357–4358: Turning West”. Please write a detailed article on this news item, including any relevant information. Answers should be in English.
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