Curiosity’s First Visit To The Martian Dunes, In Visuals (Synopsis) [Starts With A Bang]

“Actually I think Art lies in both directions – the broad strokes, big picture but on the other hand the minute examination of the apparently mundane. Seeing the whole world in a grain of sand, that kind of thing.” -Peter Hammill

When fine-and-coarse-grained sand is carried by the winds across uneven terrain, sand dunes form here on Earth. But on Mars, where the atmosphere is only 0.7% what it is here, the sand is made of different composition and the winds gust to up to 60 mph (100 kph), do sand dunes behave the same way?

A close-up of the dunes from the Curiosity rover. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSL Curiosity Rover.

The Mars Curiosity rover intends to find out! By observing grain flow, ripples, grain fall and more, and by going into the dunes themselves and scooping them into its analysis devices, we hope to uncover our first understanding of active sand dunes on another planet.

A full-color view of the rocky terrain of Mount Sharp, with the darker, lower dunes in the foreground. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSL Curiosity Rover.

Come see what we’ve found so far, and what’s next on Curiosity’s horizon!

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1rNgwGf

“Actually I think Art lies in both directions – the broad strokes, big picture but on the other hand the minute examination of the apparently mundane. Seeing the whole world in a grain of sand, that kind of thing.” -Peter Hammill

When fine-and-coarse-grained sand is carried by the winds across uneven terrain, sand dunes form here on Earth. But on Mars, where the atmosphere is only 0.7% what it is here, the sand is made of different composition and the winds gust to up to 60 mph (100 kph), do sand dunes behave the same way?

A close-up of the dunes from the Curiosity rover. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSL Curiosity Rover.

The Mars Curiosity rover intends to find out! By observing grain flow, ripples, grain fall and more, and by going into the dunes themselves and scooping them into its analysis devices, we hope to uncover our first understanding of active sand dunes on another planet.

A full-color view of the rocky terrain of Mount Sharp, with the darker, lower dunes in the foreground. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSL Curiosity Rover.

Come see what we’ve found so far, and what’s next on Curiosity’s horizon!

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1rNgwGf