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posted by martyb on Friday September 15 2017, @07:31AM   Printer-friendly
from the Where's-Marvin? dept.

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has begun the steep ascent of an iron-oxide-bearing ridge that's grabbed scientists' attention since before the car-sized rover's 2012 landing.

"We're on the climb now, driving up a route where we can access the layers we've studied from below," said Abigail Fraeman, a Curiosity science-team member at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

"Vera Rubin Ridge" stands prominently on the northwestern flank of Mount Sharp, resisting erosion better than the less-steep portions of the mountain below and above it. The ridge, also called "Hematite Ridge," was informally named earlier this year in honor of pioneering astrophysicist Vera Rubin.

"As we skirted around the base of the ridge this summer, we had the opportunity to observe the large vertical exposure of rock layers that make up the bottom part of the ridge," said Fraeman, who organized the rover's ridge campaign. "But even though steep cliffs are great for exposing the stratifications, they're not so good for driving up."

The ascent to the top of the ridge from a transition in rock-layer appearance at the bottom of it will gain about 213 feet (65 meters) of elevation—about 20 stories. The climb requires a series of drives totaling a little more than a third of a mile (570 meters). Before starting this ascent in early September, Curiosity had gained a total of about 980 feet (about 300 meters) in elevation in drives totaling 10.76 miles (17.32 kilometers) from its landing site to the base of the ridge.

Will Curiosity find petroglyphs left by Martian Anasazi?

[The Planetary Society, as usual, has an excellent writeup. Contributor Emily Lakdawalla has an update on her blog about the ascent over the past three months, lots of pictures, and even includes a map of Curiosity's travels over that period. --Ed.]


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  • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Friday September 15 2017, @01:54PM (5 children)

    by Grishnakh (2831) on Friday September 15 2017, @01:54PM (#568428)

    Will Curiosity find petroglyphs left by Martian Anasazi?

    Hopefully it'll anger a slumbering alien population that will then declare war on us and wipe us out.

    • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday September 15 2017, @06:19PM (4 children)

      by bob_super (1357) on Friday September 15 2017, @06:19PM (#568602)

      Is there a kickstarter or a gofundme to help entice aliens to wipe us out?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 15 2017, @08:01PM (3 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 15 2017, @08:01PM (#568666)

        Well, I don't know about aliens in general, but follow in the footsteps of the people of the old 5th planet between Mars and Jupiter, and the Old Ones will take care of the rest.

        • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 15 2017, @08:32PM (2 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 15 2017, @08:32PM (#568688)

          What happened to the first four planets between Mars and Jupiter?

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 15 2017, @08:42PM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 15 2017, @08:42PM (#568690)

            Shocking cock up. The mice were furious.

            • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday September 15 2017, @09:18PM

              by bob_super (1357) on Friday September 15 2017, @09:18PM (#568706)

              That's definitely gonna ruin your insurance discount and your credit rating.

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