Daring Russian Sample Return mission to Martian Moon Phobos aims for November Liftoff

Russian Phobos-Grunt spacecraft set to Launch in November 2011.The flight version of the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft minus its main solar panels is being lowered into a vacuum chamber at NITs RKP test facility in Peresvet, north of Moscow, for thermal, vacuum and electric tests around beginning of June 2011. Credit: NPO Lavochkin

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In just over 3 weeks’ time, Russia plans to launch a bold mission to Mars whose objective, if successful , is to land on the Martian Moon Phobos and return a cargo of precious soil samples back to Earth about three years later.

The purpose is to determine the origin and evolution of Phobos and how that relates to Mars and the evolution of the solar system.

Liftoff of the Phobos-Grunt space probe will end a nearly two decade long hiatus in Russia’s exploration of the Red Planet following the failed Mars 96 mission and is currently scheduled to head to space just weeks prior to this year’s other Mars mission – namely NASA’s next Mars rover, the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory (MSL).

Blastoff of Phobos-Grunt may come as early as around Nov. 5 to Nov. 8 atop a Russian Zenit 3-F rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch window extends until about Nov. 25. Elements of the spacecraft are undergoing final prelaunch testing at Baikonur.

Flight version of the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft during assembly in preparation for critical testing in thermal and vacuum chamber at NITs RKP facility closely imitating harsh conditions of the real space flight. Credit: NPO Lovochkin

Baikonur is the same location from which Russian manned Soyuz rockets lift off for the International Space Station. Just like NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover, the mission was originally intended for a 2009 launch but was prudently delayed to fix a number of technical problems.

“November will see the launch of the Phobos-Grunt interplanetary automatic research station aimed at delivering samples of the Martian natural satellite’s soil to Earth’” said Vladimir Popovkin, head of the Russian Federal Space Agency, speaking recently at a session of the State Duma according to the Voice of Russia, a Russian government news agency.

Phobos-Grunt spacecraft

The spacecraft will reach the vicinity of Mars after an 11 month interplanetary cruise around October 2012. Following several months of orbital science investigations of Mars and its two moons and searching for a safe landing site, Phobos-Grunt will attempt history’s first ever touchdown on Phobos. It will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the surface of the tiny moon and collect up to 200 grams of soil and rocks with a robotic arm and drill.

Russian Phobos-Grunt spacecraft prepares for testing inside the vacuum chamber. Credit: NPO Lavochkin

After about a year of surface operations, the loaded return vehicle will blast off from Phobos and arrive back at Earth around August 2014. These would be the first macroscopic samples returned from another body in the solar system since Russia’s Luna 24 in 1976.

“The way back will take between nine and 11 months, after which the return capsule will enter Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of 12 kilometers per second. The capsule has neither parachute nor radio communication and will break its speed thanks to its conical shape,” said chief spacecraft constructor Maksim Martynov according to a report from the Russia Today news agency. He added that there are two soil collection manipulators on the lander because of uncertainties in the characteristics of Phobos soil.

Phobos-Grunt was built by NPO Lavochkin and consists of a cruise stage, orbiter/lander, ascent vehicle, and Earth return vehicle.

The spacecraft weighs nearly 12,000 kg and is equipped with a sophisticated 50 kg international science payload, in particular from France and CNES, the French Space Agency.

Also tucked aboard is the Yinghou-1 microsatellite supplied by China. The 110 kg Yinghou-1 is China’s first probe to launch to Mars and will study the Red Planet’s magnetic and gravity fields and surface environment from orbit for about 1 year.

“It will be the first time such research [at Mars] will be done by two spacecraft simultaneously. The research will help understand how the erosion of Mars’ atmosphere happens,” said Professor Lev Zelyony from the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, according to Russia Today.

Phobos-Grunt mission scenario. Credit: CNES
Phobos seen by Mars Express. Credit: ESA

Read Ken’s continuing features about Phobos-Grunt, Curiosity and Opportunity starting here:
Assembling Curiosity’s Rocket to Mars
Encapsulating Curiosity for Martian Flight Test
Dramatic New NASA Animation Depicts Next Mars Rover in Action
Opportunity spotted Exploring vast Endeavour Crater from Mars Orbit
Twin Towers 9/11 Tribute by Opportunity Mars Rover
NASA Robot arrives at ‘New’ Landing Site holding Clues to Ancient Water Flow on Mars
Opportunity Arrives at Huge Martian Crater with Superb Science and Scenic Outlook
Opportunity Snaps Gorgeous Vistas nearing the Foothills of Giant Endeavour Crater
Opportunity Rover Heads for Spirit Point to Honor Dead Martian Sister; Science Team Tributes

Mystery of the Martian Rilles

Credit: ASU / NASA / JPL

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When the first spacecraft flew by Mars in the 1960’s, the images returned revealed a relatively uninteresting-looking place, featureless in some areas and pockmarked with craters in most others. It looked a lot like the Moon. Later flybys and orbiting probes, however, gave us a closer look at other regions on the planet, providing a glimpse of what Mars is really like: a world of mountains, volcanoes, canyons, craters, old riverbeds and polar ice caps. It is little surprise then, that these striking geologic features captured scientists’ attention the most, and so areas like Hesperia Planum, a flat, relatively dull-looking plain, have received less attention over the years.

But there is a mystery in this region in the form of geologic features called rilles. No one has been able to figure out where they came from or how they formed.

 The rilles in Herperia Planum are a series of about a dozen narrow, sinuous channels. They are up to a few hundred meters wide, and hundreds of kilometers long, but don’t appear to have any sources or destinations. The assumption has been that they were most likely created by lava flows, like their counterparts on the Moon. But apart from one very small volcano, there is little evidence of any volcanism in Hesperia Planum, which makes the appearance these rilles difficult to explain.

Another explanation could be water, but again, there are no obvious sources or other indications of past water in this region.

These enigmatic features have been the subject of study by scientists from the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Geologist Tracy Gregg and her student Carolyn Roberts have been comparing them to rilles on the Moon, and their preliminary findings were presented today at the Annual Meeting of The Geological Society of America, in Minneapolis, and they hope to find some answers in further study and collaboration with other scientists.

“On the Moon we see these same kinds of features and we know that water couldn’t have formed them there,” Gregg said. “Everybody assumed these were huge lava flows, But if it turns out to be a lake deposit, it’s a very different picture of what Mars was doing at that time.”

So, were they formed by water, lava or something else? If it turned out to be water, that would of course be more interesting in terms of the search for possible habitable areas in Mars’ past.

Whichever explanation turns out to be correct, or even a different one, it will be one more piece of evidence which helps to further our understanding of this fascinating world, so much like our own in some ways, yet utterly alien in others

The paper is available here and additional photos are here.

Source: EurekAlert

NASA to Test Laser Communications System

Conceptual image of The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration. Credit: NASA

[/caption]Quite often, communication rates with remote spacecraft have been a limiting factor when exploring our solar system. For example, it can take up to 90 minutes to transfer one high-resolution image from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to scientists on Earth.

Improving data communication rates would allow scientists to collect additional data from future missions to Mars, Titan or other destinations in our solar system.

How does NASA plan to overcome the current limitations in communication with spacecraft outside Earth orbit?

One of three recently announced technology demonstrations, The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration, will help demonstrate and validate laser-based communications. One of many goals for the LCRD is to provide spacecraft in Earth orbit ( and beyond ) a faster and reliable method of communication than standard radio communications currently in use.

A laser-based communication will allow NASA and other government agencies to perform missions that require higher data rates. In the cases where less data is required, the laser-based systems would consume less power, mass and precious volume inside a spacecraft. Given roughly equal mass, power, and volume, the laser-based communications system offers much higher data rates than a radio-based communications system.

NASA’s goals for the LCRD are to:

Enable reliable, capable, and cost effective optical communications technologies for near earth applications and provide the next steps required toward optical communications for deep space missions

Demonstrate high data rate optical communications technology necessary for:

  • Near-Earth spacecraft (bi-directional links supporting hundreds of Mbps to Gbps)
  • Deep Space missions (tens to hundreds of Mbps from distances such as Mars and Jupiter)
  • Develop, validate and characterize operational models for practical optical communications
  • Identify and develop requirements and standards for future operational optical communication systems
  • Establish a strong partnership with multiple government agencies to facilitate crosscutting infusion of optical communications technologies
  • Develop the industrial base and transfer technology for future space optical communications systems
  • High-rate communications 10-100 times more capable than current radio systems will also allow for greatly improved connectivity and enable new generations of remote missions that are far more capable than today’s missions. NASA’s LCRD will also provide the satellite communication industry with technology not available today. Laser-based space communications will enable missions to use high-definition video and and pave the way for a possible “virtual presence” on a remote planet or other bodies in the solar system.

    While the laser-based communications technology featured in the LCRD will allow more data to be sent from spacecraft to scientists on Earth, the communication delays (a few seconds for the Moon, and over twenty minutes for Mars) will still require careful mission planning.

    Diagram of LCRD mission. Image Credit: NASA

    The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) is led by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) office in the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate is collaborating with the NASA Office of the Chief Technologist in sponsoring this technology demonstration.

    If you’d like to learn more about NASA’s LCRD, you can read more at: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/features/laser-comm.html

    Source: NASA Technology Demonstration Updates

    A Rover’s 3-Year Drive Across Mars

    Here’s a look at the Opportunity rover’s three-year trek across 20 km (13 miles) of Meridiani Planum on Mars, using the unique vantage point of the rover itself. During the drive from Victoria Crater to Endeavour Crater, rover planners captured a horizon photograph at the end of each drive. 309 images taken during the journey appear in this video.

    Encapsulating Curiosity for Martian Flight Test

    NASA’s Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory Rover inside the entry aeroshell. At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the "back shell powered descent vehicle" configuration, containing NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, is being placed on the spacecraft's heat shield. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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    With just over 6 weeks to go until the liftoff of Curiosity – NASA’s next Mars rover – prelaunch processing at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida is rapidly entering the home stretch. Technicians placed the folded rover inside the complete aeroshell to match the Martian entry configuration components together and conduct preflight testing of the integrated assembly at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at KSC. The aeroshell is comprised of the heat shield and back shell and encapsulates Curiosity during the long voyage to Mars.

    The job of the aeroshell is to protect the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) from the intense heat of several thousand degrees F(C) generated by friction as the delicate assemblage smashes into the Martian atmosphere during the terrifying entry and descent to the surface.

    Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory Rover - inside the Cleanroom at KSC. Credit: Ken Kremer

    The rover itself has been mated to the back shell powered descent vehicle, known as the PDV or sky crane. The rocket powered descent stage (PDV) is designed to maneuver through the Martian atmosphere, slow the descent and safely set Curiosity down onto the surface at a precise location inside the chosen landing site of Gale Crater.

    Technicians still have several more weeks of hardware testing and planetary protection checks ahead before NASA’s minivan sized Martian robot is encapsulated inside the aeroshell for the final time.

    Rotating Curiosity's Back Shell Powered Descent Vehicle
    At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the "back shell powered descent vehicle" configuration of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory is being rotated for final closeout actions. At this time Curiosity and its rocket-powered descent stage have already been integrated, and are now encapsulated inside the spacecraft's back shell. The configuration of rover integrated with the descent stage is the "powered descent vehicle." The back shell, a protective cover, carries the parachute and several other components used during descent. The yellow disks visible at the top of the configuration are the descent stage's radar antennas that will be used to calculate the rover's descent speed and altitude. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

    Another major task still to be completed is mating the aeroshell to the cruise stage and then fueling of the cruise stage, which guides MSL from the Earth to Mars, according to Guy Webster, press spokesman for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory which manages the MSL project for NASA.

    The launch of the $2.5 Billion Curiosity rover atop an Atlas V rocket is slated for Nov. 25, the day after Thanksgiving, and the launch window extends until Dec. 18. Arrival at Gale crater is set for August 2012.

    Curiosity is by far the most scientifically advanced surface robotic rover ever sent beyond Earth and will search for environmental conditions that could have been favorable to support Martian microbial life forms if they ever existed in the past or present.

    Final Closeout Actions for Curiosity's Heat Shield and Back Shell
    At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the "back shell powered descent vehicle" configuration, containing NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, is being rotated for final closeout actions. The flat, circular object in the foreground of the image is the spacecraft's heat shield. The heat shield and the back shell will together form an encapsulating aeroshell that will protect the rover from the intense heat and friction that will be generated as the flight system descends through the Martian atmosphere.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

    Watch for my upcoming report from inside the cleanroom with Curiosity.
    Read Ken’s continuing features about Curiosity and Opportunity starting here:
    Opportunity spotted Exploring vast Endeavour Crater from Mars Orbit
    Twin Towers 9/11 Tribute by Opportunity Mars RoverNASA Robot arrives at ‘New’ Landing Site holding Clues to Ancient Water Flow on Mars
    Opportunity Arrives at Huge Martian Crater with Superb Science and Scenic Outlook
    Opportunity Snaps Gorgeous Vistas nearing the Foothills of Giant Endeavour Crater
    Dramatic New NASA Animation Depicts Next Mars Rover in Action
    Opportunity Rover Heads for Spirit Point to Honor Dead Martian Sister; Science Team Tributes

    Martian Atmosphere Supersaturated with Water?

    Artist's impression of the Mars Express spacecraft in orbit. Image Credit: ESA/Medialab

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    Last week, scientists announced findings based on data from the SPICAM spectrometer onboard ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft. The findings reported in Science by Maltagliati et al (2011), reveal that the Martian atmosphere is supersaturated with water vapor. According to the research team, the discovery provides new information which will help scientists better understand the water cycle and atmospheric history of Mars.

    What processes are at work to allow large amounts of water vapor in the Martian atmosphere?

    The animated sequence to the left shows the water cycle of the Martian atmosphere in action:

    When the polar caps of Mars (which contain frozen Water and CO2) are warmed by the Sun during spring and summer, the water sublimates and is released into the atmosphere.

    Atmospheric winds transport the water vapor molecules to higher altitudes. When the water molecules combine with dust molecules, clouds are formed. If there isn’t much dust in the atmosphere, the rate of condensation is reduced, which leaves water vapor in the atmosphere, creating a supersaturated state.

    Water vapor may also be transported by wind to the southern hemisphere or may be carried high in the atmosphere.In the upper atmosphere the water vapor can be affected by photodissociation in which solar radiation (white arrows) splits the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen atoms, which then escape into space.

    Scientists had generally assumed that supersaturation cannot exist in the cold Martian atmosphere, believing that any water vapor in excess of saturation instantly froze. Data from SPICAM revealed that supersaturation takes place at altitudes of up to 50 km above the surface when Mars is at its farthest point from the Sun.

    Based on the SPICAM data, scientists have learned that there is more water vapor in the Martian atmosphere than previously believed. While the amount of water in Mars’ atmosphere is about 10,000 times less water vapor than that of Earth, previous models have underestimated the amount of water in the Martian atmosphere at altitudes of 20-50km, as the data suggests 10 to 100 times more water than expected at said altitudes.

    “The vertical distribution of water vapour is a key factor in the study of Mars’ hydrological cycle, and the old paradigm that it is mainly controlled by saturation physics now needs to be revised,” said Luca Maltagliati, one of the authors of the paper. “Our finding has major implications for understanding the planet’s global climate and the transport of water from one hemisphere to the other.”

    “The data suggest that much more water vapour is being carried high enough in the atmosphere to be affected by photodissociation,” added Franck Montmessin, Principal Investigator for SPICAM and co-author of the paper.

    “Solar radiation can split the water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen atoms, which can then escape into space. This has implications for the rate at which water has been lost from the planet and for the long-term evolution of the Martian surface and atmosphere.”

    However, water vapour is a very dynamic trace gas, and one of the most seasonally variable atmospheric constituents on Mars.

    Source: ESA/Mars Express Mission Updates

    Were Martian Rocks Weathered by Water?

    Pitted rocks imaged by Opportunity. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Stu Atkinson.

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    There are many ways rocks can be textured. Wind erosion, water erosion, the escape of volcanic gases during their formation (in the case of igneous rocks)… all these forces can create the pitted textures found on many rocks on Earth… and perhaps even on Mars. And according to a report published by a group of planetary geologists led by James Head of Rhode Island’s Brown University, another method may also be at play on Mars: melting snow.

    Here on Earth in the hyper-arid dry valleys of Antarctica, water from melting snow erodes the surfaces of dark boulders, creating pitted textures similar to what has been found at many locations on Mars.

    In order for that process to be truly analogous, though, a few conditions would have to be met on the red planet. First, the atmospheric pressure must be high enough to allow water to remain – if only temporarily – in a liquid state. Water that instantly boils away won’t have enough time to chemically attack the rock. Second, the rock itself must be at least warm enough to not freeze the water (again, must be liquid.) And third, there must actually be water, snow or frost present.

    While one or more of these factors may be currently present in locations on Mars, they have not yet been found to exist all together in the same place. But that’s just what’s been found now… in Mars’ geologic past these may all have very well existed either in isolated locations or perhaps even planet-wide.

    The paper’s abstract states:

    For example, increases in atmospheric water vapor content (due, for example, to the loss of the south perennial polar CO2 cap) could favor the deposition of snow, which if collected on rocks heated to above the melting temperature during favorable conditions (e.g., perihelion), could cause melting and the type of locally enhanced chemical weathering that can cause pits.

    In other words, if the dry ice at Mars’ south pole had melted at one point, freed-up water vapor could have fallen on rocks elsewhere as snow. If Mars were at a point in its orbit closest to the Sun and therefore experiencing warmer temperatures the snow could have then melted – especially upon darker rock surfaces.

    Still, it’s possible – or even probable – that the weathering did not occur at a consistent rate across the entire surface of the rocks. Some sides may have weathered faster or slower than others, depending on how they were exposed to the elements. But if there’s one thing Mars has had a surplus of, it’s time. Even if the processes outlined in the report are indeed the cause of Mars’ pitted rocks, they have likely been in play over many hundreds of millions – even billions – of years.

    Read the team’s report on the Journal of Geophysical Research here.

    Thanks to Stu Atkinson for his color work on the images from Opportunity. Check out his blog The Road to Endeavour for updates on the rover’s progress.

    Citizen Science: Help Find Life on Mars

    This photo was taken by a DeepWorker submersible in Kelly Lake. Credit: NASA

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    Interested in helping NASA scientists pinpoint where to look for signs of life on Mars?

    If so, you can join a new citizen science website called MAPPER, launched in conjunction with the Pavilion Lake Research Project’s 2011 field season.

    How can the MAPPER and Pavilion Lake Research projects help scientists look for off-Earth life?

    Since 2008, the Pavilion Lake Research Project (PLRP) has used DeepWorker submersible vehicles to investigate the underwater environment of two lakes in Canada (Pavilion and Kelly). With the MAPPER project, citizen scientists can work with NASA scientists and explore the lake bottoms from the view of a DeepWorker pilot.

    The PLRP team’s main area of focus are freshwater carbonate formations known as microbialites. By studying microbialites that thrive in Pavilion and Kelly Lake, the scientists believe a better understanding of how the formations develop. Through a greater understanding of the carbonate formations, the team believes they will gain deeper insights into where signs of life may be found on Mars and beyond.

    To investigate the formations in detail, video footage and photos of the lake bottom are recorded by DeepWorker sub pilots. The data requires analysis in order to determine what types of features can be found in different parts of the lake. Analyzing the data allows the team to answer questions such as; “how does microbialite texture and size vary with depth?” and “why do microbialites grow in certain parts of the lake but not in others?”.

    The amount of data to analyze is staggering – if each image taken were to be printed, the stack would be taller than the depth of Pavilion Lake (over 60 meters). If each image were reviewed one-by-one, the PLRP’s team would never be able to complete their work. Distributing the work to the general public solves the problem, due in part by spreading the massive work out over many volunteers across the Internet.

    Since the PLRP 2011 field season Morphology Analysis Project for Participatory Exploration and Research (MAPPER) MAPPER has been open to the general public. By opening MAPPER to the public, anyone can explore Pavilion and Kelly Lake as full-fledged members of PLRP’s Remote Science Team.

    So how do volunteers use MAPPER to help the PLRP team?

    Once volunteers create an account at: getmapper.com, the volunteers complete a brief tutorial, which provides the necessary training to tag photos in the PLRP dataset. MAPPER has ease-of-use in mind, providing users with a simple interface, which makes tagging features like sediment, microbialites, rocks, and algae easy. In case a user is unsure of how to tag a photo, examples and descriptions of each feature are available.

    Screenshot of Mapper in action. Image Credit: NASA

    In a manner similar to online games, each photo tagged earns the volunteer points which can be used to unlock new activities. Volunteers can also compete with other Remote Science Team members on the MAPPER leaderboard. Volunteers can also check to see how close each dataset is to being completely reviewed and see how much they have contributed to said dataset, as well as seeing what features have been tagged the most. Volunteers who tag a photo as ‘cool’ save said image to their Cool Photos album, allowing them to easily find the image at a later date.

    PLRP Remote Science Team members from across North America, Europe and Asia have already been making discoveries in Pavilion and Kelly Lake. If you’d like to become a PLRP Remote Science Team member, visit: www.getmapper.com
    You can also learn more by visiting the MAPPER Facebook page

    Opportunity spotted Exploring vast Endeavour Crater from Mars Orbit

    Opportunity captured at Endeavour Crater rim on Sept 10, 2011, Sol 2712. Opportunity is visible at the end of the white arrow, sitting atop some light toned outcrops on the rim of Endeavour Crater located at the southern tip of a rim segment named Cape York. Opportunity is ascending Endeavour at Cape York ridge and positioned to the right of the small crater named Odyssey. This image was taken by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), Opportunity travelled nearly three years to reach this rim because it contains rocks even more ancient than the rocks of Meridiani Planum, which the rover has been exploring since 2004, and hence may teach us something about an even more ancient era in Martian history. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

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    Opportunity has just been imaged in high resolution at Endeavour crater by a powerful NASA camera orbiting overhead in Mars orbit. The new image (see above) was snapped while NASA’s long lived robot was climbing a hilltop offering spectacular panoramic vistas peering into the vast crater which is some 14 miles (22 km) wide.

    The HiRiSE camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed Opportunity and her wheel tracks on September 10, 2011, or Martian Sol 2712 for a mission warrentied to last only 90 Sols ! The rover is sitting to the right of another small crater known as Odyssey. Click to enlarge the image.

    Look very closely and you’ll even be able to easily discern the rovers pair of tire tracks showing the path traversed by the robot as she explores the crater and the ejecta rocks and boulders excavated and strewn about by an ancient impact.

    Opportunity imaged at Endeavour crater rim with wheel tracks exploring Odyssey crater, rocks and boulders climbing up Cape York ridge. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

    Opportunity is ascending up the rim of Endeavour crater at the southern tip of a low ridge dubbed Cape York – a location that has already yielded a bonanza of new science data since her recent arrival in August 2011 after a more than 20 mile (33 km) epic trek.

    The intrepid rover discovered a rock unlike any other since she safely landed at the Meridiani Planum region of Mars nearly eight years ago on Jan. 24, 2004.

    Opportunity is now searching Endeavour crater and Cape York for signatures of phyllosilicates – clay minerals that formed in the presence of pH neutral water flowing on Mars surface billions of years ago.

    Cape York ridge at Endeavour Crater - From Orbit
    This image taken from Mars orbit shows the path driven by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity in the weeks around the rover's arrival at the rim of Endeavour crater and up to Sol 2688. Opportunity has since driven a short distance to the right. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

    Endeavour Crater Panorama from Opportunity, Sol 2681, August 2011
    Opportunity arrived at the rim of Endeavour on Sol 2681, August 9, 2011 and climbed up the ridge known as Cape York. Odyssey crater is visible at left. Opportunity has since driven a short distance beyond Odyssey crater and was photographed from Mars orbit on Sept. 10, 2011.
    Mosaic Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/Marco Di Lorenzo/Kenneth Kremer

    Read Ken’s continuing features about Curiosity and Opportunity starting here:
    Opportunity spotted Exploring vast Endeavour Crater from Mars Orbit
    Twin Towers 9/11 Tribute by Opportunity Mars Rover
    NASA Robot arrives at ‘New’ Landing Site holding Clues to Ancient Water Flow on Mars
    Opportunity Arrives at Huge Martian Crater with Superb Science and Scenic Outlook
    Opportunity Snaps Gorgeous Vistas nearing the Foothills of Giant Endeavour Crater
    Dramatic New NASA Animation Depicts Next Mars Rover in Action
    Opportunity Rover Heads for Spirit Point to Honor Dead Martian Sister; Science Team Tributes

    Twin Towers 9/11 Tribute by Opportunity Mars Rover

    Memorial Image Taken on Mars on Sept. 11, 2011. This view of an American flag on metal recovered from the site of the World Trade Center towers shortly after their destruction on Sept. 11, 2001, was taken on Mars by NASA’s Opportunity rover on Sept. 11, 2011, the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the towers. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University/Arizona State University

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    On this somber occasion marking the 10th anniversary of the tragic events of 9/11, NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover has taken new images of itself on 9/11/11 showing a piece of metal recovered from the wreckage of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City that was carried all the way to the planet Mars as a commemorative memorial to the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001.

    On Sept. 11, 2011 (Martian Sol 2713), Opportunity snapped the memorial image above showing the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) and an American Flag – evoking the memory of the Twin Towers – from a slope on a Martian hill named Cape York which in turn is a segment of the rim of a gigantic crater named Endeavour.

    Opportunity is still roving the red planet’s surface, nearly 8 years after safely landing on Jan 24, 2004. After an epic trek she recently arrived at the gigantic 14 mile wide Endeavour crater .

    Opportunity took the new image of the RAT and 9/11 US Flag memorial on Mars on the exact day timed to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the attacks.

    The image shows the arm extended for inspection of target on a rock called “Chester Lake”, according to NASA officials. Opportunity is driving in a northerly direction up the Cape York hill on her scientific expedition of the crater’s rim.

    Memorial Close-up Image Taken on Mars on Sept. 11, 2011
    Close-up image taken on 9/11/11 of a piece of metal with the American flag on it of a NASA’s Opportunity rover on Mars is made of aluminum recovered from the site of the World Trade Center towers in the weeks after their destruction on Sept. 11, 2001. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University/Arizona State University

    Both towers of the World Trade Center in New York City were destroyed by the terrorists on that terrible day and nearly 3000 precious people were killed during horrifying historic events that changed America and the World forever.

    The RAT was built for NASA and both rovers by Honeybee Robotics which at that time was located less than a mile away from the WTC near the southern tip of Manhattan.

    Steve Gorevan, the founder and chairman of Honeybee and a member of the rover science team, told me in a past interview that he was on his way to work and out on the city streets within a few blocks of the Twin Towers when he suddenly heard the sounds of the jet engines just before the first tower was struck.

    Gorevan and the Honeybee employees watched the tragic events unfold from their company’s offices and rooftop the rest of the day. Following the terror attacks, Gorevan said access to Honeybee was restricted for weeks and the firm was on a tight deadline to deliver the RAT’s to NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California where the rovers were being assembled.

    The idea for somehow placing a Martian memorial on the rovers was presented. Gorevan told me that he was able to secure metallic pieces from the WTC wreckage through the Office of the then NYC Mayor Rudy Guiliani a few weeks after the attacks.

    Memorial Image Taken on Mars on Sept. 11, 2011 of Robotic Arm at Work showing US Flag 9/11 Memorial on the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT). Image taken on Sol 2713 as the robot investigates a rock outcrop called Chester Lake. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

    Aluminum shards were delivered by the Mayor’s office to Honeybee along with a note indicating their authenticity. These were soon fashioned into an aluminum shield that was placed on each RAT along with a US Flag. The shield serves as a cable guard.

    Gorevan says the twin towers memorial was purposely kept quiet for some time until well after both rovers landed out of respect for the victims’ families.

    Opportunity is healthy and continuing her exploration of Endeavour crater which harbors geologic formations and rocks unlike any previously investigated by either of the Mars Exploration (MER) rovers.

    Along the rim of Endeavour crater rover scientists hope to discover and analyze clay minerals which formed in pH neutral water billions of years ago and a habitable environment much more favorable to the formation of life compared to all the other spots studied by either rover thus far.

    Both rovers far exceeded their original 90 days warranties with many years of added bonus time for science exploration.

    Endeavour Crater Panorama from Opportunity, Sol 2681, August 2011
    Opportunity arrived at the rim of Endeavour on Sol 2681, August 9, 2011 and climbed up the ridge known as Cape York. Odyssey crater is visible at left. Opportunity drove north from here to snap a new 9/11 memorial image on Sept 11, 2011 marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
    Mosaic Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/Marco Di Lorenzo/Kenneth Kremer

    Read Ken’s continuing features about Mars starting here
    NASA Robot arrives at ‘New’ Landing Site holding Clues to Ancient Water Flow on Mars
    Opportunity Arrives at Huge Martian Crater with Superb Science and Scenic Outlook
    Opportunity Snaps Gorgeous Vistas nearing the Foothills of Giant Endeavour Crater
    Dramatic New NASA Animation Depicts Next Mars Rover in Action
    Opportunity Rover Heads for Spirit Point to Honor Dead Martian Sister; Science Team Tributes
    Opportunity Rover Completes Exploration of fascinating Santa Maria Crater
    Opportunity Surpasses 30 KM Driving and Snaps Skylab Crater in 3 D