NASA’s Curiosity rover hasn’t been doing much roving lately. Instead, it’s been sitting pretty on Mars for the last week or so, waving its robotic arm all over the place.
The purpose of this exercise isn’t to wait idly around but rather to do a detailed investigation of all its various high-tech instruments, in particular the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), which sits at the end of Curiosity’s arm. MAHLI is capable of taking extremely close-up images, resolving down to about 15 microns, or half the diameter of a human hair. The camera has been combing the rover with its high-magnification powers, calibrating and giving it a good once-over.
For those anxious for the rover to get somewhere, the wait is almost over. By Friday, this testing and characterization phase of Curiosity’s mission will be done. Then “the plan is to drive, drive, drive,” said the rover’s mission manager, Jennifer Trosper, during a NASA press conference on Sept. 12. Curiosity will soon reach an area known as Glenelg, where it will conduct its first major science experiments, and then find a sandy location in Gale crater to practice its scooping and analysis.
Here we take a look at some shots from the detailed inspection that the rover has given itself during the past week.
Above:
Hello MAHLI
This image shows Curiosity’s turret, situated at the end of the robotic arm. Centered in the picture is MAHLI, the close-up camera. MAHLI’s four LED lights, which allow it to work at night, are on and the camera’s dust cover is lowered. Scientists wanted to inspect the instrument before opening the cover to make sure it wouldn’t get damaged. The photo was taken using Curiosity’s MastCams.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
