APOD: Curiosity Inspects Mt Remarkable on Mars (2014 May 07)

[Anthony Barreiro]

The superb quality of images sent back from such as the Curiosity rover continues to amaze me.

Clicking on the APOD brings up a slightly wider field-of-view mosaic that has Sol 603 in its caption. It took some doing but I've been able to find that the raw images used in producing the excellent mosaic were taken on April 17 2014, which I think may be that of Sol 603 of Curiosity's tour of Mars based on Earth time though I'm by no means sure.

A Sol is a solar day on Mars -- 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds. Curiosity mission Sol 603 would be the 603rd Martian day Curiosity has been on Mars, or approximately the 620th Earth day of the mission.

Mars rover ground crews work on Mars time, so every day you show up for work 40 minutes later. Over the course of 36 Earth days you go through a complete cycle of starting work in the morning, afternoon, evening, and late night. Let's give thanks to our brave Martian explorers!

[Beyond]

That's not a swing shift, it's a 'swinging' shift!

[DavidLeodis]

Thanks Anthony for your reply.

[asdfffdsa]

It's the Quintians!

[BMAONE23]

My mind translates 5 meters as about 16 feet. Is that correct? If so ,then "Baby Remarkable" is about the size of a bungalow, and the 'game trails' are fairly narrow. I think I see another 'trickle trail' coming down from the right (as we look at it) shoulder, and ending just to the right of the end of the ridge of that nice little dune. Does any one else see it?
Joyce

I think I see what you're referring to as a trickle trail, but it's much thinner (narrower) that the two prominent ones, and oddly "straight," too. Almost could imagine it as being a seam in the image. Would like to know more about the image and especially whether it might be possible to see a "blow-up" or "close-up" of these interesting features. Can the earth-bound operators zoom in on them? That might help pin down their origin.

Here is the closest HiDef image I could locate

And Here is the Big Thumb List of that days images

[lifeonmars]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithops

One of the types of life we might find on Mars

[Chris Peterson]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithops

One of the types of life we might find on Mars

Those evolved to look the way they do as protection against predators. So you need to ask, if we found something like that on Mars, what's it hiding from?

[ta152h0]

hiding from us, we are the aliens over there.

[Chris Peterson]

hiding from us, we are the aliens over there.

Yeah, but all the weapons tools we send up there- lasers, grinders, gamma beams- are designed to burn, ablate, or otherwise destroy rocks. That's the last thing you want to look like if you want to avoid an alien probing.

[neufer]

Whatever you do, don't send Rover over (?) to knock on the door. We do not yet understand Martian.
"Welcome" and "Do Not Disturb" appear to us equally undecipherable.

Pope Francis says Martians have right to be baptised
By Nick Squires, The Telegraph, 13 May 2014

<<During the early morning Mass at Casa Santa Martha [Pope Francis] said: “If tomorrow... an expedition of Martians arrives, and some of them came to us, here ... Martians, right? Green, with the long noses and big ears...and one says, 'But I want to be baptized!' What would happen ?" The answer, he said, was that the Church should not “close the doors” to anyone and the Martians should be embraced as equals.>>

[smitty]

My mind translates 5 meters as about 16 feet. Is that correct? If so ,then "Baby Remarkable" is about the size of a bungalow, and the 'game trails' are fairly narrow. I think I see another 'trickle trail' coming down from the right (as we look at it) shoulder, and ending just to the right of the end of the ridge of that nice little dune. Does any one else see it?
Joyce

I think I see what you're referring to as a trickle trail, but it's much thinner (narrower) that the two prominent ones, and oddly "straight," too. Almost could imagine it as being a seam in the image. Would like to know more about the image and especially whether it might be possible to see a "blow-up" or "close-up" of these interesting features. Can the earth-bound operators zoom in on them? That might help pin down their origin.

Here is the closest HiDef image I could locate

And Here is the Big Thumb List of that days images

Thank you for the links to these images. I'd think that a clever geologist (marsologist?) might be able to come up with a reasonably good estimate of the sorts of forces that might be required to cause tracks such as these across this topography. Any way of knowing whether anyone on the Curiosity team or elsewhere will pursue it?

[JohnD]

"Game trails"?
"Curious...swathe of sand"?

I fear you have your curiousity set to stun!
If by the game trails you mean to the two cracks in the bed rock and swathe you mean the small dune in the lee of Mt.Remarkable, then there is nothing remarkable or curious about either, except that we can see them.

John

[smitty]

I fear you have your curiousity set to stun!

John

And your curiosity is set to? Some natural force(s) caused distinct surface disturbances having the appearance of what -- if found on Earth -- might easily be taken for game trails or hiking trails. And you're not curious about that?

[JohnD]

Don't take offence! That's a genuine smile on my gorilla face!
But why describe natural rock fissures as "game trails"? That is not an accepted geological term, and it raises the fantasy that so many here indulge in.
Being able to see these structures so close and so clear is wonder enough without asking ourselves if there is life currently on Mars.

It would be good to hear from geologists, who may explain the raised rim along those fissures. I would suggest a similar mechanism to ice polygons in the tundra, where recurrent freeze/thaw cycles lead to raised edges. This implies that now or earlier there was enough water in the ground for this to happen.

John

[BDanielMayfield]

Don't take offence! That's a genuine smile on my gorilla face!
But why describe natural rock fissures as "game trails"? That is not an accepted geological term, and it raises the fantasy that so many here indulge in.
Being able to see these structures so close and so clear is wonder enough without asking ourselves if there is life currently on Mars.

It would be good to hear from geologists, who may explain the raised rim along those fissures. I would suggest a similar mechanism to ice polygons in the tundra, where recurrent freeze/thaw cycles lead to raised edges. This implies that now or earlier there was enough water in the ground for this to happen.

John

I fear you have your curiousity set to stun!

John

And your curiosity is set to? Some natural force(s) caused distinct surface disturbances having the appearance of what -- if found on Earth -- might easily be taken for game trails or hiking trails. And you're not curious about that?

Smitty, were you actually suggesting that those might in fact be some type of animal made trails?

JohnD, I like your freeze/thaw suggestion, and I second your request for input from geologists.

[smitty]

I was merely using the term "game trails" to point out and to describe what strike me as interesting surface disturbances. Sorry if some folks actually took this literally. I've done considerable hiking in terrain similar to this in Arizona, USA. If I saw disturbances such as these in Arizona I'd think, "Aha, a game trail and/or a hiking trail!" If I saw these disturbances on Mars I'd think, "Aha, these are interesting disturbances worth pointing out and investigating further!" Clear enough?

[JohnD]

Smitty,
I'm sorry, I mistook you for one of the airey, fairey characters who infest this forum, Oh! and Ah! about the pictures and then tell us that it might mean there are 'beings' out there. No problem, AirFairey People, nice to meet you, just go and indulge in your fantasies elsewhere, this is a Science website. A website that is, or should be, in awe and enjoyment of the Universe and its beauty, but interested just as much in the physics, that does not do speculation on no evidence at all.
John

[smitty]

Thanks, John. No offense taken. A good reminder that I should be more careful/wary in my use of language. Like you, I've noted with dismay that not all who visit this site seem interested in furthering the cause of good science.

[BDanielMayfield]

I was merely using the term "game trails" to point out and to describe what strike me as interesting surface disturbances. Sorry if some folks actually took this literally. I've done considerable hiking in terrain similar to this in Arizona, USA. If I saw disturbances such as these in Arizona I'd think, "Aha, a game trail and/or a hiking trail!" If I saw these disturbances on Mars I'd think, "Aha, these are interesting disturbances worth pointing out and investigating further!" Clear enough?

That's what I thought you meant smitty. Similar looking "trails" abound in arid areas of Texas as well.