好奇号的空中起重机如何改变NASA探索火星的方式

好奇号的空中起重机如何改变NASA探索火星的方式

十二年前,NASA使用一项大胆的新技术,利用机器人喷气背包降低火星车的高度,使六轮科学实验室降落在火星上。NASA的好奇号火星车任务在这颗红色星球上度过了12岁的生日,这位六轮科学家在火星山麓缓慢前行,不断有重大发现。仅仅成功着陆火星就是一项壮举,但好奇号任务在2012年8月5日更进一步,以一种大胆的新技术——空中起重机机动降落。

火星的锡卡点

火星的锡卡点

2022年8月31日 Siccar Point on Mars Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS; Processing & License: Kevin M. Gill Explanation: What created this unusual hill on Mars? No one is sure. A good outlook to survey the surrounding area, Siccar Point stands out from its surroundings in Gale Crater. The unusual mound was visited by the robotic Curiosity rover exploring Mars late last year. Siccar Point not only has a distinctive shape, it has dark rocks above lighter rocks. The apparent much younger age of the dark rocks indicates a time-break in the usual geological ordering of rock layers — by a process yet unknown. The Martian hill is named for Siccar Point on Earth, a place in Scotland itself distinctive as a junction between two different rock layers. Curiosity…