Curiosity Just Went Through Mud?, page 1

Well.......a wet patch of sand anyway. I don't know if I'd call it "mud" or not, but for the purposes of the thread title, it works well enough.

I was just looking at today's (well, the latest) images from Curiosity, and just from the thumbs, I knew I'd like the pictures. Great angle. From a camera under the chassis, down by the wheels. I thought "oh! great angle for looking for little bugs" or something like this......a nice close view of whatever's there anyway. So I start browsing through them..........no bugs, no fossils, no more fingers blown off ancient statues......awwww......lol.

After disappointment lets loose it's grip I just start skimming through each one again as I always do, just looking for interesting things or geometry and I think "wow, quite a bit of sand is sticking to the wheels. more than I've ever seen in other pics to date" but think nothing more of it. But then I get to the last 2 images from that angle and that "more dirt sticking than normal" turns into very wet sand, to the point where it looks like mud!!

Here's a link to the two images where it's CLEARLY wet. Click on the image to make it more detailed
EDIT- In case it's not clear to you where I'm looking, zoom in to the treads at the very tops of the wheels in the images.

mars.jpl.nasa.gov...

mars.jpl.nasa.gov...

Now, am I just seeing things here? Am I crazy or did that rover just go through a muddy patch of sand? Mind you, it's moving in this series of images. If you look at the 5 or 6 images leading up to this, it seems to be rolling into a gradually more wet area of sand.

Thoughts? A ground spring perhaps? Did it just rain? Am I just crazy?

reply to post by Larry L

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Well Im looking at the images on my Atari and its pretty obvious there is no mud.

reply to post by Larry L

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The only thing that is pretty clear to me is...that is dust on the wheels. Example, I live in the South, red clay country. During the Summer months, it's dry as a bone here. But you can drive down any dirt road and get the exact same thing in the treads of your tires...it's called...dust. Particles of granulated dirt.

Des

reply to post by Larry L

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Looking at the pictures I realize that I do not know the composition of that soil. Really fine particles could behave that way possibly like getting baking flower on your hands..

There does seem to be moisture content on the wheels to me. Makes me think the whole "rover may be contaminated with earth bacteria" bit a little much..

I agree with the op.

The second picture shows two distinct colors of dust. I think the darker color has more moisture.

reply to post by Larry L

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Here is what I mean about the different colors. I think the darker color dirt is wet...

SCROLL to the right all the way.




Dang OP Very nice find.

cool.

In fact I am going to go out and say that it's definitely wet. It's not super wet (muddy) but it is wet dust. That second picture is obvious once you let your eyes adjust. It's exactly like slightly wet powder that mostly falls off but the core of it sticks to the wheel.. You can tell by the pattern and the color..

Originally posted by Destinyone
reply to post by Larry L

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The only thing that is pretty clear to me is...that is dust on the wheels. Example, I live in the South, red clay country. During the Summer months, it's dry as a bone here. But you can drive down any dirt road and get the exact same thing in the treads of your tires...it's called...dust. Particles of granulated dirt.

Des

You're right. It looks EXACTLY like tires going through clay. And why does that clay stick to your tires in that way instead of just coating them in dust? Answer: Because it has MOISTURE in it. I'm not saying this thing just went through a river. I'm saying First of all: it is clearly going through fairly damp sand, as opposed to completely dry and arid sand because of the way it's sticking to the wheels, and Second: that in those last 2 images (the ones I posted, it shows that that particular wheel went through a particularly damp spot. Damp enough to actually have visible moisture about 1 inch under the surface.

I mean jeez.....in that first picture, just look at the track in the sand left by the rover. DOes that look like a track left in arid sand? If so you've never been to a beach. That looks like a track left when a dirtbike (similar aggressive tread) goes through wet snad a few hours after tide goes out.

How close are they to the supposedly dried up river bed in the latest images? I don't think it's quite as dry as it looks. Just like when I go out to Arizona on desert excursion in the Sanora. Find a dry looking lake bed....move an inch of sand and it's wet.........dig a foot down and in about an hour you'll magically have some drinking water out of a seemingly arid desert on the surface.

reply to post by Larry L

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Here you go




beaten

Originally posted by Dustytoad
reply to post by Larry L

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Here is what I mean about the different colors. I think the darker color dirt is wet...

SCROLL to the right all the way.

Dang OP Very nice find.

Cool .

edit on 9/11/2012 by Dustytoad because: (no reason given)

I see that as just slightly damp. The part I'm seeing as obviously "WET" is the very top tread.....the "horizon of the wheel if you will, and to the left on that "horizon".

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