Curiosity Just Went Through Mud?

I just wanted to say, I just realised that I didn't have a question mark in the title. I was wondering why people were talking about my thread title like I was stating a fact instead of looking for other people's opinions on the images. I meant to have a question mark. While I do believe that IS moisture, I still originally intended that question mark to be there. Trust me, I'm a person who feels people don't use NEARLY enough question marks when talking about these things.

I can see what Larry is on about..it's pretty plainly obvious in fact, i think people sometimes need to back off a little with the off the cuff harsh replies and add to the discussion in a more positive manner.

Just my opinion, which doesn't count for much i know, it just seems to be a common trait among some members who see the slightest drift from the exact truth as some kind of personal insult. No-one here is an expert on a planet they are only just exploring, no matter how much our ego's tell us we are. At a stage of exploration as early as this, can anyone here really claim their word as fact?

End of the day, it is plainly clear that dust or whatever is on the surface of Mars IS stuck to those treads. Whether thats dry dust just hanging on or something more moist, is up for discussion.

Cheers for the thread anyway, always interesting.

CX.

reply to post by CX


Totally agree...

People need to be a little more welcoming to idea's outside the box, after all this is a conspiracy site yah?

looks moist to me, i can easily see how someone could come to that conclusion...

is it moist?.. how the #*(%& can I or anyone else say yes or no.. either way, good thread OP.

I wanna spend my night drinking whiskey and looking at photos of mars now!

reply to post by CX


Thanks for the kind words, and I agree with the sentiment 100% even if this weren't my thread.

I'm just truly interested, and asking questions. Like I said......I don't think enough people ask questions these days, and it seems like no one's EVER asked questions when it comes to NASA stuff. It's like people are just into the theatrics of us having a Rover on Mars.....they think it's quaint. But few actually seem to be interested in what's there. They just say "hey we know it's a desert planet....nothing there of interest.....no sense in even looking at the pictures, and if you do.....you're WEIRD!!!" LOL I'm exagerating of course......but not by much imo.

Some people do NOT welcome debate on this subject though. That's for sure.

Originally posted by Agit8dChop


People need to be a little more welcoming to idea's outside the box

Definitely, it's not always easy at first, but it's actually quite refreshing when you are not so blinkered that you restrict yourself from learning something new.

CX.

Originally posted by wmd_2008
reply to post by Larry L

 

Here you go

edit on 11-9-2012 by wmd_2008 because: (no reason given)

beaten

edit on 11-9-2012 by wmd_2008 because: (no reason given)

Many thanks to you and DustyToad for the screen caps. I wish I could do it myself, but I'm held back by a highly limited broswer and operating system for these kinds of tasks. I wonder if I could beg just one more screen cap of you. Basically the same area of the tire in the first image. The top of it.....that to me seems like the most "wet" part.

I'd appreciate it. Thanks for the help.

Ok....guess what....it gets mighty cold on mars right? Well we already know that water molocules are floating around in space anyway right?

So what if on the night side of mars condensation develops? Creating mud? Its not impossible considering how water reacts when it heats then freezes then heats again...yadda yadda

And Im betting mars is colder in the dark then it is in the day which is true for any planet that rotates.

Just a thought.......

Excellent spot op.

Very interesting..

definately looks like its slightly damp/wet

reply to post by Kastogere


Absolutely. Like I said, I did a couple weekend long excursions in the Arizona desert. A shocking amount of frost forms in the early mornings before light. So much dew freezes that it looks like it snowed.

But even by those standards, the amount of moisture here in these images seems like quite a bit. If it is condensation/dew causing this....which could certainly be a strong possibility......you have to remember this is MARS, with it's extremely thin atmosphere and very little moisture floating about in that atmosphere (according to the iffical story anyway)....this is not the Sanora desert where there's actually quite a lot of life. If THAT much moisture is forming durring the Martian mornings, that would suggest a far more dense and wet atmosphere than we're being told.

If there were THAT much moisture in the air there, I would think we'd be seeing desert plants all over the place. We don't see that, which suggest just a random wet spot. WHich begs more questions.......lol

reply to post by Larry L



Wheel 1

Mud or no mud, still amazing pictures
2nd...

Well spotted OP, and I like those close ups that have been posted because I'd have laughed if I hadn't seen them.

I'm guessing that the moisture is from morning dew and that's caused the dust to stick to the wheels. Space is full of water, wouldn't it be totally strange if Mars was bone dry?

Originally posted by wmd_2008
reply to post by Larry L

 

Wheel 1

Awesome.
Again......thanks so much for the help illustrating what I was talking about. It helps me not look like......you know......I'm just making stuff up or trolling. Kudos

reply to post by Larry L


Happy to help!

reply to post by wigit


Yes sir. Yes it would be strange if Mars were completely bone dry. And we know it's not. There's plenty of ice there, and that's fact, not theory. So Mars certainly isn't bone dry.

But what is also strange, is THAT much moisture being on the wheel of a rover that as we can see from the pictures is exploring a particular region of Mars that on the surface does appear to be "bone dry". But, I suppose as NASA said, they purposely landed Curiosity in a dry lake bed. Maybe it's not a dry as it would seem on the surface. Perhaps things just aren't growing in the area because of rediculously high levels of salt.

I'm sorry, but all I see is a dirty, dusty wheel. But they're nice pictures anyway.

reply to post by Larry L


The only other thing i could think of is loose dirt sticking to the wheels due to lack of gravity? Also something to consider, its not global warming, its solar system warming. The whole line of planets is heating up, not just earth. This could very well change climate conditions even if the water is short lived through thin atmosphere.

Originally posted by CrashUnderride
I'm sorry, but all I see is a dirty, dusty wheel. But they're nice pictures anyway.

second picture.

anyone who has played baseball and tried to dust off a slightly wet home plate knows the look. That is wet dust in the second picture..

I wasn't amazed before about having this remote controlled car thingy on mars...

Now..

I am awe struck. It's all so real now.

Thank You NASA.

reply to post by wigit


I think that any moisture would have to be seeping up from beneath and not condensing from the air as dew. Wonder what the temp is there maybe we should be seeing frost as opposed to what looks like wet dust? Could the wheels them selves be warm? I've always read that water would quickly evaporate in the thin dry atmosphere, maybe the damp appearing substance could be some type of clay which I think is part of what drew them to this crater for study.

In tracking nomenclature what you are seeing is called dulling. It is the result of the fine particulates being churned up in such a way that the surface is not compacted like what you see next to it and consequently there is no reflective quality (or alternately it absorbs most of the light).
Think of it this way; in a tightly packed surface the particles are close together and in this case they appear shiny, if they are packed loosely together then there are many cracks in the surface that trap the light.
Go step in sand or freshly churned earth and you can see the phenomenon for yourself.

The differences in appearance are due to changes in speed or direction by Curiosity's wheels.

As for why it is sticking to the wheels most sand is composed of fine quartzite crystals, as crystals have a positive and negative polarity to them which can be increased with heat or pressure they are being possibly attracted to the steel belting in the tires or metals in the wheel and hub.