Curiosity Just Went Through Mud?

I think it's possible there's moisture on Mars, and those wheels look like they've got damp dirt on them.

Here's a link to an article about moisture on Mars... www.upi.com...

That second picture on the OP looks like there's a dried river bed in the background.

the compacted soil & the different types of crushed rocks that were run over by the wheels make it appear that moisture is the factor

but all we have is a lifetime of experience with water content as a natural condition...

bet that desert testing of the rover had similar results here on the Earth...the wheels having compressed powder sticking on the metal wheels & looking tinted, like there was moisture in the soil



anyone checked just what is the temperature of the lakebed that Curiosity is exploring ?
that info alone would tell us if liquid water was present...
perhaps there is another liquid on the surface, a fluid which has the properties of an anti-freeze,

there are complex hydrocarbons out there which may give us all a false impression that water molecules are present

Originally posted by Larry L

But even by those standards, the amount of moisture here in these images seems like quite a bit.

Except there is no moisture at all.

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)

What? It is a strong possibility because there is "very little moisture floating about"?
Do you mean a weak possibility?

....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.

But there isn't.

If there were THAT much moisture in the air there, I would think we'd be seeing desert plants all over the place.

Plants don't grow out of water.

We don't see that, which suggest just a random wet spot.

We don't see that because plants don't grow out of water, and which does therefore not suggest that it is a random wet spot. And also, it is not a wet spot.

WHich begs more questions.......lol

No, actually not.

First of all, good work spotting it, regardless of what it may be, as without people doing the spotting most of us will not see those things.

Now, what I see (and I suppose we all see) are darker patches of dust, both on the ground and on the wheels. Does that mean that the dust was damp? Not necessarily, it could just be a little darker than the rest.

But what if that's real moisture on the dust? Well, if it is it will dissipate with time, so we have to look at the next photos to see if the darker areas remain there or not, remembering that we do not see the whole wheel, so the fact that we don't see a darker area on future photos doesn't mean that it was moisture that evaporated, we may just be looking at a different area of the wheel.

If that's really moisture, the way I think it's the most likely for it to get there is because of the rover itself, as Curiosity's wheels are much bigger than those of the previous rovers and cover a bigger area of the ground, so maybe that (possible) moisture came from the ground that was covered by the wheel. If it was then it should also appear in the other wheels.

A very interesting find.

Is that a penny I see in the second pic?

This may sound very ignorant because I confess that I don't know much if any about Mars but, can't there be condensation from the planet getting colder at night. Can't the sand get a little moist from that?

I just can't get over the fact that we have pics like that from a traveling robot on another planet, it's so awesome in itself

I always thought that the large rock next to sojourner and the track marks in the soil from sojourner looked moist. Almost like permafrost under a thin layer of dirt that heats up during the daytime and possibly evaporates. Spirit and opportunity images display moist looking tracks in some of their travels.

mars.jpl.nasa.gov...

Doesn't look like shadows, JMO.

Originally posted by Larry L

Originally posted by Consequence
Shouldn't people be banned for such titles, when the content is far from it?

Thank you for nothing.

What do you mean? Did you even look at the images at good quality? There is clearly what looks like mud on the treads at the top of the wheels. So what in the title is giving you such fits that you think I should be banned? If it looks like mud, what else should I have put? H2O saturated dirt particles? You tell me?

I'm posting from a PS3 because my PC is broken, so I can't use photo-shop to post a zoomed image, so for that I apologize. But what I'm talking about is pretty clear.

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

"Clearly what looks like mud" ? ... no ... it doesn't look like mud at all to me ..

Just a thought ,but could the dust be staticaly charged and be sticking because of that charge?

I do have to say that it does look moist though.

Originally posted by Bilk22
Is that a penny I see in the second pic?

Well, supposedly, Curiosity did bring an undisclosed amount of funds on its journey.

dats wet!.....take it from a scientist....34% moisture in the sand on the ground track taken by the rover where the outboard side of the tread either sat for a while to contract moisture from the ground or a drip...and rolled over the "bird bath".....is showing two colors of sandy loam.....the darker is hugging the grip area ....thermal oscillation propagated maybe......drip....not likely but had to be mentioned as we form a hypothisis.....

Originally posted by iunlimited491

Originally posted by Bilk22
Is that a penny I see in the second pic?

Well, supposedly, Curiosity did bring an undisclosed amount of funds on its journey.

I'm "curious". If they are looking for life, why did they pick this landing site? NASA has claimed there are other areas where water and ice are present. Wouldn't that have been a better place to look for life? A desert doesn't seem to me to be the best location for that. Just asking. Maybe someone with better knowledge of this can chime in. I'd like to understand, why this dry crater.

Originally posted by miniatus

"Clearly what looks like mud" ? ... no ... it doesn't look like mud at all to me ..

To be fair....and this is coming from an ex policeman who has looked at a few mud stained car tyres in the past during an investigation....if that was on earth, and that was the subject of an investigation, you'd be wondering where the mud came from and what kind it was.

In my experience anyway.

CX.

Originally posted by SpaceCowboy78
This may sound very ignorant because I confess that I don't know much if any about Mars but, can't there be condensation from the planet getting colder at night. Can't the sand get a little moist from that?

I just can't get over the fact that we have pics like that from a traveling robot on another planet, it's so awesome in itself

This...

And if so, then there has to be a certain amount of moisture or even water on Mars. I don't care about crystals and bs, that wheel looks wet to me, so that is what they should be working from!

Originally posted by Dustytoad
I agree with the op.

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

It definately looks like moisture.

Originally posted by iunlimited491

Originally posted by Bilk22
Is that a penny I see in the second pic?

Well, supposedly, Curiosity did bring an undisclosed amount of funds on its journey.

Well heres some coin on the vehicle.
mars.jpl.nasa.gov...

The Spirit Rover did the same thing...

www.telegraph.co.uk...

Here is a footprint..

mars.jpl.nasa.gov...

And wet tracks? or just like soil when disturbed.. changes colour?

mars.jpl.nasa.gov...

Explanation: S&F!

I am going to take my fellow ATS members word for it that it IS wet, which is what I am seeing,...

... and NO that doesn't nessissarily mean water is on Mars at all ... it may just mean that Curiosity has sprung a leak in its ...

Curiosity Rover: Specifications [wiki]

Heat rejection system: The temperatures at the landing site can vary from 30 to −127 °C (86 °F to −197 °F) so for the majority of the Martian year, the thermal system will be warming the rover. The thermal system will achieve this in several ways: passively, through the dissipation of internal components; by electrical heaters strategically placed on key components; and by using the rover heat rejection system (HRS). It uses fluid pumped through 60 m (200 ft) of tubing in the rover body so that sensitive components are kept at optimal temperatures. The fluid loop actually serves the additional purpose of rejecting heat when the rover has become too warm, but it also can gather waste heat from the power source, by pumping fluid through two heat exchangers mounted alongside the RTG.
The HRS also has the ability to cool components if necessary.

Personal Disclosure: So Now, when NASA leaks something ... do they mean that LITERALLY???