The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) team is currently attending the 8th International Mars Science Conference on the Caltech campus in Pasadena. The conference has been keeping scientists busy, with updates on MSL operations still being monitored. Recent project reports indicate that the rover traveled over 82 meters last weekend, with a more limited drive planned for Sol 689 due to rough terrain ahead.
While at the conference, two out of the first three speakers were colleagues from the USGS Astrogeology team. Ken Tanaka, the first speaker, presented a new global geologic map of Mars that was distributed to all registered attendees. Ken led the mapping effort and received a round of applause for his work. The third speaker, Oleg Abramov, shared his findings from detailed modeling of impact bombardment on early Mars history, suggesting that the planet’s crust may not have been completely melted during that time, potentially leaving habitable environments.
Despite the challenges posed by rough terrain ahead and other factors such as communication relays and rover status, the MSL team continues to work diligently to collect valuable data and explore the Red Planet.