Curiosity Rover finds strong evidence of ancient lake on MARS surface

Those people who are eagerly monitoring the Curiosity Rover activities on MARS definitely may be knowing about Mount Sharp - a mountain on MARS and primary target of Curiosity Rover of NASA.  The Mount Sharp was built by sediments deposited in a large lake bed over tens of millions of years - says rover science team.

The Mount Sharp also known as Aeolis Mons officially forms the central peak within a very large crater called as Gale Crater which is 155 Km in diameter.  The Mount Sharp is 5 Km tall, its lower flanks exposing hundreds of rock layers.  The rock layers - alternating between lake river and wind deposits - bear witness to the repeated filling and evaporation of a lake much larger than any previously examined close-up.

The NASA team of scientists are exploring to solve the mystery of Mount Sharp.  Where there is a mountain now, there may have been a series of lakes in the past - says one of the team member, Dr. John Grotzinger.

The Curiosity rover is now investigating the lowest sedimentary layers of Mount Sharp, a section of rock 150 meters high.  Rivers carried sand and silt to the lake depositing the sediments at the mouth of the river to from deltas similar to those found at river mouths on Earth. 

“As Curiosity climbs higher on Mount Sharp, we will have a series of experiments to show patterns in how the atmosphere and the water and the sediments interact. We may see how the chemistry changed in the lakes over time.”    “This is a hypothesis supported by what we have observed so far, providing a framework for testing in the coming year.”  Dr Grotzinger said.

NASA's Curiosity finds life's building blocks on MARS surface

The Curiosity rover of NASA has found organic chemicals which are the carbon-containing building blocks of life on the Red Planet - MARS.  The discovery does not confirm the existence of life on MARS or has existed earlier on MARS.  But this marks the first time that organics have been confirmed on MARS.  The Curiosity Project Scientist Mr. John Grotzinger of California Institute of Technology said "This is really a great moment for the Mission".  

The SAM ( Sample Analysis at MARS ) instrument has detected chlorobenzene and several other carbon compounds containing chlorine in the samples from a rock called "Cumberland" which was drilled by Curiosity in May, 2013.

The SAM instrument uses a tiny oven to cook the samples, and then analyze the gases that come out.  The NASA scientists say that it is impossible at present whether the Cumberland organics were produced by living organisms.  But this discovery will definitely help them to guide the planning efforts for NASA's 2020 Mars Rover mission which aims to collect samples on MARS to be returned to Earth.  

The NASA scientists also discovered the detection of methane levels in MARS atmosphere.  Curiosity landed on MARS in August, 2012.  It is now exploring the foothills of Mount Sharp, which rises 5.5 Kilometers above the surface of MARS from the center of the huge Gale crater.

ISRO Successfully launches its heaviest launch vehicle GSLV MARK-III

ISRO successfully tested the atmospheric re-entry of a crew module after its heaviest launch vehicle GSLV Mark-III lifted off from Sriharikota on 18th December, 2014.  This success helps India to realize its ambition to send humans into space.


The Crew module separated exactly after 5.4 minutes after lift-off at 09:30 AM IST from the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota.  The module separated from the rocket at a height of 126 Km and re-entered into earth's atmosphere.  The Crew module safely splashes down into the sea near Andaman and Nicobar islands.

The Crew module descended in a ballistic mode and splashed down in Bay of Bengal around 180 Kms away from Indira point, the southern tip of Andaman and Nicobar islands.  The LVM3-X rocket with active S200 and L110 propulsion stages and a passive C25 stage with dummy engine carried the CARE ( Crew module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment ) as its payload.

The Crew module weighs 3.7 tonnes and it is a 2.7 meter tall cup cake shaped with a diameter of 3.1 meters.  The module which features aluminum alloy internal structure with composite panels and ablative thermal protection systems, was made to safely drop down into the sea by specially made parachutes.  The experiment witnessed the largest parachute in action every made in the country.  The main parachute which helped the Crew module touch the waters at a speed of 7 meters per second was 31 meters in diameter.

The GSLV Mark-III accelerated the CARE module to a velocity of around 5.3 kilometers per second ( 12,000 miles per hour ) and a projected apogee of 126 kilometers which was achieved at the time of separation of the stage.  The CARE module activated its control systems immediately after separating from the rocket.  

Here is a video of the GLSV Mark-III launch.