The Geologic Exploration of the Bagnold Dune Field at Gale Crater by the Curiosity Rover

Chemistry, mineralogy, and grain properties at Namib and High dunes, Bagnold dune field, Gale crater, Mars: A synthesis of Curiosity rover observations

The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover performed coordinated measurements to examine the textures and compositions of aeolian sands in the active Bagnold dune field. The Bagnold sands are rounded to subrounded, very fine to medium sized (~45-500 μm) with ≥6 distinct grain colors. In contrast to sands examined by Curiosity in a dust-covered, inactive bedform called Rocknest and soils at oth...

The Bagnold Dunes at Gale Crater – a Key to Reading the Geologic Record of Mount Sharp

MOUNT SHARP. M.G.A. Lapotre, B.L. Ehlmann, F. Ayoub, S.E. Minson, N.T. Bridges, A.A. Fraeman, R.E. Arvidson, J.L. Eigenbrode, R.C. Ewing, J.R. Johnson. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, USA. USGS, Menlo Park, CA, USA. John Hopkins University, Laurel, MD, USA. Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA. NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD, USA....

Gale crater: the Mars Science Laboratory/ Curiosity Rover Landing Site

Gale crater formed from an impact on Mars *3.6 billion years ago. It hosts a central mound nearly 100 km wide and *5 km high, consisting of layered rocks with a variety of textures and spectral properties. The oldest exposed layers contain variably hydrated sulphates and smectite clay minerals, implying an aqueous origin, whereas the younger layers higher on themound are covered by amantle of d...

Visible/near-infrared spectral diversity from in situ observations of the Bagnold Dune Field sands in Gale Crater, Mars

Compositional Variations in Sands of the Bagnold Dunes, Gale Crater, Mars, from Visible-Shortwave Infrared Spectroscopy and Comparison to Ground-Truth from the Curiosity Rover

During its ascent up Mount Sharp, the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover traversed the Bagnold Dune Field. We model sand modal mineralogy and grain size at four locations near the rover traverse, using orbital shortwave infrared single scattering albedo spectra and a Markov-Chain Monte Carlo implementation of Hapke’s radiative transfer theory to fully constrain uncertainties and permitted ...