The team working on Curiosity, NASA’s Mars rover has recently completed a software upgrade on the rover. Their next task is to inspect for wear and tear for the vehicle’s wheels.
This is the third software upgrade since Curiosity landed on Mars. The switch from version 10 to 11 took about a week. The upgrade will allow the rover to perform at its best and also to introduce improved features. Version 11 brings expanded capabilities for Curiosity’s extremities when it is on sloping terrain. The latest version also makes Curiosity more flexible in storing information for longer hours.
"Curiosity is now operating on version 11 of its flight software," stated Jim Ericskson, NASA’s project manager for the NASA Mars Science Laboratory Project. "We want to take a full inventory of the condition of the wheels," Erickson said. "Dents and holes were anticipated, but the amount of wear appears to have accelerated in the past month or so. It appears to be correlated with driving over rougher terrain. The wheels can sustain significant damage without impairing the rover's ability to drive. However, we would like to understand the impact that this terrain type has on the wheels, to help with planning future drives."
Curiosity’s recent explorations reached an area where numerous sharp rocks were embedded on the ground. Routes for further missions are to be charted to decrease the amount of travel over rough and steep terrains and to direct Curiosity to smoother grounds.
Curiosity is being used by NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Project to explore the Gale Crater and to see the ancient habitable conditions and the change of the Martian environment over time. A division in California Institute of Technology in Pasadena built Curiosity and it also oversees NASA’s project for the Science Mission Directorate, located in Washington.
