Curiosity Prep Test Drilling Mars Rock Powder
March 21, 2013
Preparatory Test of Drilling on Mars Generates Rock Powder
In an activity called the "mini drill test," NASA's Mars rover Curiosity used its drill to generate this ring of powdered rock for inspection in advance of the rover's first full drilling. Curiosity performed the mini drill test and used its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera to record this image of the resulting hole and cuttings during the 180th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (Feb. 6, 2013).
The hole is 0.63 inch (1.6 centimeters) in diameter and about 0.8 (2 centimeters) deep. The location is on a patch of flat rock called "John Klein." If the cuttings are judged to be suitable for processing by the rover's sample handling mechanisms, the mission's first full drilling is planned for a nearby spot on John Klein. The full drilling will be the first rock drilling on Mars to collect a sample of material for analysis.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Topics:
Spacecraft, Space technology, Spaceflight, Environment, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Opportunity rover, Oil well, Mars, Malin Space Science Systems, Unmanned spacecraft, Mars Science Laboratory, Astrobiology, Mars exploration, Mars Exploration Rover
