Curiosity rover starts drilling on Mars
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - The Curiosity rover has drilled a test hole in a Martian rock in preparation for the real thing.
Images released Thursday by NASA showed a ring of powder that was generated by the drill at the end of the rover's robotic arm. The hole measured less than an inch deep.
Scientists planned to analyze the latest activity - dubbed a "mini drill test" - before commanding Curiosity to drill deeper. One of its major tasks is to drill into a rock and transfer the ground-up powder to its onboard laboratories for analysis - a first on Mars.
Curiosity landed in an ancient crater near the Martian equator last year on a mission to gauge whether environmental conditions were favorable for microbes.
Images released Thursday by NASA showed a ring of powder that was generated by the drill at the end of the rover's robotic arm. The hole measured less than an inch deep.
Scientists planned to analyze the latest activity - dubbed a "mini drill test" - before commanding Curiosity to drill deeper. One of its major tasks is to drill into a rock and transfer the ground-up powder to its onboard laboratories for analysis - a first on Mars.
Curiosity landed in an ancient crater near the Martian equator last year on a mission to gauge whether environmental conditions were favorable for microbes.
I would really love it if they found gold or diamonds by accident. That would be quite an incentive for private companies to find a way to bring the cost down of putting a spacecraft on mars.
 @Charl317 I love the concept, but that would be ONE EXPENSIVE TRIP.  I dunno how much metal you would have to bring back to make it profitable, but the weight alone.... Â
I'm still hoping they will find some sort of record of past life, even if it's just microbial. Â Considering it's almost total lack of magnetic field and no protection from solar radiation, I truly doubt they will ever find anything on or near the surface alive.
Over the years we've grown sort of accustomed to seeing detailed images from the rovers, but...
Wow -- that's Mars!
Nice hole.