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Curiosity Hammers into Mars Rock in Historic Feat

Monday, February 4, 2013 12:11

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(Before It's News)

Image caption: Before and after comparison of Curiosity’s 1st ever drill test into Martian rock, run on Jan 31, 2013. Drill bit penetrated several mm and vibrations apparently unveiled hidden, whitish mineral by dislodging thin dust layer at John Klein outcrop. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Ken Kremer/Marco Di Lorenzo

A robot from Earth has successfully drilled into a Martian rock for the first time ever and exposed pristine alien material for high powered science analysis.

NASA’s car sized Curiosity rover deliberately plunged the drill bit on the end of her 7 foot (2.1 m) robot arm into a flat outcrop of rocks possessing hydrated mineral veins, that is situated inside a shallow basin named Yellowknife Bay where water repeatedly flowed.

“The drill test was done. The mission has been spectacular so far,” said Dr. Jim Green, Director of NASA Planetary Sciences Division at NASA HQ, in an exclusive interview today with Universe Today on the campus of Princeton University. “The area is tremendously exciting.”(…)
Read the rest of Curiosity Hammers into Mars Rock in Historic Feat (941 words)

© Ken Kremer for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags: Curiosity, Curiosity Rover, Gale crater, Mars, Mars Rovers, Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), Mount Sharp, MSL, Search for Life