YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    NASA's Curiosity Rover Hammers Into 1st Mars Rock

    By Mike Wall | SPACE.com – Mon, Feb 4, 2013

    NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has pounded into a Red Planet rock with its drill for the first time, bringing the 1-ton robot a big step closer to initiating its first full-bore drilling operations.

    The Curiosity rover hammered the rock using the arm-mounted drill's percussive action over the weekend, completing another test along the path toward spinning the bit and biting into rock for the first time.

    "We tapped this rock on Mars with our drill. Keep it classy everyone," Curiosity flight director Bobak Ferdowsi — who gained fame as "Mohawk Guy" during the rover's nail-biting landing on the night of Aug. 5, 2012 — wrote in a Twitter post Sunday (Feb. 3), sharing a photo of the pounded rock.

    Curiosity's drill can bore 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) into Martian rock, deeper than any rover has been able to go before. Using the drill and its associated systems is a complex operation, so the mission team has been building up slowly to the first drilling activity on the Red Planet.

    Last week, Curiosity performed some "pre-load" tests, pressing down on a rock with its drill in several different places to see if the amount of force applied matches predictions.

    The six-wheeled robot has also been carefully evaluating its target rock, which is part of an outcrop the mission team has named "John Klein," after a former Curiosity deputy project manager who died in 2011.

    Curiosity's main goal is to determine if its Gale Crater landing site could ever have supported microbial life. Along with the rover's 10 science instruments and 17 cameras, the drill is viewed as key in this quest, as it allows Curiosity to dig deep into Martian rocks for potential signs of past habitability. 

    The mission team wants to test the drill out on a target with scientific value, and John Klein seems to qualify. The outcrop shows many signs of past exposure to liquid water, including light-colored mineral veins that were apparently deposited by flowing water long ago.

    Follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall or SPACE.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. 

    Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
    Loading...

    More Science News

     

    News for You »

    • Even Cavendish surprised by fourth stage win

      By Alasdair and Fotheringham CHERASCO, Italy, May 17 - A series of small but challenging climbs late on Friday's stage of the 2012 Giro d'Italia could not stop Britain's Mark Cavendish taking his fourth stage win and second in two days. Italy's Vincenzo Nibali remained overall leader but it was sprinter Cavendish who stole the show again after compatriot and pre-race favorite Bradley Wiggins failed to start the 254 kilometer stage, the longest in this year's Giro. In a bunch sprint finish Cavendish outgunned Italy's Giacomo Nizzolo and Slovenia's Luka Mezgec. ...

    • NYers furious over photos taken through windows

      In one photo, a woman is on all fours, presumably picking something up, her posterior pressed against a glass window. Another photo shows a couple in bathrobes, their feet touching beneath a table. And ...

    • This Child Made a Film About His School Lunch—and He Titled It ‘Yuck.’ (VIDEO)

      When fourth grader Zachary Maxwell started nagging his parents to let him bring his own lunch to school, they knew something was up. Zachary was served lunch every day in his New York City public school and because it was a hot lunch, his parents were insistent he take advantage of it.

    • Bea Arthur topless painting fetches $1.9M in NYC

      A painting of actress Bea Arthur topless has sold for $1.9 million at a New York City auction. The painting is by artist John Currin and is titled "Bea Arthur Naked." It sold at Christie's auction ...

    • Kanye West's Angry 'SNL' Rant Makes Saturday's Season Finale a Must-Watch

      This coming weekend is a big one for Saturday Night Live. It marks the end of Bill Hader's tenure on the show and Ben Affleck's fifth time hosting. But perhaps the most significant reason to tune in is the fact that Kanye West is the musical guest, and he's making it seem like he really, really doesn't want to be. With West's apparent frustration with the show and his penchant for, shall we say ... off-the-cuff remarks, producers should be worried and we should be excited. Is there a better combo than that?

    • A record Powerball jackpot isn't a record to celebrate

      When the 43-state Powerball lottery jackpot hit a record at $600 million Friday, many Americans who would otherwise not gamble rushed out to buy the $2 tickets. “Just on the off-chance,” many probably said.

    • Horseracing-2013 Preakness Stakes result

      May 18 (Reuters) - Result and finishing order of the 2013 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico racecourse on Saturday. 1. Oxbow (Gary Stevens) 2. Itsmyluckyday (John Velazquez) 3. Mylute (Rosie Napravnik) 4. Orb (Joel Rosario) 5. Goldencents (Kevin Krigger) 6. Departing (Brian Hernandez) 7. Will Take Charge (Mike Smith) 8. Govenor Charlie (Martin Garcia) 9. Titletown Five (Julien Leparoux) Winner trained by: D. Wayne Lukas Winner paid $32.80 for a $2 win bet Winning margin: 1-3/4 lengths Time: one minute 57.54 seconds (Compiled by Steve Ginsburg; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

    • The Next Time Someone Says Art Doesn’t Accomplish Anything, Show Them This

      When Hurricane Katrina was making its way to New Orleans some eight years ago, tens of thousands of residents stayed in the city instead of evacuating for the simple reason that they didn’t have access to transportation. In the years following New Orleans’ rebuilding process, a free, public evacuation bus system has been established.

    Show More
    Loading...

    Follow Yahoo! News