NASA Curiosity rover's drill smashes Mars rock, collects important samples

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NASA Curiosity rover's drill smashes Mars rock, collects important samples
Yahoo News
By Michael Walsh  37 minutes ago



NASA's Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the turret at the end of the rover's robotic arm, on January 13, 2015, Sol 867 of the Mars Science Laboratory Mission, at 23:39:17 UTC.



NASA's Mars Curiosity rover drilled a test hole in its latest rock target, called "Mojave," which could reveal a bit more about the Red Planet’s composition.

The agency released an image that shows the grayish rock chips that came from the drill hole and slid across the rock due to vibration.

“It’s rare for us to look at fresh broken up rock that’s not covered with dust. We are going to learn something unique by studying those,” Dr. Ashwin R. Vasavada, project scientist for Curiosity, said in an interview with Yahoo News. “It may not be as exposed to the environment as the surface of the rock has been.”

Mojave is a part of Pahrump Hills, which is a foothill of the three-mile-high Mount Sharp.

Two months ago, the rover found tiny mineral crystals that scientists think might have been leftover after an ancient lake evaporated.

"This hypothesis is based on studying several rock outcrops on our way to the mountain," Vasavada said. “These crystals might have formed when the lake was shallow and salty.”

Curiosity was performing a “mini-drill” with a drill bit that is just 1.6 cm across, about the size of a dime.

Scientists wanted to see whether the rock is suitable for deeper drilling to collect samples for laboratory analysis.

“The freshly broken up rock is interesting because, when we look at those chips up-close, we will see if those small crystals are present throughout the rock,” he said.

So far, Curiosity went up the foothill three times: (1) to take lots of pictures, (2) to study the rocks up-close, and (3) to drill.

“For third pass, we are choosing just a few spots to collect and analyze in our lab,” he said.

Early next week, science operations will pause for a week during the installation of a new version of the rover’s flight software. This could happen before the drilling and sample delivery is completed.


http://news.yahoo.com/nasa-curiosity-rover-s-drill-smashes-mars-rock--collects-important-samples-232048549.html