8 replies to this topic

[Still Waters]

The Mars rover Curiosity has used its drill system for the first time.

The robot's tool bit hammered briefly, without rotation, into a flat slab of rock on the floor of Gale Crater, the huge bowl where it landed last August.

Pictures taken before and after the operation reveal the indentation left by the tool's action.

Although previous rovers have scrubbed the surface of rocks, Curiosity is the first to carry the capability to drill inside them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...onment-21312821

[Frank Merton]

All these gyrations sure do bring out the difficulties involved when you don't have people there.  Look at what it takes just to drill a little way into a hole.

[AsteroidX]

I expected the dust to be redder TBH.

[the L]

I cant wait to see humans on Mars. Maybe discovering ancient civilization on it.
And Im sure that one day Mars will be our colony.

[pallidin]

You know, I read somewhere, perhaps here by Waspie or on NASA's website(not sure) that there is a concern with drilling.

Something about the vibration either snapping the drill bit, or vibrating loose some of the rovers electronics.

NASA became aware of this, but apparently too late before lift-off, so the engineer's reinforced some of the electrical connections to try and mitigate excessive vibration from causing serious problems.

Maybe someone else here can clarify this.

Edited by pallidin, 04 February 2013 - 04:33 PM.

[Major Payne]

The next stage is to use the rotary drill to create a circle of powder (basically powdered rock).
Hopefully they can then test this in the chemical analysis chamber in curiosity.
This will be a first for any rover on Mars.

[highdesert50]

A self-sustained colony on Mars would be a worthy goal, certainly for the scientific value, but for the sustainment of civilization for that time when the Earth is scourged by pestilence or natural disaster. It would be interesting if the drilling were to identify water. Certainly that would be the impetus to drive manned exploration and colonization.

[paperdyer]

Unless we can find a pocket of breathable air inside a Mars mountain, we are talking about a massive undertaking to put a colony on Mars. Fully contained buildings, air generators/scrubbers, etc.  Probably similar isssues to underwater labs except possibly needing radiation shielding unstead for protection from ocean pressures.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Weekend Test on Mars Was Preparation to Drill a Rock

www.nasa.gov said:

The bit in the rotary-percussion drill of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity left its mark in a target patch of rock called "John Klein" during a test on the rover's 176th Martian day, or sol (Feb. 2, 2013), in preparation for the first drilling of a rock by the rover. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
› Full image and caption  › Latest images   › Curiosity gallery  › Curiosity videos



PASADENA, Calif. - The bit of the rock-sampling drill on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity left its mark on a Martian rock this weekend during brief testing of the tool's percussive action.

The successful activity, called a "drill-on-rock checkout" by the rover team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, is part of a series of tests to prepare for the first drilling in history to collect a sample of rock material on Mars.

An image of the bit mark on the rock target called "John Klein" is available online at http://www.nasa.gov/...a/pia16717.html .

Another preparatory test, called "mini drill," will precede the full drilling. The mini drill test will use both the rotary and percussive actions of the drill to generate a ring of rock powder around a hole. This will allow for evaluation of the material to see if it behaves as a dry powder suitable for processing by the rover's sample handling mechanisms.

During a two-year prime mission, researchers are using Curiosity's 10 science instruments to assess whether the study area in Gale Crater on Mars ever has offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life.

More information about Curiosity is online at: http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/ .

You can follow the mission on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity .


Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

2013-044


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