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NASA Mars rover collects first Martian bedrock sample
WASHINGTON, Feb 09, 2013 (Xinhua via COMTEX) --
NASA's Curiosity rover has used
a drill carried at the end of its robotic arm to bore into a flat,
veiny rock on Mars and collect a sample from its interior, the
U.S. space agency said Saturday.
This is the first time any robot has drilled into a rock to
collect a sample on Mars.
The fresh hole, about 1.6 centimeters wide and 6.4 centimeters
deep in a patch of fine-grained sedimentary bedrock, can be seen
in images and other data Curiosity beamed to Earth Saturday.
The rock is believed to hold evidence about long-gone wet
environments. In pursuit of that evidence, the rover will use its
laboratory instruments to analyze rock powder collected by the
drill.
"The most advanced planetary robot ever designed now is a fully
operating analytical laboratory on Mars," said John Grunsfeld,
NASA associate administrator for the agency's Science Mission
Directorate. "This is the biggest milestone accomplishment for
the Curiosity team since the sky-crane landing last August,
another proud day for America."
For the next several days, ground controllers will command the
rover's arm to carry out a series of steps to process the sample,
ultimately delivering portions to the instruments inside.
Curiosity, loaded with the most-sophisticated instruments ever
used to explore another world, touched down on the Red Planet on
Aug. 6. It will use its 10 instruments to investigate whether
conditions have been favorable for microbial life and for
preserving clues in the rocks about possible past life.
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