Curiosity Sinks its Teeth Into a Martian Mountain

[Credit: NASA JPL]

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover finally had its first taste of the mountain that spent the last two years trying to reach.

"We're putting on the brakes to study this amazing mountain," said Curiosity Deputy Project Manager Jennifer Trosper of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). "Curiosity flew hundreds of millions of miles to do this."

Curiosity reached the destination in question, Mount Sharp, nearly two weeks ago, and has been traveling along a winding path to find an ideal spot on the layered mountain to begin its scientific work.

"This drilling target is at the lowest part of the base layer of the mountain, and from here we plan to examine the higher, younger layers exposed in the nearby hills," Curiosity Deputy Project Scientist Aswhin Vasavada said in a statement. "This first look at rocks we believe to underlie Mount Sharp is exciting because it will begin to form a picture of the environment at the time the mountain formed, and what led to its growth." (Scroll to read more...)

Curiosity first sank its hammering drill into nearly three inches of a basal-layer outcrop on Mount Sharp on Wednesday, when it was able to collect its first sample of powered stone. Surprisingly, it's been sitting at that outcrop, called "Pahrump Hills," since last Friday.

So what took so long? Curiosity had to build up its confidence. In an exceptionally cautious procedure, the rover poked at the selected drilling target with a minidrill for several days. This may seem overcautious, but on the off-chance that the outcropping is actually sitting over a dangerous sand-trap, the last thing NASA wants is a $2.5 billion rover falling where it can't get up. LifeAlert will certainly not be able to help in this extraterrestrial situation.

Thankfully, the drilling spot, aptly named "Confidence Hills," checked out, and the true drilling could begin.

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project is using Curiosity to assess ancient habitable environments and major changes in Martian environmental conditions, and geological evidence is a very important part of that mission.