Monday, February 04, 2013

Mars Rover Curiosity To Drill Into Rock for The First Time, Says NASA | SPACE NEWS | VIDEO

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Mars Rover Curiosity To Drill Into Rock for The First Time, Says NASA

By Mike Wall
space.com via The Huff Post
1-30-13

      NASA's Mars rover Curiosity is sizing up a target rock and flexing its robotic arm ahead of its first-ever drilling activity on the Red Planet, which should take place in the coming days.

The 1-ton Curiosity rover pressed down on the rock in four different places with its arm-mounted drill Monday (Jan. 27). These "pre-load" tests should allow mission engineers to see if the amount of force applied matches predictions, researchers said.

The six-wheeled robot won't be ready to start boring into the rock until it completes several additional hardware tests and other checks, which should keep the rover busy through at least the end of this week, they added. . . .


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