[meteorite-list] NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Drills Second Rock Target

[Ron Baalke]

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-168

NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Drills Second Rock Target
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
May 20, 2013

PASADENA, Calif. - NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has used the drill on its 
robotic arm to collect a powdered sample from the interior of a rock called 
"Cumberland."

Plans call for delivering portions of the sample in coming days to laboratory 
instruments inside the rover. This is only the second time that a sample 
has been collected from inside a rock on Mars. The first was Curiosity's 
drilling at a target called "John Klein" three months ago. Cumberland 
resembles John Klein and lies about nine feet (2.75 meters) farther west. 
Both are within a shallow depression called "Yellowknife Bay."

The hole that Curiosity drilled into Cumberland on May 19 is about 0.6 
inch (1.6 centimeters) in diameter and about 2.6 inches (6.6 centimeters) 
deep.

The science team expects to use analysis of material from Cumberland to 
check findings from John Klein. Preliminary findings from analysis of 
John Klein rock powder by Curiosity's onboard laboratory instruments indicate 
that the location long ago had environmental conditions favorable for 
microbial life. The favorable conditions included the key elemental ingredients 
for life, an energy gradient that could be exploited by microbes, and 
water that was not harshly acidic or briny.

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project is using Curiosity to assess the 
history of habitable environmental conditions inside Gale Crater. After 
a few more high-priority observations by the rover within and near Yellowknife 
Bay, the rover team plans to start Curiosity on a months-long trek to 
the base of a layered mound, Mount Sharp, at the middle of the crater. 
JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, 
manages the project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

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

2013-168