(Curiosity preparing to test the rock – Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Evaluation of a Martian rock, scheduled to be the next drilling target for NASA’s Curiosity rover, has revealed that it was not stable enough for a safe drilling, therefore Curiosity has abandoned its fourth drilling target and will now continue travelling towards its long term science destination in the Gale Crater.
The rock, known as “Bonanza King,” moved slightly during a mini-drill activity. Curiosity’s percussion drill impacted the rock a few times to make an indentation, however the rock proved unstable for deep drilling and interior sampling for chemical analysis.
After the rover’s team have selected a candidate drilling target, the target is subjected to several tests to check whether it meets criteria for collecting a drilled sample without causing undue risk to the rover’s hardware.
The mission’s previous three drilling targets met those criteria, however ‘Bonanza King’ did not.
(Curiosity’s Dust Removal Tool reveals the “Bonanza King” target – Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
Instead of drilling ‘Bonanza King’ or any similar rocks nearby, the team have decided that Curiosity will resume driving toward its long-term science destination, Mount Sharp, which is located on the slopes of a layered mountain in the Gale Crater.
“We have decided that the rocks under consideration for drilling, based on the tests we did, are not good candidates for drilling,” said Curiosity Project Manager Jim Erickson of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “Instead of drilling here, we will resume driving toward Mount Sharp.”
The rover has driven about 5.5 miles (8.8 kilometers) since landing inside Gale Crater in August 2012, and has about 2 miles (3 kilometers) remaining to reach an entry point to the slopes of Mount Sharp, in the middle of the crater.
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