Photo: NASA
Scooping up some dirt may seen like a straightforward kind of thing, but when everything is done remotely, from millions of kilometers away, things get a bit tricky, and even the most basic of tasks become extremely daunting and tricky.
The Curiosity Mars rover is getting ready to extract its first soil sample, according to NASA, as it is currently in position at a predetermined location, called Gale Crater. The sample will be analyzed with Curiosity’s sensitive on-board instruments, checking for microbial life (or some reminiscence of it) and minerals. A chemical analysis of the sample will also reveal whether or not Mars can still sustain life, and whether or not the idea of terraforming it is a viable one for the future.
"We now have reached an important phase that will get the first solid samples into the analytical instruments in about two weeks," said Mission Manager Michael Watkins of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Curiosity has been so well-behaved that we have made great progress during the first two months of the mission."
"We now have reached an important phase that will get the first solid samples into the analytical instruments in about two weeks," said Mission Manager Michael Watkins of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Curiosity has been so well-behaved that we have made great progress during the first two months of the mission."
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