Preparing to dig

The percussion drill in the turret of tools at the end of the robotic arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has been positioned in contact with the rock surface in this image from the rover's front Hazard-Avoidance Camera (Hazcam). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech (www.jpl.nasa.gov)

The rover’s arm with the drill has been positioned on a patch of flat, veined rock called "John Klein" which lies inside the Gale Crater. The rover was commanded to press down on the rock to prepare for upcoming days. This test was carried out on January 27 and it was so engineers could make sure that the pressure applied matched their predictions.

Now the next stop is overnight which will assure engineers that the drill will be able to withstand the change in temperature. Mars climate has a huge change in temperature from noon to midnight. Temperatures rise as high as 0 degrees Celsius and drop as low as 65 degrees Celsius below freezing. This big change in temperature causes the rover’s arm to grow and shrink one tenth of an inch. These are is a small test which helps us understand the effect of temperature on the hardware without actually putting the hardware at risk.

So now we wait for the results of the test and hope that one day Curiosity will be ready to dig into the red planet.

Engineering Group: Eduardo J. Lopez,Dasmany Deniz, Ariel Castro