I just found this video of Bobak Ferdowsi (aka the 'Mohawk Guy') giving a talk on the the rover Curiosity before an audience of eager youthful minds. The video is one of many others as part of the 'TEDEd' project (where TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design) which sets to make short educational videos on various scholarly subjects and the like. They're quite entertaining AND insightful and you can access on youtube.com for free as well as use to give lessons (provided its non-profit) in classrooms.
In the video you will notice how much the accuracy of landing things on Mars has greatly improved over the years since the Viking landers of 1976. Truly amazing accomplishments!
As for Curiosity, the spritely gal has finally collected her first sample with the drill using a combination of the pneumatic and rotating movements. This was after a 'mini-drill' session on sol 180 to see how friable and powdery the rock material would actually be. It seems everything checked out well to merit a full drill activity on sol 182!
The mini-drill hole is 2cm deep. (NASA/JPL/MSSS)
Sol 182 (Feb 8, 2013) drill hole is 6.4cm deep with a lot of fine powder
evident which was collected via a cork-screw'guide' along the shaft. (NASA/JPL/MSSS)
This sample will be used to washout and rinse the drill of contaminants that may have lingered since departure from Earth. Once that is done, the other analytical instruments will have some of the powdery material. Another interplanetary first for the mission! No other nation has ever attempted such a feat on another planet.
Overview of Curiosity's current work bench. 'Wernecke' was brushed by
the dust removal tool and 'Thundercloud' was percussed on without
any rotation by the drill last week. (NASA/JPL/MSSS)
P.S. its going to be a busy week what with the looming exams and all so expect fewer posts from me in the coming days. Don't forget to visit other sites I've pinned to the right-hand column!
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