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MarsCuriosityRover-Drilling-01

Marvel has been on Mars for more than than 4 years now, much longer than the primary mission of about 23 months. NASA builds 'em to last, though. Curiosity has sent back a wealth of data from Mars, just it can't last forever. Indeed, it's wheels are getting banged up, the ChemCam autofocus has gone wonky, and now Curiosity'due south rock drill stopped working on December i. Mission scientists take a amend idea what'due south going on with the drill, though they haven't worked out if it's fixable.

Curiosity has instruments to report the composition and structure of Martian geology, only it can but learn so much from scanning the surface. That'south why the rover was equipped with a percussion drill at the finish of its 7-foot robotic arm. This allows Curiosity to excerpt samples from deeper layers of strata that haven't been exposed the radiation on the surface. Information technology's been used to drill into 15 unlike targets then far. It'south an important tool for the rover as it climbs e'er higher on Mount Sharp, so losing it would be a real blow to the mission.

The drill carries 2 spare drill bits in case one of them breaks, but the problem doesn't appear to be the bit. Mission scientists originally narrowed the trouble downwardly to either the brake or electronic sensors that monitor the drill'due south rotation. More recently, the issue has mostly been narrowed down to the brake. If they can't get the restriction to disengage correctly, the drill can't be spun up.

The team had some success since the outcome first appeared on December 1st. Curiosity was able to get the machinery working by moving the drill feed effectually — I suppose that's the rover equivalent of jiggling the handle. However, the trouble came dorsum a few days after. The team is all the same looking at ways to potentially prepare the drill, simply Curiosity is on its own out there. At that place's no one effectually to walk over and give it a kick.

curiosity

This isn't the beginning fourth dimension Curiosity has had issues with the drill. There have been a number of brusque circuits that temporarily took the drill offline. When and if the electric current drill issue is resolved, the team plans to be gentler with the tool. As a "percussion" drill, it'due south able to both hammer and rotate. They'll attempt to stick to merely rotating whenever possible. Testing on Earth suggests that just rotating should be sufficient to bore into softer rocks.

Even if the drill can't be completely fixed, Curiosity tin can nevertheless be of use on Mars. It's already covered more distance than all past rovers, and carries plenty of atmospheric sensors and cameras.