NASA's Curiosity Rover Finally Shakes Stuck Martian Rock After Days
NASA's Curiosity rover, exploring Mars since 2012, encountered a unique problem on April 25 when a rock dubbed 'Atacama' got stuck on its drill sleeve. The rock weighed about 28.6 pounds and was 1.5 feet wide. Despite attempts to vibrate the drill on April 29, the rock remained lodged. On May 1, after tilting, rotating, and vibrating the drill, the rock finally dislodged and broke upon hitting the ground. The rover's distance from Earth—about 140 million miles—caused communication delays of 30 to 45 minutes. Curiosity has drilled 42 holes total and previously faced issues like a computer corruption in 2013 and drill feed mechanism problems in 2016. The stuck rock was a first-of-its-kind incident for the mission.
Key facts
- Curiosity rover had a 28.6-pound rock stuck on its arm from April 25 to May 1.
- The rock, named 'Atacama', was about 1.5 feet wide and 6 inches thick.
- The rock got stuck on the fixed sleeve around the rotating drill bit after drilling.
- Initial attempts to vibrate the drill on April 29 failed to dislodge the rock.
- On May 1, after further maneuvers, the rock fell off and broke on the ground.
- Communication delays of 30-45 minutes occurred due to Mars being ~140 million miles away.
- Curiosity has drilled 42 holes since landing in Gale Crater in 2012.
- Previous issues include a computer corruption in 2013 and drill feed problems in 2016.
Entities
Institutions
- NASA
- Space Science Institute
- CNET
- National Geographic
- New York Times
- Space.com
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Locations
- Mars
- Gale Crater
- Earth
- Chile
- Atacama Desert