a shallow basin named Yellowknife
Bay, and delivered pulverized
powder to the Sample Analysis at
Mars (SAM) and Chemistry and
Mineralogy (CheMin) instruments
inside the robot.
On Feb. 8, 2013 (mission Sol 182),
Curiosity used the rotary-percussion
drill mounted on the tool turret at the
end of the seven-foot (2.1 meter)
long robotic arm to bore a circular
hole about 0.63 inch (16 mm) wide
and about 2.5 inches (64 mm) deep
into John Klein that produced a
slurry of gray tailings.
“For the first time we are examining
ancient rocks that have not been
exposed to the Martian surface
environment, and weathering, and
preserve the environment in which
they formed,” said Joel Hurowitz,
Curiosity sampling system scientist
at JPL.
This is a key point because
subsequent oxidation reactions
can destroy organic molecules
and thereby potential signs of
habitability and life.
The gray colored tailings give a
completely fresh insight into Mars
that offers a stark contrast to the
prevailing views of reddish-orange
rusty, oxidized dust. One theory is
that it might be related to different
oxidations states of iron that could
potentially inform us about the
habitability of Mars inside the rover’s
Gale Crater landing site.
The presence of abundant
phyllosilicate clay minerals in the
John Klein drill powder indicates a
fresh water environment. Further
evidence derives from the veiny
sedimentary bedrock shot through
with calcium sulfate mineral veins
that form in a neutral to mildly
alkaline pH environment.
“Clay minerals make up at least
20 percent of the composition of
this sample,” said David Blake,
principal investigator for the
CheMin instrument at NASA’s Ames
Research Center in Moffett Field,
Calif.
The rovers long robotic arm
fed aspirin-sized samples of the
gray, pulverized powder into the
miniaturized CheMin SAM analytical
instruments on Feb. 22 and 23, or
www.RocketSTEM.org
Curiosity tool turret located at end of robotic arm is positioned with drill bit in contact with
John Klein outcrop for first hammer drilling into Martian rock surface on Jan 31, 2013.
Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Ken Kremer/Marco Di Lorenzo
At the center of this image is the hole in a rock where the Curiosity rover conducted its first
sample drilling on Mars during its 182nd Martian day of operations. A test that produced
the shallower hole two days earlier is shown to the right. The sample-collection hole is
0.63 inch (1.6 centimeters) in diameter and 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) deep. The “mini drill”
Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
test hole has a depth of 0.8 inch (2 centimeters).
Sols 195 and 196. The samples were
analyzed on Sol 200.
Scientists were able to identify
carbon,
hydrogen,
oxygen,
nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus
in the sample - all of which are
essential elements for life as we
know it based on organic molecules.
But no significant levels of organics
have been detected yet.
“The
range
of
chemical
ingredients we have identified in
the sample is impressive, and it
suggests pairings such as sulfates
and sulfides that indicate a possible
chemical energy source for micro-
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