Curiosity Collects Its First Successful Martian Rock Sample

Do you remember reading around here that Curiosity had drilled a rock on Mars in order to collect material free of environmental interference? According to NASA, sampling by the spacecraft was a success, and drilling details have begun to be revealed.

This is the first sample taken from inside a rock on another planet, just as the first time a space probe has drilled off Earth. The collection took place on February 8th, and the drill located on Curiosity's robotic arm drilled a 1.6 cm wide and 6.4 cm deep hole. The sample will be used by scientists to determine if wet environmental conditions existed in the collection region.

Walking laboratory

The Mars Express spacecraft - from the European Space Agency - discovered in the Reull Vallis Valley region a geological structure that may have been a large river with numerous tributaries, and scientists believe there may be ice remnants in the craters that formed later. Curiosity's explorations and analysis can help researchers unravel all these mysteries.

Curiosity arrived on Mars on August 6 last year and is a true walking lab. The main objective of the mission is to find out if the conditions of the Martian environment have ever been favorable to the existence of life, even if only microbial.