NASA’s Curiosity rover ‘grapples’ with a stubborn rock lodged on its robotic arm for almost seven days.

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New video footage captures the Curiosity rover’s robotic arm in the process of dislodging a substantial Martian rock, named Atacama, which had become lodged in a drill. The rock eventually separates and falls to the ground, breaking into multiple fragments. (Image credit: NASA)Share this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleSubscribe to our newsletter

The scientists overseeing NASA’s Curiosity rover are experiencing a sense of relief following the successful removal of a problematic rock that remained attached to the Mars rover’s robotic arm for nearly a week. Video recordings demonstrate the robot “straining” to free itself from its persistent stowaway by inclining, rotating, and vibrating its mechanical limb.

This unprecedented predicament commenced when Curiosity encountered a seemingly ordinary rock, designated Atacama (in tribute to the Chilean desert on Earth), while traversing the inclines of Mount Sharp, situated at the core of Gale crater, near the Red Planet’s equator. The rock measured approximately 1.5 feet (46 centimeters) in diameter, possessed a thickness of 6 inches (15 cm), and weighed around 28.6 pounds (13 kilograms), marking it as an ideal candidate for further examination.

On April 25, Curiosity attempted to drill into Atacama to procure a sample suitable for analysis within its onboard “wet chemistry” laboratory. Although the robot’s drill arm managed to penetrate the rock, it soon became apparent that an issue had arisen.

“Upon the rover retracting its arm, the entire rock detached from the ground, suspended by the stationary sleeve encasing the rotating drill bit,” stated NASA representatives in a release. “While drilling has previously resulted in the fracturing or separation of upper rock layers, a rock has never before adhered to the drill sleeve.”

This presented an entirely novel challenge for the scientists directing Curiosity, who “commenced work to devise a strategy for extracting the drill bit from the rock,” as articulated by Bill Farrand, a senior research scientist at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and a participant in NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission, in a NASA blog post. However, this endeavor proved to be somewhat of a “struggle,” he noted.

Mars rock gets stuck on Curiosity rover’s drill – Takes 5 days to shake off – YouTube

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The Curiosity team’s initial attempts to remove Atacama involved “vibrating the drill to dislodge the rock,” but these were unsuccessful. On April 29, they tried vibrating the drill while simultaneously adjusting the arm’s orientation. This maneuver, however, only managed to detach minuscule, sand-like particles from the rock.

Finally, on May 1, the rock detached after the team executed “more pronounced tilting of the drill,” coupled with rotation, vibration, and spinning of the drill bit. They had intended to repeat this procedure multiple times. Nevertheless, the rock separated on the very first attempt and fell back to the Martian surface, as reported by Farrand.

Images indicate that Atacama fractured into at least two fragments upon impact with the ground.

Atacama shattered into multiple pieces subsequent to its detachment from Curiosity’s drill and subsequent impact on the surface.

(Image credit: NASA)

Regrettably, the sample, or drill tailings, were “lost from Atacama as part of the effort to dislodge the drill bit from the rock,” Farrand stated. Consequently, the Curiosity team is “searching for a more securely embedded drill target in order to collect drill tailings for analysis,” he added.

A busy few months

Curiosity has encountered numerous challenges since its initial landing on Mars in 2012, but the recent months have been particularly noteworthy for the intrepid robot.

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In late April, researchers announced that the rover had gathered seven organic molecules simultaneously — the largest single collection on Mars to date — in addition to a “massive chain” of hydrocarbons discovered in February. (Both of these discoveries offer insights into the potential for ancient extraterrestrial life on the Red Planet.)

A few weeks prior, in early April, Curiosity also captured images of numerous formations resembling “dragon scales” scattered across the terrain. Furthermore, in March, the robot uncovered ruby-like crystals embedded within rocks similar to Atacama.

Prior to these discoveries, the rover had spent over six months meticulously examining a series of ridge-like geological features, known as boxwork, which resemble enormous rocky spiderwebs crisscrossing the Red Planet’s surface, and most recently, determined that these features are covered in minute, egg-shaped structures.

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