NASA's Mars rover
Curiosity first dig a soil sample of the Red Planet this weekend, mission
scientists announced yesterday, October 4.
1-ton rover arrived at
the sandy area called "Rocknest", on Wednesday, October 3. Scientists
have found a place suitable for his first robot operations associated with the
extraction of soil samples with the bucket, which should start on Saturday, 6
October, if all goes according to plan.
System for excavation
Curiosity, which is on its 2.1-meter robotic arm, designed to deliver soil
samples to two analytical instruments installed on the rover body: SAM (Sample
Analysis at Mars) and CheMin (Chemistry and Mineralogy). But the first batch of
Martian sand will not fall for their intended purpose - instead, they will be
used to clean the boot device, the researchers say.
Cleaning will be
similar to the blast cleaning pump, with Curiosity will vigorously shake system
to collect samples in a few hours.
The rover is likely to
remain in Rocknest for several weeks, and with the first samples will fall into
its scientific instruments, not earlier than the end of this period.
At the moment,
Curiosity is on its way to a place called Glenelg, where three different types
of Martian terrain, but the main purpose landed on August 6 at Mars rover is
the foot of the mysterious mountain Sharp, towering in the center of a large
crater Gale. Rover will search it for traces of the former presence of organic
life.
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