NEWTOWN, Conn. - NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has used the drill on its robotic arm to collect a powdered sample from the interior of a rock called Cumberland.
Plans call for delivering portions of the sample in the coming days to laboratory instruments inside the rover. This is only the second time that a sample has been collected from inside a rock on Mars. The first was Curiosity's drilling at a target called John Klein three months ago. Cumberland resembles John Klein and lies about 9 feet (2.75 m) farther west. Both are within a shallow depression called Yellowknife Bay.
The hole that Curiosity drilled into Cumberland on May 19 is about 0.6 inches (1.6 cm) in diameter and about 2.6 inches (6.6 cm) deep.
The science team expects to use analysis of material from Cumberland to check findings from John Klein. Preliminary findings from the analysis of John Klein rock powder by Curiosity's onboard laboratory instruments indicate that the location long ago had environmental conditions favorable for microbial life. The favorable conditions included the key elemental ingredients for life, an energy gradient that could be exploited by microbes, and water that was not harshly acidic or briny.
After a few more observations by the rover within and near Yellowknife Bay, the rover team plans to start Curiosity on a months-long trek to the base of a layered mound, Mount Sharp, at the middle of the crater.
While Curiosity continues its successes on the Red Planet, the future of NASA's Mars Exploration Program remains in question. Cost increases and budget pressures have made the continuation of planetary exploration difficult. Originally, teaming with European nations on the ExoMars orbiter and rover was seen as a way to save money; however, even that program became too expensive for NASA.
The space agency will now focus on developing a more modest mission to Mars, and will attempt to keep total costs for the mission under $700 million. Originally, a goal of launching the spacecraft in 2018 seemed feasible, but NASA now expects no launch prior to 2020.
