Image Credit - NASA
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is on a mission to drill and collect Martian rock material. It is currently on a target known as “Bonanza King,” which is located in the Gale Crater. The rover team at NASA are currently evaluating the site as a possible drilling target.
Earlier in the mission, the rover team had drilled and collected sample powder from three rocks for analysis using the instruments onboard the rover.
The rover employed its Dust Removal Tool and cleared an area approximately 6cm across, of the oxidized, reddish dust. This revealed less-oxidized, cross-cutting veins that are thin and white, which may be related to other features on the rock. These veins may be a type of precipitated mineral that filled the rock fractures or sulfate salts.
The Mars rover’s Mastcam captured the featured image on its 722nd Martian day. Close to the brushed patch, where dust was removed partially, less conspicuous and smaller spots were observed. Earlier, on Sol 719, the Chemistry and Camera instrument had used its laser to zap the target spots.
The Mars rover will initially drill a shallow test hole as part of evaluating the target location for performing full-depth drilling. This preliminary test is to check the clumping tendency of the powder extracted during the drilling process.
The Mars Science Laboratory Project is being managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The Rover was built by JPL, while the Mastcam is being operated by Malin Space Science Systems.