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| Curiosity Mars rover eyes rock drill site | Curiosity Mars rover eyes rock drill site |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent | By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent |
| The US space agency (Nasa) says it is now ready for its Curiosity rover to start drilling on Mars. | The US space agency (Nasa) says it is now ready for its Curiosity rover to start drilling on Mars. |
| A target patch of ground has been chosen in an area that contains a diverse range of rocks, many of which were clearly deposited in water. | A target patch of ground has been chosen in an area that contains a diverse range of rocks, many of which were clearly deposited in water. |
| Richard Cook, the rover project manager, said the team still needed to identify the exact spot for drilling. | |
| This would become apparent after an assessment was made using the robot's survey instruments, he explained. | This would become apparent after an assessment was made using the robot's survey instruments, he explained. |
| "Probably within two weeks is when we'll start our first drill holes," he told the BBC. | "Probably within two weeks is when we'll start our first drill holes," he told the BBC. |
| And he cautioned that it would be a slow process, not least because the drill mechanism needed to be cleaned of any contaminants that might have journeyed to Mars from Earth. | And he cautioned that it would be a slow process, not least because the drill mechanism needed to be cleaned of any contaminants that might have journeyed to Mars from Earth. |
| This means taking and dumping several cores before finally delivering a smaller than aspirin-sized pinch of powdered rock to Curiosity's two big onboard analysis labs. | |
| The mission team has named the prospective drill site after a former rover engineer, John Klein, who died in 2011. | |
| Curiosity has now spent 158 Martian days on the Red Planet. | Curiosity has now spent 158 Martian days on the Red Planet. |
| It is trying to determine whether past environments in Gale Crater might have allowed any microbial life to flourish. Already it has identified rock deposits that were laid down in a streambed billions of years ago. | It is trying to determine whether past environments in Gale Crater might have allowed any microbial life to flourish. Already it has identified rock deposits that were laid down in a streambed billions of years ago. |