In this animation we can observe the rock called “Aberlady”, before and after drilling.
In this case, it was not necessary to use any percussive movement because of the particular ease with which the Curiosity drill was able to penetrate the rock that is expected to be particularly rich in clay.
As you can see from this animation, the drill of Curiosity has lifted an entire layer of rock retracting once finished drilling, which is quite unique.
The individual images have already undergone the white balance by NASA itself and unfortunately have not been published the raw images that instead I would have preferred to process personally.
Four days after drilling, the samples collected have reached the internal laboratory of Curiosity for chemical analysis from which it is hoped to derive valuable information about the Martian clay and probably will provide additional information on the massive amount of water present in the past inside the crater Gale.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Original animated GIF: https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/22404/curiositys-latest-drill-hole/
Reference Article:
” Curiosity Tastes First Sample in ‘Clay-Bearing Unit’ ” https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7376
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