NASA's Curiosity Rover Got Its Drill Stuck on a Rock. Here's How They Freed It

"On April 25, Curiosity drilled into a rock nicknamed “Atacama” to collect a sample. When the rover retracted the robotic arm after drilling, the entire rock unexpectedly lifted off the Martian surface—all 28.6 pounds of it. While other Curiosity drilling operations have caused cracks or breaks in the upper layers of Martian rocks during the rover's nearly 14-year mission, this is the first time one has remained stuck to the sleeve that surrounds the drill's rotating tip."

"As the space agency itself recounts, it was the black-and-white obstacle-detection cameras mounted on the front of the rover's chassis that captured this peculiar “accident” in a sequence of images that allowed engineers to get to work immediately to free it, moving its robotic arm and operating the drill repeatedly over several days."

"Engineers initially tried to remove the rock by vibrating the drill, to no avail. On April 29, they adjusted the position of the robotic arm and tried vibration again, but only managed to knock some sand off the rock. On May 1, the team gave it another try by tilting the drill more, rotating and vibrating it, and spinning the drill bit."

"The team expected to have to repeat these operations several times, but instead the rock broke loose on the first attempt, shattering into a multitude of pieces when it hit the Martian soil."

Curiosity drilled into a Martian rock called “Atacama” to collect a sample. After retracting the robotic arm, the entire rock lifted off the surface, weighing 28.6 pounds, and remained stuck to the sleeve around the drill’s rotating tip. Obstacle-detection cameras captured the event, enabling engineers to respond quickly over several days. Initial attempts used drill vibration without success. Subsequent adjustments to the robotic arm position and drill vibration removed only some sand. Later, the team tilted the drill, rotated and vibrated it, and spun the drill bit. The rock broke loose on the first try, shattering into many pieces upon contact with Martian soil.

Read at WIRED