The rock, dubbed "Atacama" and measuring 1.5 feet in diameter at its base and 6 inches thick, weighed approximately 28.6 pounds (13 kilograms). After drilling the sample on April 25, the rover operators retracted Curiosity's arm as they had done many times before. However, this time, the entire rock was lifted, "suspended by the fixed sleeve that surrounds the rotating drill bit," according to NASA.
The largest section of the rocket for the Artemis III mission arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida, on Monday, according to NASA. The 212-foot-long Space Launch System (SLS) core stage was manufactured at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans before traveling 900 miles aboard a barge to the space center, where the complete assembly will take place.
The promise of RDREs is that they can move a spacecraft faster and more efficiently, allowing them to carry heavier payloads and travel farther distances than conventional rockets.