Jump to content
  • Sign Up
×
×
  • Create New...
1 Vote = 0.10€ for server Owner!

[NASA] Curiosity Blog, Sols 4568-4569: A Close Look at the Altadena Drill Hole and Tailings

SpaceMan

By SpaceMan,
in World News

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Diamond Member
SpaceMan Hunter

SpaceMan 0

Posted
  • Diamond Member
Posted
Curiosity Navigation

2 min read

Curiosity Blog, Sols 4568-4569: A Close Look at the Altadena Drill Hole and Tailings

This is the hidden content, please
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image of the “Altadena” drill hole using its Mast Camera (Mastcam) on June 8, 2025 — Sol 4564, or Martian day 4,564 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 13:57:45 UTC.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Written by Sharon Wilson Purdy, Planetary Geologist at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Earth planning date: Wednesday, June 11, 2025

As we near the end of our Altadena drill campaign, Curiosity continued her exploration of the Martian bedrock within the boxwork structures on Mount Sharp. After successfully delivering a powdered rock sample to both the CheMin (Chemistry and Mineralogy) and SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) instruments, the focus for sols 4568 and 4569 was to take a closer look at the drill hole itself — specifically, the interior walls of the drill hole and the associated tailings (the rock material pushed out by the drill).

In the image above, you can see that the tone (or color) of the rock exposed within the wall of the drill hole appears to change slightly with depth, and the drill tailings are a mixture of fine powder and more solid clumps. If you compare the Altadena drill site with

This is the hidden content, please
, one can really appreciate the impressive range of colors, textures, and grain sizes in the rocks that Curiosity has analyzed over the past 12 years. Every drill hole marks a window into the past and can help us understand how the ancient environment and climate on Mars evolved over time.

 In this two-sol plan, the ChemCam, Mastcam, APXS, and MAHLI instruments coordinated their observations to image and characterize the chemistry of the wall of the drill hole and tailings before we drive away from this site over the coming weekend. Outside of our immediate workspace, Mastcam created two stereo mosaics that will image the boxwork structures nearby as well as the layers within Texoli butte. ChemCam assembled three long-distance RMI images that will help assess the layers at the base of the “Mishe Mokwa” hill, complete the imaging of the nearby boxwork structures, and image the very distant crater rim (about 90 kilometers, or 56 miles away) and sky to investigate the scattering properties of the atmosphere. The environmental theme group included observations that will measure the properties of the atmosphere and also included a dust-****** survey.

Share

Details

Last Updated
Jun 13, 2025

Related Terms

Explore More

This is the hidden content, please
/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">
This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please
/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">
This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please
/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">
This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

Mars

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please
/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

This is the hidden content, please


All Mars Resources

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please
/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

This is the hidden content, please


Rover Basics

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please
/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

This is the hidden content, please


Mars Exploration: Science Goals

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please
/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

0

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Vote for the server

    To vote for this server you must login.

    Jim Carrey Flirting GIF

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

Important Information

Privacy Notice: We utilize cookies to optimize your browsing experience and analyze website traffic. By consenting, you acknowledge and agree to our Cookie Policy, ensuring your privacy preferences are respected.

  I accept