Curiosity Wrestles a Martian Rock, Breaks Free — Only for the Rock to Shatter on Impact

TL;DR Summary
NASA’s Curiosity rover spent several days with a rock latched to its drill-equipped arm while drilling from a Martian rock nicknamed Atacama. Engineers tried vibrating and reorienting the arm, then tilting, rotating, and spinning the drill; the rock finally released during the first round of maneuvers, but shattered on impact, marking a rare rover win but a failure for the stubborn rock.
- Watch NASA’s Curiosity Rover Struggle to Break Loose From a Rock on Mars Gizmodo
- Curiosity Drilled Into a Rock on Mars And Gave Scientists a Big Surprise ScienceAlert
- NASA’s Curiosity Rover Frees Its Drill From a Rock NASA Science (.gov)
- Mars rover hits rocky snag with power tool The Register
- The Curiosity Rover Got Stuck In Atacama Rock On Mars. NASA Fixed The Problem From 334 Million Kilometers Away IFLScience
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