Mars Rock Holds Curiosity Hostage for Six Days, NASA Engineers Finally Free It
NASA's Curiosity rover was stuck for six days after a 29-pound Martian rock nicknamed Atacama remained attached to its drill sleeve, defying three attempts to free it via vibrations, rotations, and repositioning; engineers finally dislodged the rock by using steeper drill angles and simultaneous rotation, enabling Curiosity to resume normal science operations and returning footage of the moment.