@PaulHammond51@fosstodon.org

Paul Hammond @PaulHammond51@fosstodon.org

· 5mo ago

This was not on my Mars Bingo Card.

Curiosity rover lifts the rock that is stuck to its drill, gives it a shake which liberated some loose material, but fails to dislodge the errant rock on Sol 4881 (April 30, 2026). The team has an option to eject the drill bit assembly and use one of its spare drill bits, but I assume that will be the last resort. Animated HazCam GIF with timestamps.

#Curiosity #MSL #MarsRover #NASA #Science #Space #Exploration #Solarocks #Mars #Bingo #stuck #GIF

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Paul Hammond @PaulHammond51@fosstodon.org

· 5mo ago

Meanwhile on Mars:
For those that have been following along. After several days of robotic arm gymnastics, the slab of rock that was stuck on Curiosity Rover's drill bit has finally been liberated.

Animated HazCam GIF from Sol 4883 (April 2, 2026) Shows a pair of before and after liberation images. Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

#Curiosity #MSL #MarsRover #NASA #Science #Space #Exploration #Solarocks #Mars #GIF #free #HazCam #Drill

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Paul Hammond @PaulHammond51@fosstodon.org

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@pomarede@mastodon.social Wounded, but still roving ☺️

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Paul Hammond @PaulHammond51@fosstodon.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@dvshkn The drill bit that was stuck is the original bit they landed with back in 2012. They have 2 new (complete) drill bit assemblies (DBA) mounted on the front of the rover. I'm hoping the original DBA is ok as several years ago there was a separate issue that left the drill feed fully extended. That could make it very difficult to swap a DBA. I'm assuming JPL have already tested / practiced such a swap using the scarecrow rover, but I've never seen that process documented.

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Paul Hammond @PaulHammond51@fosstodon.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@reedmideke@mastodon.social It's certainly hanging in there (literally)

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Paul Hammond @PaulHammond51@fosstodon.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@tsturm@famichiki.jp If I was a gambling man I'd bet my shirt on a few close ups :) However the best science camera for that job (MAHLI) is mounted on the turret, so they'll likely have to get rid of the rock before they acquire those images. I'm sure the science team are hoping for some ChemCam RMI, and Laser activity on that exposed patch though. I'd also bet that the APXS team are hoping for acquiring data from that patch as well. As you say lots of potential science data :)

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Paul Hammond @PaulHammond51@fosstodon.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@stim3on @sharponlooker @carolynporco @Landru79 @pomarede sorry guys, AFAIK fredk only posts on the discord server already mentioned.

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Paul Hammond @PaulHammond51@fosstodon.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@nickwrightdata.ntw.app they managed to get the rock off the drill bit ☺️

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Paul Hammond @PaulHammond51@fosstodon.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@65dBnoise@mastodon.social Maybe they'll adopt a series of G73's for future sample holes :)

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Paul Hammond @PaulHammond51@fosstodon.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@felinecannon.bsky.social Possible but probably unlikely. However I stated earlier that it was unlikely they'd lift it up higher to look underneath, and here we are :)

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Paul Hammond @PaulHammond51@fosstodon.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@meercat0@mastodon.social By the time they get that rock off the drill, any insects would have had lots of time to find new home ;)

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Paul Hammond @PaulHammond51@fosstodon.org

· 19mo ago

Replying to

@organicmaps@mastodon.social And it still uses the Gulf of Mexico!...

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