Mars Curiosity

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity arrived at the rim of the 10-meter Antofagasta crater. The crater's bottom was filled with dark rippled sandy material, making it unsuitable for drilling. Instead, the team planned to drill into a nearby rock layer.

The rover's workspace was rich in interesting bedrock targets, including polygonal features. The team planned detailed imaging and geochemistry of the polygon-bearing rocks on the crater rim.

A new drill campaign is planned to measure a representative bedrock sample from the layers just above the boxworks. The preliminary APXS, MAHLI, and ChemCam geochemistry on the potential drill target, Atacama, are underway.