NASA to reveal contents of drilled Martian rock

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Curiosity drilled into its first Martian rock a month ago. Now scientists will reveal what's inside.

Gathering at NASA headquarters Tuesday, the rover team will detail the minerals and chemicals present in a gray pinch of ground-up rock.

The rock results come seven months after Curiosity made a dramatic landing in an ancient crater near the equator. It has been slow going since then as engineers learn to handle the car-size rover.

Scientists are thrilled with the latest achievement ? a first on Mars. It involved boring a hole, scooping the powder and running it through Curiosity's instruments.

By analyzing the rock's interior, researchers hope to determine whether the landing spot was habitable. They already have one hint ? an ancient streambed that Curiosity crossed to get to the rock.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-03-12-Mars%20Curiosity/id-9ea49088c614496191e423f91112a055

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