NASA: Red Planet looks a little gray inside, USA Today “This is the first time any robot has drilled into a rock on another planet,” says mission sample chief Louise Jandura of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.” Luna 16, WIkipedia “At perilune at 05:12 UT on 20 September [1970], the main braking engine was fired, initiating the descent to the lunar surface. … Less than an hour […]

CuriousMars: Drilling For Martian Secrets, SpaceRef “Two powerful laboratories inside the Mars rover Curiosity are being readied to process the first powdered samples of subsurface Martian rock obtained by the rover’s drill during the most complex series of Curiosity operations since its Sky Crane landing last August.” Marc’s note: This is the latest in-depth story about Mars exploration from Craig Covault. This weekly update is part of the CuriousMars series […]