With everything that's been going on in the world lately, news about the latest happenings with the Mars Lander, Curiosity has pretty much taken a back seat. Granted, there's been no revelation that life has been found there since it's landing on the red planet back in August of 2012, but History is still being made.
On Jan 31st scientist a JPL will test Curiosity's drill. That's right. For the first time in our history, humans will be drilling on Mars. Rover operators are being very cautious as they attempt what has never been done before. A test hole will be hammered in first, followed by use of Curiosity's percussion drill. Samples won't be examined by Curiosity's on board laboratories for several days as scientists at JPL want to take their time and analyze the results of the drilling test before proceeding.
Several days ago, Curiosity discovered veins of Gypsum. This find indicates that water once flowed freely across the surface of Mars. This is significant because where there is or once was water, there is or has been life. This might make the days ahead very promising, as comparisons between the mineral veins now seen on Mars look very similar to those found on Earth.
Even though humans won't be there in person, exploration of our solar system is proving once again that space really is the final frontier.
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