13 kg of Mars got stuck to Curiosity’s drill — and NASA spent 6 days getting it off

While drilling a rock called “Atacama,” NASA’s Curiosity rover accidentally lifted the entire 13 kg sandstone slab attached to its drill — something that had never happened in the rover’s 14-year mission.

The rock was too heavy and unstable for the robotic arm to safely move. Engineers tried vibrations and arm repositioning, but nothing worked.

On April 29, the team finally freed it by combining drill rotation, vibration, turret movement, and arm tilting all at once. The rock broke apart as it hit the surface.

Curiosity’s drill is designed to crush Martian rock into powder for chemical analysis. Since landing, the rover has collected 42 drilled samples despite multiple hardware issues over the years.

Originally built for a 2-year mission, Curiosity has now spent more than a decade exploring Gale Crater and helping confirm that ancient Mars once had conditions suitable for life.

Mars still surprises scientists at the exact moment the drill touches the ground. And the fact that Curiosity is still operating after 14 years says as much about JPL engineers as it does about the rover itself.