Curiosity Begins Eastbound Trek to Drill

On its 22 day mission on the Martian Land, NASA's Mars Curiosity is heading eastward to a science destination that is about 400 meter away. Compared to the first two drives this third drive is the longest and Curiosity is expected to start using its drill here.

"This drive really begins our journey toward the first major driving destination, Glenelg, and it's nice to see some Martian soil on our wheels," said mission manager Arthur Amador of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "The drive went beautifully, just as our rover planners designed it."

The Curiosity team has selected Glenelg where three terrains intersect as they are hoping to find rock target for drilling and analysis.

"We are on our way, though Glenelg is still many weeks away," said Curiosity Project Scientist John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "We plan to stop for just a day at the location we just reached, but in the next week or so we will make a longer stop."

Curiosity will test its robotic arm and the contact instruments at the end of the arm at this site. Curiosity is slated to reach the sit eon Tuesday where Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam) will collect a set of images toward the mission's ultimate driving destination, the lower slope of nearby Mount Sharp.

According to the team, "A mosaic of images from the current location will be used along with the Mastcam images of the mountain taken at the spot where Curiosity touched down, Bradbury Landing. This stereo pair taken about 33 feet (10 meters) apart will provide three-dimensional information about distant features and possible driving routes."