Curiosity Rover Wraps Up Rock Sample Analysis at Basque Lakes Drill Hole
NASA's Curiosity rover completed CheMin instrument analysis of a rock sample collected at the Basque Lakes drill site in Gale Crater on Mars.
FTMQ Space, written by our newsroom1 view
NASA News reported that scientists operating the Curiosity Mars rover wrapped up instrument analysis of a rock sample collected from the Basque Lakes drill hole. The rover used its Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument, known as CheMin, to analyze the Martian rock during the first week of October 2026. [1]
According to NASA News, the majority of Curiosity planning involves imaging mosaics from Mastcam and ChemCam, chemical analysis from ChemCam and APXS, and regular environmental measurements from REMS, RAD, and DAN. The mission relies on stopping to drill to use its full laboratory capabilities, including CheMin and the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument. [1]
The uncrewed Mars Science Laboratory mission launched from Earth on November 26, 2011, and landed in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012. As of October 5, 2026, Curiosity has been operating on the surface of Mars for 5,035 sols. [2]
In short
- Curiosity wrapped up CheMin analysis of a rock sample from the Basque Lakes drill hole on Mars.
- The rover uses instruments including CheMin, SAM, Mastcam, and ChemCam to study Martian geology.
- Curiosity landed in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012, and has operated for over 5,000 sols.
Sources
Every paragraph above points to the numbered items it rests on. Read the originals here.
- [1]Curiosity Blog, Sols 5029-5035: Back in the LabNASA News, 10h ago (the report this story comes from)
Background
- [2]Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory on Wikipedia
- [3]Enja Records on Wikipedia
- [4]How and Why Wonder Books on Wikipedia
Our newsroom writes these reports with the help of software, from the 4 sources listed and nothing else, and checks them against those sources. Facts can still be wrong or move on; the originals are the record. Spotted a mistake? Write to daniel@monsterkong.com.
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