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| Nasa's Curiosity Mars rover to ingest drill sample soon | Nasa's Curiosity Mars rover to ingest drill sample soon |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News, Boston | By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News, Boston |
| Nasa's Curiosity Mars rover has still to ingest the rock sample it picked up a week ago. | Nasa's Curiosity Mars rover has still to ingest the rock sample it picked up a week ago. |
| John Grotzinger, the mission's chief scientist, says he expects this to happen very shortly. | John Grotzinger, the mission's chief scientist, says he expects this to happen very shortly. |
| The robot, which is investigating a deep crater on the planet, drilled into what appears to be a mudstone. | The robot, which is investigating a deep crater on the planet, drilled into what appears to be a mudstone. |
| Some of the grey powder produced in the process should now be sitting in the stem of the tool, and must be moved to the onboard labs for analysis. | Some of the grey powder produced in the process should now be sitting in the stem of the tool, and must be moved to the onboard labs for analysis. |
| "We have to first confirm that the powder has moved up the drill stem," Prof Grotzinger told BBC News. | "We have to first confirm that the powder has moved up the drill stem," Prof Grotzinger told BBC News. |
| "From there, it will go into something called the drill assembly, which is about as big as a hockey puck. That's where the sample gets portioned before going through a set of tubes that takes it to some sieves." | "From there, it will go into something called the drill assembly, which is about as big as a hockey puck. That's where the sample gets portioned before going through a set of tubes that takes it to some sieves." |
| Only particles measuring 150 microns (millionths of a metre) across, or less, will be sent to the two big labs in the belly of the rover - Chemin and Sam. | Only particles measuring 150 microns (millionths of a metre) across, or less, will be sent to the two big labs in the belly of the rover - Chemin and Sam. |
| They will describe the mineralogical make-up of the mudstone and try to identify any interesting carbon chemistry that might be present. | They will describe the mineralogical make-up of the mudstone and try to identify any interesting carbon chemistry that might be present. |
| Curiosity is seeking new insights on past environmental conditions on the Red Planet - conditions that may have supported microbial life many billions of years ago. | Curiosity is seeking new insights on past environmental conditions on the Red Planet - conditions that may have supported microbial life many billions of years ago. |
| It is currently investigating a series of layered deposits about half a kilometre from its landing point last August on the floor of the equatorial Gale Crater. | It is currently investigating a series of layered deposits about half a kilometre from its landing point last August on the floor of the equatorial Gale Crater. |
| Already it has seen numerous examples of rocks that were deposited in water or subsequently altered by it. | Already it has seen numerous examples of rocks that were deposited in water or subsequently altered by it. |
| Water is one of the prerequisites for life as we know it on Earth. | Water is one of the prerequisites for life as we know it on Earth. |
| The mudstone unit on which Curiosity is standing has been given the name Sheepbed. It is cut through with veins of what look to be calcium sulphate. | The mudstone unit on which Curiosity is standing has been given the name Sheepbed. It is cut through with veins of what look to be calcium sulphate. |
| Close-up imaging of the drill hole indicates that some of the sample is likely to include this vein material. | Close-up imaging of the drill hole indicates that some of the sample is likely to include this vein material. |
| A couple of Curiosity's survey instruments have probed the powder - the mast-held laser spectrometer, Chemcam, and the X-ray spectrometer, APXS, on the end of the robotic arm. These devices can determine some of the basic chemistry in a target rock. | A couple of Curiosity's survey instruments have probed the powder - the mast-held laser spectrometer, Chemcam, and the X-ray spectrometer, APXS, on the end of the robotic arm. These devices can determine some of the basic chemistry in a target rock. |
| Prof Grotzinger, however, is reluctant to discuss their results just yet, preferring to wait until Chemin and Sam have done their full-on analysis. | Prof Grotzinger, however, is reluctant to discuss their results just yet, preferring to wait until Chemin and Sam have done their full-on analysis. |
| One very obvious observation to make is the colour of the powder. The grey stands in contrast to the weathered red outer-coating of the Sheepbed unit, and the darker colour hints at a different oxidation state for iron (Fe) minerals that might be inside the rock. | One very obvious observation to make is the colour of the powder. The grey stands in contrast to the weathered red outer-coating of the Sheepbed unit, and the darker colour hints at a different oxidation state for iron (Fe) minerals that might be inside the rock. |
| This is the kind of subtle detail the scientists are looking for as they build a picture of what conditions were like on early Mars and the possibility that the planet could once have harboured simple lifeforms. | This is the kind of subtle detail the scientists are looking for as they build a picture of what conditions were like on early Mars and the possibility that the planet could once have harboured simple lifeforms. |
| "Iron is a transition metal and it can have different oxidised states," explained Prof Grotzinger. | "Iron is a transition metal and it can have different oxidised states," explained Prof Grotzinger. |
| "If you can see that different minerals have different values for whether there's Fe2+ or Fe3+, it means that there were electrons moving through the environment, and it means that there were energy gradients there potentially, [which], if there were microorganisms, they might have been able to use those energy gradients." | |
| The Curiosity scientist was speaking here in Boston at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). | The Curiosity scientist was speaking here in Boston at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). |
| He hopes to have some Chemin and Sam results to report next month at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas. | He hopes to have some Chemin and Sam results to report next month at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas. |
| Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos | Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos |