[a fool in paradise]

HOW? I thought UNESCO declared Mars and the Moon and all that to be protected intergalatic parks that no nation could exploit or harm?

[Calvin Locke]

... but they're also now investigating new and inventive ways to drill, NASA officials said.

Send that Hogg kid to go fix it. He seems to have all the answers to Life, The Universe, and Everything.

[gaijin]

That thing is friggin’ INCREDIBLE:

Originally I think the expected longevity was two weeks, or something.

It’s going on YEARS of service!

Amazing.

[Paladin2]

NASA didn’t get Universal Rockside Assistance?

[C210N]

The car-size rover's drill — a key tool at the end of Curiosity's robotic arm...

I don't think i've ever heard of such a large drill.

There is always the lower-tech version of digging...

[butlerweave]

WOW , Curiosity must be in a Union

[umgud]

Drill baby, drill!

[Cruising Speed]

"jury-rigged"

I'd rather have engineers (jerrys), thank you anyway.

[Oatka]

I remember seeing a God-awful sci-fi movie called "The Creeping Terror" about an alien monster inhaling earth people (the "monster" was some college guys under a rug).

Turns out it wasn't hungry, just "eating" people to find out what they were made of and sending the results back to Mars (using some WWII electronic gear). Some years later I read where our Mars explorer was scooping up soil samples, testing them, and sending the results back to Earth. I always thought that that dog of a movie had a great concept but horrible execution.