Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Newly released images show NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover completing a new drilling into a large block target.

This action comes after the robot’s drill became lodged into the “Atacama” drill hole.

A careful dance of robot arm motions were employed — each one diligently planned by the team — to free Curiosity’s drill from the “Atacama” target, reports Michelle Minitti, Deputy Principal Investigator of Curiosity’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), a close-up camera located on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm.

Once the health of the drill and arm were confirmed by the engineers, Curiosity was wheeled toward the new workspace.

“Our Martian exploration continues undaunted,” Minitti explains.

Go to “NASA’s Curiosity Rover Frees Its Drill From a Rock” video at:

https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/psd/photojournal/pia/pia26/pia26723/PIA26723.gif

Also, go to this May 17, 2026 “To drill or not to drill?” video release by Mars Guy.

“After the first ever stuck drill bit on Mars and days of effort to remove it, Curiosity shook off the rock and moved on. The team still wanted to sample one of these bizarre rocks and found another one nearby that looks notably similar. But would they risk it?”

Go to:

This image was taken by Curiosity’s Front Hazard Avoidance Camera (Front Hazcam) on Sol 4897, May 16, 2026.
Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

This image was taken by Curiosity’s Front Hazard Avoidance Camera (Front Hazcam) on Sol 4897, May 16, 2026.
Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

This image was taken by Curiosity’s Right Navigation Camera on Sol 4897, May 16, 2026.
Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

This image was taken by Curiosity’s MAST_RIGHT (Mastcam) camera on Sol 4896, May 15, 2026.
Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS