A true-color panorama taken by the Curiosity rover on Mars.(Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Mars rover Curiosity drilled into its first rock a month ago. Now scientists will reveal what's inside.
Gathering at NASA headquarters Tuesday, the rover team will detail the minerals and chemicals found in a pinch of ground-up rock.
The results come seven months after Curiosity made a dramatic landing in an ancient crater near the equator. It has been slow going since then as engineers learn to handle the car-size rover.
Scientists are thrilled with the latest achievement - a first on Mars. It involved boring a hole, scooping the powder and running it through Curiosity's instruments.
By analyzing the rock, researchers hope to determine whether the landing spot was ever habitable. They already have one hint - an ancient streambed that Curiosity crossed to get to the rock.
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