Curiosity update: Go for drilling at Highfield!

Sol 2224, November 8, 2018, update by MSL scientist Mark Salvatore: Today was a good day on Mars. The science and engineering teams are making preparations to drill a patch of grey bedrock named “Highfield”, which will be our latest attempt to characterize this unique rock unit on Vera Rubin Ridge. Our last attempt to drill into this geologic member of the VRR (nearly 50 sols ago!) was unsuccessful at the drill target “Inverness.” This target proved to be extremely resistant and hard, making it difficult for the drill to penetrate deep into the surface and accumulate sample material. So, the science team engaged in quite a bit of discussion about whether the Highfield target is expected to be as hard as or softer than the Inverness target. The team decided that it was worth trying to drill… [More at link]