After five months on the red planet, the Curiosity rover will finally get down to work by drilling on a rock bed. The location was chosen for drilling due to some curious marks near it which suggest that water once flowed through.
The scientists are overjoyed with these findings and claim that Curiosity is in a virtual “candy store” because the area is filled with materials that could only have been formed with the existence of water.
Initially this site was only meant to be a detour on the way to Curiosity’s final destination, the mountain in the middle of Gale Crater, but these new findings are too great to ignore. As a result, Curiosity will make a pit stop.
As a result, Curiosity probably won’t make it to the mountain on Gale Crater for another few months.