14 DAY TRIAL // Curiosity is back at testing its many instruments and playing in the sand. It's already gotten through its first scoop and is now down to its second.
Only on its third try will it analyze anything though, these runs are just to clean up the "piping" and make sure no contaminants are left in the instruments before the sand samples reach the mineral and chemical analyzers.
"Curiosity completed several activities in preparation for collecting its second scoop of soil," NASA explained.
"Like the first scoop, the next will come from a ripple of sand and dust at 'Rocknest,' and will be used for cleaning interior surfaces of the sample-handling chambers on the arm," it added.
The second scoop may have already happened during the weekend, but NASA hasn't said anything about it yet.
But, while preparing for the second scoop, Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) got close to the piece of plastic that was spotted on the ground next to the rover earlier.
The new images make it clear that it's a bit that fell off the rover, but it's unlikely that there's any damage done. NASA engineers are still trying to determine whether there's any risk.
