- By Prateek Levi
- Sat, 07 Feb 2026 12:04 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
After a few days of disruption in connection with Earth, Curiosity Rover has finally reconnected successfully, and the journey to explore our celestial neighbor Mars has resumed. The communication with the rover was getting blocked due to a phenomenon called the solar conjunction. What it basically means is that from the Earth's perspective, Mars is behind the sun, i.e., the sun is situated between Earth and Mars. The sun is no longer blocking communication with the rover, and mission teams have continued with their tasks. On the first planning day, the team set up a busy weekend of work. This included a close look at a broken white rock and the sand on the ground. Curiosity also drove about two meters to reach its next drilling spot, preparing for one of the mission’s most carefully planned experiments.
A Return to Nevado Sajama for Some Organic Chemistry
The NASA Curiosity mission report sheds light on the information on where the next drill location is, which is a few centimeters away from "Nevado Sajama," a rock that was drilled last November. Scientists and researchers are revisiting this place again in order to conduct a rare experiment that will utilize the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument. For this test, the rover will use its last container of tetramethylammonium hydroxide, a chemical that helps scientists find organic molecules trapped inside Martian rocks.
Now this experiment is quite sensitive and needs precise and careful consideration, as the rover carries only two such containers with this chemical compound, the first of which was used six years ago, so yes, it's that important. To play it safe, the science team rehearsed how to move the drilled sample into the instrument before attempting the drill itself. This extra care shows just how important it is to not waste this last opportunity.
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Curiosity is taking a step back from some science work while it runs an experiment that uses a lot of energy. That said, the rover had already taken plenty of images of the area, so nothing important was missed.
With Mars heading into its dusty season, the team shifted attention to watching the environment instead. They spent time tracking dust devils and haze in Gale Crater. Mastcam images from Sol 4789 also show drilling near Nevado Sajama, continuing Curiosity’s search for clues about whether Mars once supported life.