As it rolls along the surface of Mars, NASA’s Curiosity rover has begun putting its Swiss Army knife of scientific instruments to work. The six-wheeled vehicle is using nearly a dozen high-tech instruments to touch, scoop, sift, clean, and analyze rocks and dirt on its mission.

NASA recently said Curiosity had found “surprises” in the chemical makeup of a rock–dubbed Jake Matijevic by NASA scientists–that it probed. The rock’s chemical composition resembled that of igneous rocks from the Earth’s interior.

The high-flying lab has been exploring and snapping pictures of the Gale Crater since landing on the Red Planet on Aug. 6. It’s also checking in on Foursquare, making it easier for observers to track its progress.

Curiosity is about to begin conducting sample analyses of its surroundings. In about two weeks, the rover will start depositing first soil samples into its analytical instruments, according to the space agency.
Network Computing