Engineers spent several days trying to detach the rock by repositioning the arm and vibrating the drill. The rock finally detached on May 1, 2026, and broke into pieces. 5 feet in diameter at its base and 6 inches thick.
6 pounds on Earth and about a third of that on Mars. A close-up image taken by Curiosity's Mast Camera on May 6, 2026, shows the circular drill hole in the rock. The reason the rock stuck to the drill remains unclear, and the composition of Atacama has not been disclosed.
The scientific purpose of drilling this particular rock has not been specified.