Curiosity drills 49th hole named Nazca

NASA’s Curiosity Blog reported on Tuesday 10 November 2026 that Curiosity successfully drilled its 49th drill hole, named Nazca. The announcement was written by Susanne P. Schwenzer, Professor of Planetary Mineralogy at The Open University, UK.

According to the blog, the rover returned to an area where the team found disc shaped inclusions in the rocks. The team interpreted them as potential crystals. If they are crystals, comparisons with Earth could show the environmental conditions at the site. The selected block contained abundant potential crystals.

Curiosity passed the rover stability test before extending its arm. All wheels had to be on solid ground. The rover also passed a preload test, which checked the stability of the rock and the forces on the arm when the drill bit pressed into it. With those tests passed, the team drilled Nazca.

Before drilling, the team investigated the block with APXS, MAHLI and ChemCam. After drilling, Curiosity dropped off the sample for CheMin. The results were still traveling from Mars to Earth and were expected to arrive over the coming weekend.

ChemCam obtained passive spectral and active LIBS measurements of the tailings. It also took a LIBS measurement down the drill hole wall. The instrument also investigated Palpala, a dark pebble, with LIBS.

The team measured Palpala and other sufficiently large dark pebbles because their compositions did not all match. Smaller pebbles could move when hit by the laser. The announcement said ChemCam would take another depth profile of Llama and repeat measurements of Pacaya. Several long distance RMIs focused on the two buttes Mishe Mokwa and Cordillera. The measurements were planned for Friday, Oct. 23, 2026.