NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is set to begin drilling on Mars after almost a year.
The US space agency's rover has traveled more than 5km towards the mission's primary target, the foothills of the huge mountain that dominates Mars' Gale crater, and the rock drill was spun at a scientific waypoint called 'The Kimberley', the BBC reported.
The robot had been commanded to examine several rock targets with all its survey instruments before it started drilling and the scientists and engineers will now assess the qualities of the powder produced from the new hole drilled in the Red Planet.
Curiosity had last used its drill set in May last year in a small depression not far from its August 2012 landing site.