NASA's Curiosity Rover Held Hostage by 29-Pound Mars Rock for 6 Days
Summary: On April 25, 2026, NASA's Curiosity rover accidentally extracted an entire Mars rock nicknamed "Atacama" while drilling into it. The rock—about 1.5 feet (0.5 meters) wide, 6 inches (15 cm) thick, and roughly 29 pounds (13 kg)—refused to release from the drill sleeve as Curiosity lifted its robotic arm away from the surface. It took the team 6 days to clear the blockage. This was a first in Curiosity's more than 13 years operating on the Red Planet.