“The scientists behind NASA's $2.5 billion Curiosity rover mission on Mars on Tuesday explained the nature of a tiny, gleaming "flower" embedded in Red Planet rock, and revealed where they'll be using the SUV-sized robot's drill for the first time”. – Alan Boyle via NBCNews.com

Photo: Scientists say that a “Martian flower”, seen here in an image from the Curiosity rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager, is a 2-millimeter-wide grain or pebble that's embedded in the surrounding rock. Another, darker-colored mineral grain can be seen above and to the left. (Photo by NASA)

The NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 21 mission began on July 21 as an international crew of aquanauts splashed down to the undersea Aquarius Reef Base, located 62 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The NEEMO 21 crew will perform research both inside and outside the habitat during a 16-day simulated space mission. During simulated spacewalks carried out underwater, they will evaluate tools and mission operation techniques that could be used in future space missions, including journeys to Mars. (Photo by Karl Shreeves/NASA)

Space shuttle Discovery sits atop NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) ready to transport it from Kennedy Space Center to the Washington D.C., on April 17, 2012 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Following the retirement of the shuttle fleet, Discovery will fly to Washington for display at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. (Photo by Lofty Ambitions)

The Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft carrying the crew formed of Kathleen Rubins of NASA, Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos blasts off to the International Space Station (ISS) from the launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on October 14, 2020. (Photo by Russian space agency Roscosmos/Handout via Reuters)

Crowds gather and watch the launch of NASA space shuttle Endeavour from Kennedy Space Center on the beach May 16, 2011 in Cocoa Beach, Florida. (Photo by Roberto Gonzalez/Getty Images)

A model displays a creation by designers members of the Carabobo Sostenible program who present a collection made of corn cob husks, plastic, and paper in front of the facade of the Virgen del Carmen church in the town of Mariara, Carabobo state, Venezuela, on August 3, 2023. (Photo by Juan Carlos Hernandez/AFP Photo)

Members of the Shanxi Folk Dance and Music Troupe perform during a rehearsal before a show at the Orient Museum in Lisbon February 1, 2016. The show is part of the Chinese New Year Celebrations program of Orient Museum in Lisbon. (Photo by Rafael Marchante/Reuters)

Figure Skating, ISU World Figure Skating Championships, Ladies Short Program, Boston, Massachusetts, United States on March 31, 2016: Ashley Wagner of the United States stumbles and falls while celebrating after competing. (Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters)