Before and After a Little Dusting . photonado

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Before and After a Little Dusting

This set of images from NASA's Curiosity rover shows a patch of rock before and after it was cleaned by Curiosity's Dust Removal Tool (DRT). The images, obtained by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), show the first use of the DRT on Jan. 6, 2013, the 150th sol, or Martian day, of operations. MAHLI took this image from a distance of about 10 inches (25 centimeters) after the brushing was completed on this rock target, called "Ekwir_1." The patch of the rock from which dust has been brushed away is about 1.85 inches by 2.44 inches (47 millimeters by 62 millimeters).

Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Image released by NASA on 2013-01-15 as catalog id PIA16619