Mars Curiosity rover moving robotic arm again after electrical short

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Thursday, March 12, 2015
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover
In this image released on June 23, 2014, shows NASA's Curiosity Mars rover self-portrait.
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NASA says the robotic arm on the Curiosity rover is moving again after a short circuit temporarily halted its work on Mars.

The space agency said Thursday that Curiosity transferred a powder sample from a recent rock drilling to an onboard laboratory to process earlier this week.

The activity was put on hold late last month after the rover experienced an electrical short.

Engineers say the likely cause is an intermittent short in the motor of the drill. They'll continue to analyze the issue to decide how best to use the drill for future work.

Curiosity is at the base of a Martian mountain and will drive to higher ground in the coming days to explore more rocks.

The rover landed on Mars in 2012 and has made many discoveries.