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Rock cuttings being blown out of the hole by sublimed water-ice.
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Methods for cuttings removal from holes drilled on Mars

1Kris A. Zacny and 2George A. Cooper

1Honeybee Robotics, New York, NY, 10001, USA
2Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720

Mars 3, 42-56, 2007 | doi:10.1555/mars.2007.0004
Received April 30, 2007 | Accepted September 1, 2007 | Published December 3, 2007

Rock excavation process consists of breaking the rock and extraction of cuttings from the hole. On Mars, deep drilling will be restricted by a method of cuttings removal and not rock strength.

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