LOS ANGELES — NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity is poised to begin drilling on the planet’s surface for the first time following the selection of an area of flat rock containing a target-rich environment of fractures, veins and mineral concentrations. Drilling will provide samples that will be used to obtain detailed data about the mineral and chemical composition of the rocks as part of Curiosity’s main mission to investigate whether Mars ever offered an environment suitable for life.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee since 2009, does not plan to run for re-election in 2014. That will leave the committee with an open spot at the top, just after the departure of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), who resigned at the end of the 112th Congress. Rockefeller was a strong advocate for rural airports, resisting efforts by Republicans to scrap the Essential Air Service program.

INFLATING ISS: Bigelow Aerospace will provide a new addition to the International Space Station under a $17.8 million NASA contract. “The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module will demonstrate the benefits of this space habitat technology for future exploration and commercial space endeavors,” the company said in a statement. Bigelow has been developing inflatable orbital habitats for commercial and government applications.

Internal studies propose key propulsion roles for company’s rocket

Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center are collecting data on kerosene-fueled rocket engines by hot-fire testing a gas generator built from 40-year-old parts originally manufactured for the Saturn V Moon rocket. Testing in a modified stand is planned to feed work underway that could lead to a reprise of the old F-1 engine as the booster powerplant for the agency’s planned heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS).

NEW DELHI — India is on track to launch its first Mars orbiter in November of this year, a senior scientist in charge of the mission says. The unmanned satellite, christened “Maangalyaan,” will study the thin Martian atmosphere to determine the existence and sustainability of life and focus on climate, geology, origin and evolution of the planet, the scientist at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said Jan. 10.

Human spaceflight initiatives are struggling with uncertainties

MUOS DELIVERY: Lockheed Martin has finally delivered the waveform needed to fully utilize the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access capabilities offered by the new Mobile User Objective System narrowband communications satellites. The waveform, which is roughly one year late, is needed to allow soldiers, including those on the move, to access voice, data and video communications from various terminals. Though the waveform has been delivered, the capability will not be deployed until the terminals, which are late, are approved for use by the National Security Agency.