The round, shallow depression in this image resulted from history's first grinding of a rock on Mars. The rock abrasion tool on NASA's Spirit rover ground off the surface of a patch 45.5 millimeters (1.8 inches) in diameter on a rock called Adirondack during Spirit's 34th sol on Mars, Feb. 6, 2004. (NASA website)

    PASADENA, the United States, Feb. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- NASA scientistssaid on Saturday the Spirit rover drilled a tiny hole in a Mars rock, marking the first time a rover has deliberately carved martian rock.

    The rover used a drill at its robotic arm to make a circular, 2.65 millimeter-deep hole in a rock called Adirondack, said Stephen Gorevan, a scientist handling some of Spirit's workload at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

    "We made some history here. We put the first planned hole on Mars," Gorevan told reporters at the JPL.

    The circular hole could give scientists clues to Mars' geologicpast, according to Gorevan.

    Spirit, stopping data communication on Jan. 21 by its computer memory problem, returned to science operation on Thursday. Its twin, Opportunity, is on the opposite side of Mars, where it is examining an outcropping of bedrock. Enditem