A palm-sized, ultrasonic drill with no gears or motors may one day replace the standard rotary drill used by craftsmen, astronauts, and surgeons, its developers say. The drill, developed by Cybersonics, Inc., with help from NASA, weighs only 1.5 pounds and can drill holes in granite using a third of the power consumed by rotary drills. Powered by piezoelectrics, the drill could be used for bone surgery or for space missions that drill for samples on an asteroid. Not only will Contour take far better pictures than any ever obtained of a comet, it will collect and analyze comet dust to determine each comet's makeup. Fortunately, a number of space missions are designed to do just that.
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