It looks very much like Curiosity has used her “scoop” for the first time…
There should be some pictures of the dust sample *in* the scoop later today, I think, but they’re not down yet. But that picture above is a sign that Curiosity is, essentially, all checked out and stepping up a gear in her scientific mission, taking in dust and dirt samples to study and analyse and interrogate. Here’s a 3D view…
This isn’t the first time NASA has dug its fingers into the dirt and dust of an alien world, not by a long way. Probes have been rummaging and scraping about “Out there” for decades. I put together a picture to show this proud tradition of travelling to exotic, alien worlds, landing on their surfaces, and then wrecking them… 
