Method of drilling, analyzing and stabilizing a terrestrial or other planetary subsurface formation

A remotely operable drilling apparatus to investigate a formation, the drilling apparatus, comprising:

• a landing craft disposed upon the formation, said landing craft including a communications link and a reel that stores and extends and retracts said communications link;
• a bottomhole assembly in communication with said landing craft through said communications link, said bottomhole assembly including a borehole gripping mechanism, an extension/retraction mechanism, a torque drive assembly, a coupling mechanism, and a tool;
• and
• a starter tube that forms a continuous conduit from said landing craft to said formation.

A method for drilling a remote formation, comprising:

• (a) deploying a landing craft on the surface of the formation;
• (b) deploying a bottomhole assembly from the landing craft to the formation;
• and
• (C) activating a drive assembly to rotate a drilling tool, wherein the drive assembly is part of the bottomhole assembly
• wherein step (b) includes deploying a starter tube between the landing craft and the surface of the formation and wherein the starter tube forms a continuous sealed conduit from the landing craft to the formation, said starter tube being engageable by said borehole gripping mechanism.