It is with great pleasure that we present this article on the Mars Science Laboratory, authored by an outstanding scientist and doctor of sciences. The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed the Curiosity rover in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012. The primary objective of MSL is to search for evidence of past or present life on Mars. In addition, MSL will assess the habitability of Martian environments and investigate key aspects of the planet’s geology and climate.
The Curiosity rover is equipped with a suite of sophisticated scientific instruments designed to achieve these objectives through direct or indirect detection and analysis of samples scooped up from the Martian surface or drilled from rocks. These instruments include spectrometers to identify minerals in rocks and soil; cameras and a laser-firing instrument to study the morphology (shape) and stratigraphy (layering) of rocks; a drill to collect rock cores for more detailed analysis; radiometric dating tools to determine the ages of rocks; weather sensors; and radiation monitors.
Curiosity also carries two devices – known as Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) and Chemistry & Mineralogy X-Ray Diffraction/X-Ray Fluorescence Instrument (CheMin)- that are capable of analyzing samples collected by either drilling into rocks or scooping up soil. SAM uses a gas chromatograph, quadrupole mass spectrometer, tunable laser spectrometer,and differential scattering laser spectrometerto identify gaseous compounds in samples heated until they vaporize. CheMin employs an x-ray diffraction/x-ray fluorescence technique(similar to methods used in terrestrial laboratories)to identify crystalline minerals in powdered rock samples.”