Martian Rover Curiosity Successfully Makes Plasma Plumes
- 10 years ago
Since Curiosity arrived on Mars, it’s been zapping all sorts of things, but just recently got the kind of response some scientists have been waiting for – a plasma plume.
Curiosity, NASA’s 1-ton Martian rover, is equipped with all sorts of bells and whistles. Among them is the Chemistry-and-Camera system known as ChemCam, a laser instrument that can determine the chemical compounds of rocks.
Since Curiosity arrived on Mars nearly two years ago, it’s been zapping all sorts of things, but just recently got the kind of response some scientists have been waiting for – a plasma plume.
Said one very happy researcher, "This is so exciting! The ChemCam laser has fired more than 150,000 times on Mars, but this is the first time we see the plasma plume that is created. Each time the laser hits a target, the plasma light is caught and analyzed by ChemCam's spectrometers. What the new images add is confirmation that the size and shape of the spark are what we anticipated under Martian conditions."
The team’s next step is to compare the Martian plume to one created on Earth.
As for the rock, it turned out to be nothing all that special. It was described as being rich in silicon, aluminum, and sodium, making it much like nearly every other one of the hundreds that Curiosity and ChemCam have analyzed.
Curiosity, NASA’s 1-ton Martian rover, is equipped with all sorts of bells and whistles. Among them is the Chemistry-and-Camera system known as ChemCam, a laser instrument that can determine the chemical compounds of rocks.
Since Curiosity arrived on Mars nearly two years ago, it’s been zapping all sorts of things, but just recently got the kind of response some scientists have been waiting for – a plasma plume.
Said one very happy researcher, "This is so exciting! The ChemCam laser has fired more than 150,000 times on Mars, but this is the first time we see the plasma plume that is created. Each time the laser hits a target, the plasma light is caught and analyzed by ChemCam's spectrometers. What the new images add is confirmation that the size and shape of the spark are what we anticipated under Martian conditions."
The team’s next step is to compare the Martian plume to one created on Earth.
As for the rock, it turned out to be nothing all that special. It was described as being rich in silicon, aluminum, and sodium, making it much like nearly every other one of the hundreds that Curiosity and ChemCam have analyzed.