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Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Curiosity SAM tool examines first piece of solid ground


Pinch of fine sand and dust was the first solid Martian samples placed in the biggest tool of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity: Sample Analysis at Mars, or SAM.

Inside the rover, SAM determine the chemical composition of samples placed inside it, special attention is paid to the search for fragments, which could indicate the former presence of the world traces of organic life. Curiosity robotic arm delivered to the inlet of the tool SAM, located on the deck of the rover, a sample of Martian soil on 9 November. 


For two days the tool SAM analyzed a sample using mass spectrometry, gas chromatography and laser spectroscopy.

Project scientists say they are satisfied with the results, and that now they have a huge amount of data for further analysis.

NASA's new Mars rover Curiosity has landed on the surface of the Red Planet on August 6 this year, the purpose of his mission is to search for traces of the existence of the planet in the present or past life forms.

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