Enabling ChemCam to Measure Key Isotopic Ratios on Mars and Other Planets

ChemCam is a science instrument on the mast of the Curiosity rover (Photo: NASA JPL).

On August 6th, 2012 the automatic rover "Curiosity" landed on Mars. One of the scientific instruments on board is ChemCam, which has a pulsed laser capable of ablating a focused spot on a remote sample to create a glowing plasma plume of target's material. Light from plasma is collected by rover's telescope on a mast, and the optical spectra are then analyzed by an internal spectrometer.

ChemCam can take thousands spectra per day from a distance of about 7 meters, thus making chemical analyses on the surface of Mars with unprecedented speed. ChemCam has become the most frequently used instrument on the rover because of simplicity of its stand-off operation.

http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Enabling_ChemCam_to_Measure_Key_Isotopic_Ratios_on_Mars_and_Other_Planets_999.html