Free Astronomy Magazine March-April 2021

40 MARCH-APRIL 2021 MARS ROVERS MARSSCIENCE LABORATORY SCIENCE INSTRUMENTS • Mastcam (Mast Camera) The Mast Camera, or Mastcam for short, takes color images and color video footage of the Martian terrain. The images can be stitched to- gether to create panoramas of the landscape around the rover. • MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager) The Mars Hand Lens Imager, called MAHLI, is the rover's version of the magnifying hand lens that geologists usually carry with them into the field. MAHLI's close-up images reveal the minerals and textures in rock surfaces. • MARDI (Mars Descent Imager) The Mars Descent Imager, nicknamed "MARDI," shot a color video of the terrain below as the rover descended to its landing site. The video helped mission planners select the best path for Curiosity when the rover started exploring Gale Crater. • APXS (Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer) The Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer is called APXS for short. When it is placed right next to a rock or soil surface, it uses two kinds of radiation to measure the amounts and types of chemical elements that are present. • ChemCam (Chemistry and Camera) The Chemistry and Camera tool is known as ChemCam. ChemCam's laser, camera and spectrograph work together to identify the chemical and mineral composition of rocks and soils. • CheMin (Chemical and Mineralogy) The Chemical and Mineralogy instrument, or CheMin for short, per- forms chemical analysis of powdered rock samples to identify the types and amounts of different minerals that are present. • SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) The Sample Analysis at Mars tool is called SAM. SAM is made up of three different instruments that search for and measure organic chemi- cals and light elements that are important ingredients potentially associated with life. • RAD (Radiation Assessment Detector) The Radiation Assessment Detector is also known as RAD, and is help- ing prepare for future human exploration of Mars. RAD measures the type and amount of harmful radiation that reaches the Martian surface from the sun and space sources. • DAN (Dynamic Albedo Of Neutrons) The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons tool, called DAN for short, looks for telltale changes in the way neutrons released from Martian soil that in- dicate liquid or frozen water exists underground. • REMS (Rover Environmental Monitoring Station) The Rover Environmental Monitoring Station is nicknamed REMS, and it contains all the weather instruments needed to provide daily and seasonal reports on meteorological conditions around the rover. • MEDLI (Mars Science Laboratory Entry Descent and Landing Instru- ment) The Mars Science Laboratory Entry Descent and Landing Instrument is called MEDLI. MEDLI measured the heating and atmospheric pres- sure changes that occurred during the descent to help determine the effects on different parts of the spacecraft. S ome of the main geological struc- tures investigated by Curiosity in Yellowknife Bay. John Klein and Cumberland are two of several sites where the rover drilled into the rocks to extract dust for analysis in its in-house laboratory. [NASA/JPL Caltech/MSSS] minerals involves the dissolution in water of some of their characteristic elements, such as calcium and so- dium, an overall scarce presence of the latter in the vicinity of the clays would indicate that the process took place through stirred waters, able to totally disperse the washed- out elements into the environment. On the contrary, if the clay sedi- ments still contain certain types of elements, it means that the geo- chemical action that led to their for- mation took place in calm waters and in a more recent period than that of the first scenario.