Diversity of Chemistry and Geologic Processes Observed by the MSL/ChemCam Laser Instrument in Gale Crater, Mars

摘要

In August, 2012a new technique came into use probing the surface of Mars: laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). The ChemCam remote-sensing instrument suite on the Mars Scientific Laboratory rover, known as Curiosity (Grotzinger et al., 2012), consists of a LIBS spectrometer and a Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) (Wiens et al., 2012; Maurice et al., 2012); the latter provides the highest resolution remote images from the rover (Le Mouelic et al., 2015). ChemCam is one of ten instrument packages on board the rover. Both ChemCam instruments use a 110 mm telescope which is the largest optical aperture on Mars, providing the Curiosity rover with its cyclops eye.