Curiosity’s First Rock Star

Curiosity is indeed a rock star rover in every sense of the word. NASA and former President Obama extended its mission indefinitely since the rover has been effective in completing its initial two-year goal and collecting crucial data.

The first target NASA’s Curiosity rover intended to hit with its “Chemistry and Camera” (ChemCam) instrument were simple piles of rocks on the Red Planet. “ChemCam” used a laser to ionize these samples, known as N165, and then analyzed the resulting plasma, a blazing, ionized gas. The gadget will use a telescope to determine the chemical components in the target by analyzing the light emitted by that spark.