[meteorite-list] Mobile Mars Lab Almost Ready for Curiosity Rover

[Ron Baalke]

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-331  

Mobile Mars Lab Almost Ready for Curiosity Rover
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
October 08, 2010

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite has completed
assembly at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and is
nearly ready for a December delivery to NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., where it will be installed into the
Curiosity rover.

The Mars Science Laboratory mission will use SAM and other instruments
on Curiosity to examine whether an intriguing area of Mars has had
environmental conditions favorable for microbial life and favorable for
preserving evidence of life, if it existed. Launch is scheduled for late
2011, with landing in August 2012.

SAM will explore molecular and elemental chemistry relevant to life. It
will analyze samples of Martian rock and soil to assess carbon chemistry
through a search for organic compounds, and to look for clues about
planetary change.

SAM is in flight configuration, meaning its instruments are in the
condition they will be in during launch and are ready to begin
operations on Mars. The instrument suite (a mass spectrometer, gas
chromatograph and tunable laser spectrometer) started final
environmental testing this week, which includes vibration and thermal
testing to ensure SAM can survive the launch, deep space flight and
conditions on Mars.

Full press release:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/moonmars/features/sam-configure.html

Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Guy.webster at jpl.nasa.gov

2010-331