Curiosity Rover's First CheMin Results
David Bish, Co-Investigator for CheMin Instrument, gives an update on NASA's Curiosity rover. CheMin performs X-ray diffraction measurements on powdered rocks and soil samples, and a new image shows the first X-ray diffraction results of the Martian soil. The diffraction signals appear on the detector as rings that represent the fingerprint of the individual minerals. The rover has successfully gotten its first taste of Mars - finding plagioclase feldspar, pyroxene, and olivine minerals. The Martian soil appears very similar to volcanic regions of Hawaii.