Scientists think that, curiosity will lay the groundwork for future missions, just as previous Mars jaunts made the new rover’s expedition possible. Such missions could include scooping up rocks and flying them back home, or carrying out more far-reaching surface surveys, seeking evidence of Martian microbial life and its key chemical ingredients. Now that curiosity has landed safe and sound, let’s take a look at what kind of equipment comes standard with the Mars Science Laboratory package.Nonstandard Equipment; Whether planning for a two-week vacation or provisioning for a scientific expedition in a hostile desert millions of miles away, the basic problem remains the same; What to bring, what not to bring! Unlike a terrestrial tourist, who can pop down to the corner store to replenish a forgotten toothbrush, Curiosity is utterly on its own. When there’s no repair crew on call, no spare parts onboard and every signal from planet Earth takes about 14 minutes to reach there, self-reliance is all curiosity needs to have. Curiosity isn’t on Mars to sightsee, however. It’s tasked with collecting rock and soil samples and placing them into onboard instruments for analysis. With this in mind, the rover comes equipped with a 2.1-meter camera mast and a 7-foot, three-jointed robotic arm sporting more attachments than an industrial vacuum cleaner. This Sample Acquisition/Sample Preparation and Handling System will scoop, dust, drill, powder, collect, sort, sieve and deliver samples to a variety of analytical assets.Among the onboard devices are; A miniaturized gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer will separate and analyze chemical compounds in samples. A turn able laser spectrometer will look for organic (carbon-containing) compounds and determine the ratio of key isotopes both vital to unlocking Mars’s atmospheric and aquatic past. CheMin, an X-ray diffraction and fluorescence instrument, will measure the bulk composition of samples and detect their constituent minerals. Located on the rover arm, the Mars Hand Lens Imager will photograph rocks, soil -- and, if present, ice in extreme close-up. This cyber-camera can spot details thinner than a human hair or focus on objects more than an arm’s length away. The Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer for Mars Science Laboratory, also located on the arm, will figure out the relative amounts of various elements present in Martian rocks and soils.Curiosity’s neck, or mast, is also decked out in instrumentation; The Mars Science Laboratory Mast Camera (MSLMC), attached at human-eye height, will help the rover navigate and record its surroundings in high-resolution stereo and color stills or high-definition video. The MSLMC can view materials collected or treated by the arm. Stereo hazard-avoidance cameras located further down the mast will aid the rover’s navigation. Another mast-mounted instrument, ChemCam, will vaporize thin layers of material up to 30 feet (9 meters) away using laser pulses, then analyze them with its spectrometer. Its telescope can capture images of the beam’s target area.Beyond these sample-analysis instruments, the rover also packs scientific gadgets that will examine local conditions, which could prove relevant for future human missions or understanding the planet’s capacity for supporting life; the Radiation Assessment Detector will monitor surface radiation levels. The Rover Environmental Monitoring Station will take readings of atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind, as well as levels of ultraviolet radiation. The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons instrument can detect hydrogen -- a potential indicator of ice or water trapped in minerals up to 3 feet (1 meter) beneath the surface. That’s an impressive array of luxury appointments, but it won’t do NASA much good unless Curiosity’s got it under the hood.
