NASA robot investigates strange shiny rock on Mars
The Mars rover Curiosity will study the composition to determine the origin of the shiny rock that is different from the surrounding rocks.
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The Little Colonsay rock was discovered in a photograph by NASA scientists. |
NASA's Curiosity rover is investigating a strange rock officially named "Little Colonsay" on Mars. Scientists spotted the rock in a wide-angle photo and decided to send Curiosity to the site to take a closer look, Independent reported yesterday.
"One sample we're trying to get a closer look at is the rock 'Little Colonsay'. The team thinks it could be a meteorite because it's so shiny. But photos can be deceptive, and definitive proof will only come from chemical testing. Unfortunately, this small target was missed on a previous mission, and Curiosity will try again," NASA said.
Operators will use the ChemCam instrument on NASA’s six-wheeled rover to study the rock. While remotely examining the rock and surrounding soil, ChemCam will fire lasers and analyze the elemental composition of volatile materials from spots smaller than a millimeter on the Martian surface. A spectrometer will provide details about minerals and microstructure in the rock by measuring plasma, an extremely hot gas made of free-floating ions and electrons.
Curiosity's camera can resolve objects 5 to 10 times smaller than the cameras on the two Mars Exploration Rovers that began exploring the red planet in January 2004. Curiosity is operating at Mount Vera Rubin.