Planets and Moons ID: 20193

Curiosity Rover Shakes, Bakes, and Tastes Mars with SAM

Animations by Chris Smith Released on December 3, 2012

NASA's Curiosity rover analyzed its first solid sample of Mars with a variety of instruments, including the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite. Developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., SAM is a portable chemistry lab tucked inside the Curiosity rover. SAM examines the chemistry of samples it ingests, checking particularly for chemistry relevant to whether an environment can support or could have supported life. Learn more about how SAM processes samples by watching this video!

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Animation Credits

Chris Smith (HTSI): Lead Animator
Chris Smith (HTSI): Video Editor
Florence Tan (NASA/GSFC): Interviewee
Chris Smith (HTSI): Producer
Paul Mahaffy (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Chris Smith (HTSI): Videographer

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab