The Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity, has used one of its main instruments for the first time. The chemistry and camera instrument, or ChemCam, vaporised part of a "fist-sized" rock near its landing site.
The laser delivers approximately 1MW of power in a focused beam at short intervals. An attached camera measures the light spectrum of the resulting plasma, which reveals the rock's composition. The mast-mounted laser is among the most prominent devices on the rover, which carries 10 instruments and is by far the largest and most sophisticated object to land on the planet to date.
The rock, dubbed "Coronation" by flight team members, is not expected to have much scientific value, despite the scientific community's intense scrutiny of any information from the planet. It is likely to be made of basalt, commonly found on the planet's surface, and serves largely as a convenient testing facility for future, more consequential experiments. Personnel at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is controlling the mission, confirm they have received good measurements from the rover.
After a nerve-wracking and complex landing, Curiosity appears to be operating as planned. The rover has sent back a 360˚ panorama of its surroundings inside the Gale Crater.
Source: Flight International