The Five Most Abundant Gases in the Martian Atmosphere
This graph shows the percentage abundance of five gases in the atmosphere of Mars, as measured by the Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer instrument of the SAM instrument suite onboard Curiosity.
SAM Instrument at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission will study chemistry of rocks, soil and air as the mission's rover, Curiosity, investigates Gale Crater on Mars.
Major Volatiles Released from the Fourth 'John Klein' Portion
As the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) suite of instruments on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover heats a sample, gases are released (or 'evolved') from the sample and can be identified using SAM's quadrupole mass spectrometer.
This picture shows a lab demonstration of the measurement chamber inside the Tunable Laser Spectrometer, an instrument that is part of the Sample Analysis at Mars investigation on NASA's Curiosity rover.
Signs of Perchlorates and Sulfur Containing Compounds
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has detected sulfur, chlorine, and oxygen compounds in fine grains scooped by the rover at a wind drift site called 'Rocknest.' The grains were heated and analyzed using the rover's Sample Analysis at Mars instrument suite.
The first examinations of Martian soil by the Sample Analysis at Mars, or SAM, instrument on NASA's Mars Curiosity rover show no definitive detection of Martian organic molecules at this point.
This plot of data from NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows the variety of gases that were released from sand grains upon heating in the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument, or SAM.
This plot shows the first-ever look at the deuterium to hydrogen ratio measured from the surface of Mars, as detected by the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument, or SAM, on NASA's Curiosity rover.
Major Gases Released from Drilled Samples of the 'John Klein' Rock
An analysis of a drilled rock sample from NASA's Curiosity rover shows the presence of water, carbon dioxide, oxygen, sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide released on heating.
This illustration shows the instruments and subsystems of the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) suite on the Curiosity Rover of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project. SAM analyzes the gases in the Martian atmosphere.
NASA's Curiosity rover has detected the simple carbon-containing compounds chloro- and dichloromethane from the powdered rock sample extracted from the 'John Klein' rock on Mars.
Schematic of Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument
This schematic illustration for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument shows major components of the microwave-oven-size instrument, which will examine samples of Martian rocks, soil and atmosphere.
This illustration based on results from Sample Analysis at Mars, or SAM, instrument on NASA's Curiosity rover shows the locations and interactions of volatiles on Mars.
This subframe image from the left Mastcam on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows the covers in place over two sample inlet funnels of the rover's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite.
In this photograph, technicians and engineers inside a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., position NASA's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) above the mission's Mars rover, Curiosity, for installing the instrument.
New results from the Sample Analysis at Mars, or SAM, instrument on NASA's Curiosity rover detected about 2,000 times as much argon-40 as argon-36, which weighs less, confirming the connection between Mars and Martian meteorites found on Earth.
Lifting SAM Instrument for Installation into Mars Rover
NASA's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument, largest of the 10 science instruments for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, will examine samples of Martian rocks, soil and atmosphere for information about chemicals that are important to life.
Installing SAM Instrument into Curiosity Mars Rover
In this photograph, technicians and engineers inside a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., position NASA's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) above the mission's Mars rover, Curiosity, for installing the instrument.
Argon Isotopes Provide Robust Signature of Atmospheric Loss
This image, made by the quadrupole mass spectrometer in the SAM suite of instruments in NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. shows the ratio of the argon isotope argon-36 to the heavier argon isotope argon-38, in various measurements.