Sols 2765-2766: Feeding Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM)

After a successful SAM preconditioning (rover-speak for “getting it ready”), the rover delivered some “Glasgow” drill sample into the instrument. The first experiment will be an “evolved gas” one. This is where we bake the rocks causing them to release gases from within the minerals in the sediments. These gases will be flowed to two of the three instruments which make up SAM (a mass spectrometer and tunable laser spectrometer) to measure the composition of the gas. The temperature at which gases are released gives us further insight into the composition of the sample, and allows scientists to look at how water is stored within minerals.