On Saturday, November 26, NASA is scheduled to launch the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission featuring Curiosity, the largest and most advanced rover ever sent to the Red Planet. The Curiosity rover bristles with multiple cameras and instruments, including Goddard's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite. By looking for evidence of water, carbon, and other important building blocks of life in the Martian soil and atmosphere, SAM will help discover whether Mars ever had the potential to support life. Curiosity will be delivered to Gale crater, a 96-mile-wide crater that contains a record of environmental changes in its sedimentary rock, in August 2012. ----- NASA image November 18, 2010 The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument is considered one of the most complicated instruments ever to land on the surface of another planet. Equipped with a gas chromatograph, a quadruple mass spectrometer, and a tunable laser spectrometer, SAM will carry out the initial search for organic compounds when the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover lands in 2012. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Ed Campion <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>

This schematic illustration for NASA Mars Science Laboratory 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.

NASA's Curiosity rover used an instrument called SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) to detect seasonal changes in atmospheric methane in Gale Crater. The methane signal has been observed for nearly three Martian years (nearly six Earth years), peaking each summer. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22328

As the Sample Analysis at Mars SAM suite of instruments on NASA Curiosity Mars rover heats a sample, gases are released or evolved from the sample and can be identified using SAM quadrupole mass spectrometer.

NASA Deputy Administrator Dr. Dava Newman tours Goddard Space Flight Center with Center Director Chris Scolese; Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument Test Bed; Dr. Melissa Trainer

A Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) team member at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, prepares the SAM testbed for an experiment. This test copy of the SAM suite of instruments is inside a chamber that, when closed, can model the pressure and temperature environment that SAM sees inside NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars. Many weeks of testing are often needed to develop and refine sequences of operations that SAM uses for making specific measurements on Mars. This was the case with preparation to pull a volume of gas from the atmosphere and extract the heavy noble gas xenon. SAM's measurements of different types of xenon in the Martian atmosphere provide clues about the planet's history. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19149

This illustration shows the instruments and subsystems of the Sample Analysis at Mars SAM suite on the Curiosity Rover of NASA Mars Science Laboratory Project. SAM analyzes the gases in the Martian atmosphere.

This illustration based on results from Sample Analysis at Mars, or SAM, instrument on NASA Curiosity rover shows the locations and interactions of volatiles on Mars.

The first examinations of Martian soil by the Sample Analysis at Mars, or SAM, instrument on NASA Mars Curiosity rover show no definitive detection of Martian organic molecules at this point.

NASA Sample Analysis at Mars SAM instrument, largest of the 10 science instruments for NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission, will examine samples of Martian rocks, soil and atmosphere for information about chemicals that are important to life.

Data graphed here are examples from the Sample Analysis at Mars SAM laboratory detection of Martian organics in a sample of powder that the drill on NASA Curiosity Mars rover collected from a rock target called Cumberland.

This subframe image from the left Mastcam on NASA Mars rover Curiosity shows the covers in place over two sample inlet funnels of the rover Sample Analysis at Mars SAM instrument suite.

The Sample Analysis at Mars SAM instrument will analyze samples of Martian rock and soil collected by the rover arm to assess carbon chemistry through a search for organic compounds, and to look for clues about planetary change.

The Sample Analysis at Mars SAM instrument for NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission will study chemistry of rocks, soil and air as the mission rover, Curiosity, investigates Gale Crater on Mars.

This image graphs four gases released evolved when powdered rock from the target rock Cumberland was heated inside the Sample Analysis at Mars SAM instrument suite on NASA Curiosity Mars rover.

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 Curiosity rover.

This plot of data from NASA 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.

In this photograph, technicians and engineers inside a clean room at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., position NASA Sample Analysis at Mars SAM above the mission Mars rover, Curiosity, for installing the instrument.

In this photograph, technicians and engineers inside a clean room at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., position NASA Sample Analysis at Mars SAM above the mission Mars rover, Curiosity, for installing the instrument.

Chemistry that takes place in the surface material on Mars can explain why particular xenon (Xe) and krypton (Kr) isotopes are more abundant in the Martian atmosphere than expected. The isotopes -- variants that have different numbers of neutrons -- are formed in the loose rocks and material that make up the regolith -- the surface layer down to solid rock. The chemistry begins when cosmic rays penetrate into the surface material. If the cosmic rays strike an atom of barium (Ba), the barium can lose one or more of its neutrons (n0). Atoms of xenon can pick up some of those neutrons – a process called neutron capture – to form the isotopes xenon-124 and xenon-126. In the same way, atoms of bromine (Br) can lose some of their neutrons to krypton, leading to the formation of krypton-80 and krypton-82 isotopes. These isotopes can enter the atmosphere when the regolith is disturbed by impacts and abrasion, allowing gas to escape. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20847

NASA Mars rover Curiosity carries five cylindrical blocks of organic check material for use in a control experiment if the rover Sample Analysis at Mars SAM laboratory detects any organic compounds in samples of Martian soil or powdered rock.

New results from the Sample Analysis at Mars, or SAM, instrument on NASA 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.

Paul Mahaffy (right), principal investigator for Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) investigation at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, demonstrates how the SAM instrument drilled and captured rock samples on the surface of Mars at a news conference, Tuesday, March 12, 2013 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The analysis of the rock sample collected shows ancient Mars could have supported living microbes. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

Paul Mahaffy, principal investigator for Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) investigation at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, answer's a reporters question at a news conference, Tuesday, March 12, 2013 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The news conference covered the findings that the analysis of the rock sample collected shows ancient Mars could have supported living microbes. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

Participants at a news conference discussing findings of the analysis of a rock sample from Mars are seen, Tuesday, March 12, 2013 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. From left to right are seen: Michael Meyer, lead scientist, Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters; John Grotzinger, Curiosity project scientist, California Institute of Technology in Pasadena; David Blake, principal investigator for Curiosity's Chemistry and Mineralogy investigation at NASA's Ames Research Center in Calif.; and Paul Mahaffy, principal investigator for Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) investigation at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used its Mastcam to take an image of this hill, nicknamed "Rafael Navarro Mountain" after Rafael Navarro-González, an astrobiologist who worked on the mission until he passed away January 26, 2021. He was a member of the team working with Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars, or SAM, instrument. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24544

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has collected 42 powderized rock samples with the drill on the end of its robotic arm. This grid shows all 42 holes made by the drill when collecting the samples, from "John Klein" (drilled on Feb. 9, 2013, the 182nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission) in the upper left, to "Kings Canyon" (drilled on Aug. 3, 2024, the 4,263rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission) in the lower right. Each hole is a little over a half-inch (16 millimeters) wide. The images were captured by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), a camera on the end of the rover's arm. After drilling a sample, the powderized rock is trickled into instruments inside of Curiosity's belly that can analyze the composition of the rocks. Those instruments include Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) and Chemistry & Mineralogy (CheMin). https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26403

On Saturday, November 26, NASA is scheduled to launch the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission featuring Curiosity, the largest and most advanced rover ever sent to the Red Planet. The Curiosity rover bristles with multiple cameras and instruments, including Goddard's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite. By looking for evidence of water, carbon, and other important building blocks of life in the Martian soil and atmosphere, SAM will help discover whether Mars ever had the potential to support life. Curiosity will be delivered to Gale crater, a 96-mile-wide crater that contains a record of environmental changes in its sedimentary rock, in August 2012. ----- Goddard scientist Jennifer Eigenbrode injected a chemical into a rock sample and then heated the test tube to determine whether the sample-preparation method preserved the sample's molecular structure. Her testing proved successful, ultimately leading to the experiment's inclusion on the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Chris Gunn <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>

Swedish Delegation Visits GSFC – May 3, 2017 - Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences listen to Dr. Melissa Trainer, Sample Analysis at, Mars (SAM) team member and Charles Malespin, SAM Deputy Principal Investigator and Operations Test Lead discuss research being done in the SAM lab being carried by the Curiosity Rover on the surface of Mars. Credit: NASA/Goddard/Bill Hrybyk Read more: <a href="https://go.nasa.gov/2p1rP0h" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/2p1rP0h</a> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>

NASA's Curiosity rover took this selfie on Oct. 11, 2019, the 2,553rd Martian day, or sol, of its mission. The rover drilled twice in this location, nicknamed "Glen Etive" (pronounced "glen EH-tiv"). About 984 feet (300 meters) behind the rover, Vera Rubin Ridge rises up. Behind it lies the floor of Gale Crater, which Curiosity is exploring, and the northern rim of the crater. Just left of the rover are the two drill holes, called "Glen Etive 1" (right) and "Glen Etive 2" (left). Curiosity performed its first wet-chemistry experiment on a drilled sample at this location. The rover can analyze the chemical composition of rock samples by powderizing them with the drill, then dropping the samples into a portable lab in its belly called Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM). This panorama is made up of 57 individual images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), a camera on the end of the rover's robotic arm. The images are stitched together into a panorama; the robotic arm isn't visible in the parts of the images used in the composite. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23378

<b>Who Should Be TIME's Person of the Year 2012? - The Mars Rover! VOTE here: <a href="http://ti.me/YxJU1i" rel="nofollow">ti.me/YxJU1i</a></b> Caption - SAM Team celebrates a picture perfect landing! Pictured from left to rights: Mehdi Benna, Laurie Leshin, Chris Webster, Will Brinckerhoff, Paul Mahaffy, Pan Conrad, Florence Tan, and Jen Eigenbrode. Credit: NASA ----- The Curiosity rover bristles with multiple cameras and instruments, including Goddard's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite. By looking for evidence of water, carbon, and other important building blocks of life in the Martian soil and atmosphere, SAM will help discover whether Mars ever had the potential to support life. Curiosity was delivered to Gale crater, a 96-mile-wide crater that contains a record of environmental changes in its sedimentary rock, in August 2012. Related links: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html</a> <a href="http://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/699/marsSAM.shtml" rel="nofollow">science.gsfc.nasa.gov/699/marsSAM.shtml</a> <a href="http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/" rel="nofollow">mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/</a> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Ashwin Vasavada, deputy project scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, speaks to a group of Tweetup participants at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Press Site in Florida during prelaunch activities for the agency’s MSL launch. Pan Conrad, deputy principal investigator for the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument on the Curiosity rover from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, awaits her turn to speak, at right. Following a series of briefings, participants will tour the center and get a close-up view of Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The tweeters will share their experiences with followers through the social networking site Twitter. MSL's components include a car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for signs of life, including methane, and help determine if the gas is from a biological or geological source. Liftoff of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from pad 41 is planned during a launch window which extends from 10:02 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. EST on Nov. 26. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann