spacetoday.net: Curiosity tests laser on nearby rock

Posted: Mon, Aug 20, 2012, 10:58 AM ET (1458 GMT)
Mars Science Laboratory illustration (NASA/JPL)

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover continued its post-landing commissioning work over the weekend by firing its laser for the first time at a nearby rock. Curiosity fired the laser, part of its ChemCam instrument, on Sunday at a rock near the rover originally designated N165 and later named Coronation. ChemCam scientists reported getting a "great spectrum" from the plasma created when the laser vaporized a portion of the rock. The test was intended as target practice for the laser, but scientists said the data may also be useful scientifically as well. The test is the latest step in checking out the rover, which landed two weeks ago in Gale Crater on Mars. Curiosity will move for the first time since landing in the coming days as work to check out other instruments on the spacecraft continues.