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InclinedPlane on Aug 20, 2012 | parent | context | favorite | on: NASA's Mars rover Curiosity fired its laser for th...

The ChemCam system is a more or less standard-ish laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) system. One of the key advantages of using LIBS on Curiosity is that it can analyze somewhat distant samples, which is fantastic for a rover that has a top speed of 0.09 kph. There are several example videos on youtube, here's one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AtI3t1T5zk

raverbashing on Aug 20, 2012 [–]

But what's the effective range of the system?

It probably is easier and more effective than positioning a measuring system, acquiring samples (see all the problems Mars Phoenix had), etc

pohl on Aug 20, 2012 | [–]

Up to about 7 meters (23ft)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity_rover#Chemistry_and_C...

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