Dr. David Blake, Principal Investigator of the CheMin instrument, gives a demonstration of his invention at the Kennedy Space Center. Short for "Chemistry & Mineralogy," CheMin is one of 10 science instruments aboard the Mars Science Laboratory, NASA's latest Mars rover. CheMin will identify the minerals in samples of powdered rock or soil in a search to determine if conditions were right to support life on Mars.
For more information about NASA Ames, please visit http://www.nasa.gov/ames