Destination Innovation - Episode 4 - CheMin

Destination Innovation is a new series that explores the research, science and other projects underway at the NASA Ames Research Center.

Episode 4 focuses on the CheMin instrument aboard the Mars Science Laboratory, NASA' s latest robotic explorer to visit Mars. CheMin, short for "Chemisty and Mineralogy," was developed at NASA Ames Research Center and is one of 10 instruments aboard the rover Curiosity. The instrument is an x-ray diffractometer, which will be able to identify minerals in the Martial rock and soil.

The goal of Curiosity is to assess whether Mars ever had an environment capable of supporting microbial life and conditions favorable for preserving clues about life, if it existed.