The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announces that the advanced SuperCam instrument is mounted on board the Mars 2020 rover.
As part of the Mars 2020 project, we recall that a new rover based on the Curiosity platform is being developed. The six-wheeled robot will have to do astrobiological studies of the ancient environment on Mars, the study of the planet's surface, geological processes, etc. Plus, the rover will collect soil samples that can be delivered to Earth by future automatic vehicles.
The SuperCam instrument is an improved and improved version of the ChemCam instrument, which is installed aboard the Curiosity rover. Experts from the United States, France and Spain took part in the creation of SuperCam.
The task of SuperCam is to analyze the chemical and mineralogical composition of the Martian soil. The instrument will also be able to remotely detect the presence of organic compounds, which could indicate the presence of life, at least in the past.
The launch of the Mars 2020 rover is scheduled for July next year. The device will reach the Red Planet in February 2021.
Source: 3dnews.ru