MSL Science Payload
Payload
The figure below shows the location of the ten science instruments on the rover. There are four categories of instruments: the remote sensing instruments Mastcam (Mast Camera) and ChemCam (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy for Chemistry and Microimaging) located on the remote sensing mast; the contact science instruments APXS (Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer) and MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager) located on the end of the robotic arm; the analytical laboratory instruments CheMin (Chemistry and Mineralogy) and SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) located inside the rover body; and the environmental instruments RAD (Radiation Assessment Detector), DAN (Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons), REMS (Rover Environmental Monitoring Station), and MARDI (Mars Descent Imager).
Rover instruments
Cameras
Spectrometers
- Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS)
- Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam)
- Chemistry & Mineralogy X-Ray Diffraction/X-Ray Fluorescence Instrument (CheMin)
- Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Suite
Radiation Detectors
Environmental Sensors
Atmospheric Sensors