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CURIOSITY IMAGES

'Coronation' Rock on Mars

This mosaic image with a close-up inset, taken prior to the test, shows the rock chosen as the first target for NASA's Curiosity rover to zap with its Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument.

August 19, 2012

This mosaic image with a close-up inset, taken prior to the test, shows the rock chosen as the first target for NASA's Curiosity rover to zap with its Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument. ChemCam fired its laser at the fist-sized rock, called "Coronation" (previously “N165”), with the purpose of analyzing the glowing, ionized gas, called plasma, that the laser excites.

Credits

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/LANL

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