From Mars to Mardi Gras: A Lesson in Generalizations
This image shows trenches that the Curiosity rover dug in October 2012.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
This is an artist’s concept of Curiosity on Mars.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems
In September 2013, NASA reported that the Mars Curiosity rover’s SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) instrument found water and other types of chemical compounds in its first surface samples taken on Mars. Read more about this discovery at Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory.
The report published by NASA stated that the Curiosity rover had found the soil on Mars contains not only water, but also carbon dioxide, oxygen and sulfur compounds.
Since the rover cannot dig up all of the Martian soil, it takes small samples to represent some or all of the soil in that area. Think about what scientists must consider when they take soil samples.
- How many samples should they take?
- Where should they take the samples?
- How deep should they dig?
- How much soil should be included in each sample?