2023-04-26 04:41:00
LOS ANGELES, April 25 (Xinhua) — NASA retired one of its oldest Mars instruments earlier this month, the agency said Tuesday.
The instrument, called the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), has been onboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for 17 years, revealing minerals such as clay, hematite and sulfates at the surface of the red planet.
According to NASA, CRISM has produced high-resolution mineral maps that have helped scientists understand how lakes, streams and groundwater shaped the planet billions of years ago.
NASA has also relied on the CRISM maps to determine the most scientifically interesting landing sites for its spacecraft, such as the Gale crater, which the Curiosity rover has explored since 2012, and the Jezero crater. , where NASA’s Perseverance rover recently collected its 19th sample.
CRISM was extinguished on April 3, a milestone planned since last year, according to NASA. END
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