Scientists scouting future landing sites for future rovers are using a mineral mapping camera to assess potential of each site. Similar to what we've recently been discussing in class, we can gain a lot of knowledge out of rocks on Mars. If we could diferentiate between a certian kind of dust particle and one that might have come from Earth we have the potential to learn a lot.
Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, a piece of equipment built and operated by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratorys, is currently one of 6 instruments aboart the current orbiter. This includes correlating CRISM’s data with high-res pictures of boulders, craters, sediment layers and other surface features acquired by the camera. Different versions of each image show clays, sulfates, and minerals that help teach us about water and volcanic eruptions on Mars in the past.
Science Daily
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