FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE聽|聽July 31, 2012

Chemistry on Mars video with Curiosity Rover from the American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2012 鈥� After an epic 354-million-mile trek through space, the Mars Curiosity Rover is zooming along at 13,000 miles per hour toward a scheduled August 6 landing on the Red Planet to search for evidence of extraterrestrial life. The newest episode of the American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网鈥檚 (ACS鈥�) award-winning Bytesize Science video series highlights Curiosity Rover鈥檚 mission, scientific instrumentation and the role that chemistry plays in the search for life on other planets. The video, produced by the ACS Office of Public Affairs, is available at .

It features Mars Science Laboratory Deputy Science Manager Ashwin Vasavada, Ph.D., of NASA鈥檚 Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Vasavada takes viewers 鈥渦nder the hood鈥� of the rover, explaining the role of the analytical chemistry instruments found onboard the Curiosity. The use of analytical chemistry techniques will aid in Curiosity鈥檚 primary mission goal: to determine the habitability of the Gale Crater, which scientists believe was once filled with water.

Media Contact

Michael Bernstein
202-872-6042
m_bernstein@acs.org

Michael Woods
202-872-6293
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The video explains several chemical processes that Curiosity is equipped to perform, including laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, mineralogy tests and X-ray spectroscopy. Test results from these instruments will pave the way for future Mars missions and may provide insight in the search for life on other planets.

For more entertaining, informative science videos and podcasts from the ACS Office of Public Affairs, view , , and .

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 contact newsroom@acs.org.

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Description: MacHD:Users:Podcast:Desktop:Chemistry On Mars .png
With the August 6 landing of the Curiosity Rover,
an Amercian Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 Bytesize Science
video explains the Mars Science Laboratory
mission goals and chemistry鈥檚 role in the search
for life on other planets.