This is my artist's conception of the use of MSL's ChemCam instrument to identify chemical composition of a rock sample on the surface of Mars. My scene shows both ChemCam's laser beam and MSL's arm reaching out to collect a sample with it's instrument turret.

ChemCam will use a laser beam to remove dust from rock surfaces which will allow remote sensing by the MSL rover from a distance of up to 25 feet. The ChemCam suite combines laser-induced breakdown spectography (LIBS) with a remote micro-imager. The laser will send powerful pulses towards a rock and then analyse the light emitted. ChemCam will be able to detect all the elements in the target and allow rapid identification of the minerals and rocks under investigation.

ChemCam is led by a team at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements in Toulouse, France.