MSL SAM: Mars Rover Atmospheric and Soil Gas Analysis

Reduced Data Record (RDR) instrument data acquired by the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite on the Mars Science Laboratory rover. SAM includes the Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (QMS), the Gas Chromatograph (GC), and the Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS). The dataset is provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Identify Martian atmospheric gas composition based on mass spectrometry data.
• Analyze soil sample volatiles based on gas chromatograph separation.
• Detect isotopic ratios and trace gases based on tunable laser spectrometer measurements.
• Correlate instrument suite readings to understand Martian geochemistry.

Strengths

• Data originates from the authoritative NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission.
• Instrument suite includes three distinct analytical tools (QMS, GC, TLS) for complementary measurements.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Acquired by the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite on the Mars Science Laboratory rover.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 10:54:27.259526; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Mars