SuperCam

SuperCam is a suite of remote-sensing instruments for the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission that performs remote analyses of rocks and soils with a camera, two lasers and four spectrometers to seek organic compounds that could hold biosignatures of past microbial life on Mars, if it ever existed there.

SuperCam is an improved version of the successful ChemCam instruments of the Curiosity rover that have been upgraded with two different lasers and detectors.

[1][2][3] SuperCam is used in conjunction with the AEGIS (Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science) targeting system, a program which Vandi Verma, NASA roboticist and engineer, helped develop.

SuperCam is a suite of various instruments, and the collection of correlated measurements on a target can be used to determine directly the geochemistry and mineralogy of samples.

SuperCam's optical camera acquires high-resolution color images of samples under study, which also help determine the surface geology.

This camera can also study how atmospheric water and dust absorb or reflect solar radiation, which may help to develop weather forecasts.

Animation of the SuperCAM on the Mars Perseverance rover (February 16, 2021)
SuperCam Calibration Target with Mars Meteorite in the top of the plate
SuperCAM is on the end of the Perseverance rover's Mast