Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers are working on a "SuperCam" that will collect soil samples from Mars with a laser.
KRQE-TV in Albuquerque reports scientists want to place the SuperCam inside the Mars 2020 Rover.
The data from the cam will be sent to earth and examined to determine if life ever existed on the red planet. Officials say the SuperCam also could determine the different minerals in the soil or rocks.
Roger Weins, a principal investigator, says NASA calls it a Swiss Army Knife kind of instrument because it does so many different things.
Weins says the SuperCam will be a long term source of revenue as scientists explore Mars in the future.
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Information from: KRQE-TV, http://www.krqe.com
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