NASA recently announced the selection of seven instrument proposals for inclusion on the next rover to be sent to Mars in 2020. Among the proposals selected, Dr. Luther Beegle, UAB physics alumnus and Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, is the principal investigator for the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC), a spectrometer that will provide fine-scale imaging and uses an ultraviolet (UV) laser to determine fine-scale mineralogy and detect organic compounds. SHERLOC will be the first UV Raman spectrometer to fly to the surface of Mars and will provide complementary measurements with other instruments in the payload. Dr. Beegle is also the Deputy Manager for the Planetary Science Section at JPL. Read more about the NASA announcement.