Calibration of the Mars Pathfinder alpha proton X‐ray spectrometer

Abstract

The chemical compositions of Martian rocks and soils examined with the alpha proton X‐ray spectrometer (APXS) during the Mars Pathfinder 1997 lander mission were not previously fully determined. Preliminary chemical results included major element abundances determined by the incomplete calibration of the X‐ray mode. The data collected from the alpha and proton detectors were not previously analyzed due to significant atmospheric contributions to the spectra. The backup instrument of the Pathfinder alpha proton X‐ray spectrometer flight instrument has been used to complete the instrument calibration under simulated Martian conditions at the University of Chicago. An APXS instrument has been used to create a Pathfinder calibration library to test the accuracy of all three instrument modes under simulated Martian conditions. This calibration library has been tested on a number of geologic standards. We have also corrected for instrument differences between the laboratory and flight units. Significant chemical results, somewhat different from those initially reported by Rieder et al. [1997a] and by Wänke et al. [2001], are reported by Foley et al. [2003] as a result of this reanalysis of the Pathfinder APXS data.