Abstract
A principal goal of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity is to identify and characterize past habitable environments on Mars. Determination of the mineralogical and chemical composition of Martian rocks and soils constrains their formation and alteration pathways, providing information on climate and habitability through time. The CheMin X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instrument on MSL will return accurate mineralogical identifications and quantitative phase abundances for scooped soil samples and drilled rock powders collected at Gale Crater during Curiosity’s 1-Mars-year nominal mission. The instrument has a Co X-ray source and a cooled charge-coupled device (CCD) detector arranged in transmission geometry with the sample. CheMin’s angular range of 5∘ to 50∘ 2θ with <0.35∘ 2θ resolution is sufficient to identify and quantify virtually all minerals. CheMin’s XRF requirement was descoped for technical and budgetary reasons. However, X-ray energy discrimination is still required to separate Co Kα from Co Kβ and Fe Kα photons. The X-ray energy-dispersive histograms (EDH) returned along with XRD for instrument evaluation should be useful in identifying elements Z>13 that are contained in the sample. The CheMin XRD is equipped with internal chemical and mineralogical standards and 27 reusable sample cells with either Mylar® or Kapton® windows to accommodate acidic-to-basic environmental conditions. The CheMin flight model (FM) instrument will be calibrated utilizing analyses of common samples against a demonstration-model (DM) instrument and CheMin-like laboratory instruments. The samples include phyllosilicate and sulfate minerals that are expected at Gale crater on the basis of remote sensing observations.
Highlights
1.1 The Mars Science Laboratory MissionThe overall science objective of the Mars Exploration Program for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission is “To explore and quantitatively assess a local region on the Mars surface as a potential habitat for life, past or present.” Specific science objectives are: (1), to assess the biological potential of at least one target environment identified prior to MSL or discovered by MSL; (2), to characterize the geology and geochemistry of the landed region at all appropriate spatial scales; (3), to investigateD.W
There are similarities between the experiments as they were conducted on the Inel X-ray diffraction (XRD) for validation and verification (V&V), and as they will be performed on the CheMin Demonstration Model (DM) or flight model (FM) instruments
Prior to integration with the rover, these standards were analyzed in a simulated Mars atmosphere at a range of Rover Avionics Mounting Platform (RAMP) temperatures to obtain baseline function data from the FM, for (1) defining initial pre-mission functionality and (2) cross-calibration with identical samples that are loaded in the demonstration model (DM)
Summary
The overall science objective of the Mars Exploration Program for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission is “To explore and quantitatively assess a local region on the Mars surface as a potential habitat for life, past or present.” Specific science objectives are: (1), to assess the biological potential of at least one target environment identified prior to MSL or discovered by MSL; (2), to characterize the geology and geochemistry of the landed region at all appropriate spatial scales (i.e., ranging from micrometers to meters); (3), to investigate. The overall science objective of the Mars Exploration Program for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission is “To explore and quantitatively assess a local region on the Mars surface as a potential habitat for life, past or present.”. Specific science objectives are: (1), to assess the biological potential of at least one target environment identified prior to MSL or discovered by MSL; (2), to characterize the geology and geochemistry of the landed region at all appropriate spatial scales (i.e., ranging from micrometers to meters); (3), to investigate. A. Treiman Lunar and Planetary Institute, 3600 Bay Area Blvd., Houston, TX 77058-1113, USA. 99.79 planetary processes of relevance to past habitability including the role of water; and (4), to characterize the broad spectrum of surface radiation, including galactic cosmic radiation, solar proton events, and secondary neutrons
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