Abstract
MicroMED (Micro Martian Environmental Dust Systematic Analyzer (MEDUSA)) instrument was selected for the ExoMars 2020 mission to study the airborne dust on the red planet through in situ measurements of the size distribution and concentration. This characterization has never been done before and would have a strong impact on the understanding of Martian climate and Aeolian processes on Mars. The MicroMED is an optical particle counter that exploits the measured intensity of light scattered by dust particles when crossing a collimated laser beam. The measurement technique is well established for laboratory and ground applications but in order to be mounted on the Dust Suite payload within the framework of ExoMars 2020 mission, the instrument must be compatible with harsh mechanical and thermal environments and the tight mass budget of the mission payload. This work summarizes the thermo-mechanical design of the instrument, the manufacturing of the flight model and its successful qualification in expected thermal and mechanical environments.
Highlights
MicroMED (Micro Martian Environmental Dust systematic analyzer) was developed by a consortium of Italian research institutes and Spain’s space agency on the basis of the heritage of MEDUSA (Martian Environmental Dust Systematic Analyzer), a particle counter designed for the Humboldt payload [1,2]
MicroMED will be mounted on the Dust Suite of the surface platform onboard the ExoMars
The Dust Suite payload is composed of five sensors developed to image the landing site, monitor the long-term climate, and perform investigation and studies of the Aeolian processes on Mars
Summary
MicroMED (Micro Martian Environmental Dust systematic analyzer) was developed by a consortium of Italian research institutes and Spain’s space agency on the basis of the heritage of MEDUSA (Martian Environmental Dust Systematic Analyzer), a particle counter designed for the Humboldt payload [1,2]. MicroMED’s goal is measuring the abundance and size distribution of atmospheric dust close to the surface of the red planet, where dust lifting takes place. Such kinds of measurements have not been performed before on Mars, even though dust distribution in the Martian atmosphere has gathered so much attention in the scientific community, as reported in many studies exploiting indirect measurement methods applied to data collected by various experiments [3,4,5,6,7,8]. The Dust Suite payload is composed of five sensors developed to image the landing site, monitor the long-term climate, and perform investigation and studies of the Aeolian processes on Mars. The instrument working principle is typical of optical particle counters (i.e., an optical system measures the light scattered by the dust particles passing through a collimated laser blade); from the light profile levels and duration information about the dust grain size and speed can be obtained
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