Russian Mars Research Articles

Russian Mars probe will probably crash Sunday

Russian Mars probe will probably crash Sunday

Delay likely for Russian Mars probe

Delay likely for Russian Mars probe

Mars atmospheric oxidant sensor (MAOS): an in-situ heterogeneous chemistry analysis

We describe a chemometric array sensor, the Mars atmospheric oxidant sensor (MAOS, pronounced “mouse”) that is designed to measure the oxidation rate of thin films on the martian surface. We select films that are sensitive to particular types of oxidants, that represent key elements in the martian soil, or that emulate prebiotic materials. Concern that naturally arising martian oxidants may have destroyed evidence of ancient life on Mars was raised by the Viking mission in the 1970s. The possibility that oxidants may limit the viability of biological habitats is particularly timely in the light of recent suggestions of contemporary flowing water on Mars. By controlling the temperature of the films, as well as their exposure to dust and ultraviolet light, MAOS will discriminate among leading hypotheses for oxidant production. MAOS weighs 55 g , fits in a 6×7×2 cm 3 envelope, and used 250 mW power. Much of the enabling technology was developed for the MOx experiment, lost on the Russian Mars ’96 mission.

The gamma-ray burst monitor for the Russian Mars 1996 mission

We describe an innovative detector designed primarily for the study of cosmic gamma-ray bursts aboard interplanetary spacecraft. The experiment is a fully functional, low cost, low mass, low-power instrument, which, when combined with other similar instruments, has the capability of localizing bursts to arcminute precision. The burst monitor is based on a photomultiplier tube and a plastic/CsI(Tl) phoswich detector and records photons in the 20-150-keV energy range with time resolutions up to several milliseconds. In addition, it records photon energy spectra. Events in the plastic scintillator are distinguished by a pulse shape discrimination circuit and are used to count electrons and protons. In a planetary orbiter or fly-by mission, this capability can be used to detect the presence of a magnetosphere. We describe in detail a version of this instrument which was built for the Russian Mars 1996 mission.

The experiments HRSC and WAOSS on the Russian Mars 94/96 missions

The two German cameras; High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) and Wide Angle Optoelectronic Stereo Scanner (WAOSS) will be flown on the Russian Mars missions. The paper gives an overview of the scientific objectives of the camera experiments and the basic instrument design parameters. The operational concept and the expected data products are shortly presented for the actual Mars mission scenario. The camera experiments consist of the flight hardware and the ground segment including experiment operations and data acquisition, processing and management.

Investigating the surface chemistry of Mars

One of the primary objectives of the Viking missions to Mars in the 1970s was to search for life. Numerous theories were put forth to explain the Viking data, most of which involved an oxidizing species in the Martian surface material. In December 1992, the Mars Oxidant Experiment (MOx) was selected as the U.S. contribution to the Russian Mars 96 mission. Two landers are scheduled for launch in November 1996 and should arrive at Mars in September 1997. The MOx instrument on the Russian lander is designed to investigate the chemical nature of the Martian surface material, with particular emphasis on its oxidative character. The instrument uses fiber-optic technology to monitor real-time physicochemical changes in a suite of chemically sensitive thin-film materials. This report describes the scientific rationale and basis for the MOx instrument, along with the details of its design and construction. 15 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.

Investigating the Surface Chemistry of Mars

One of the primary objectives of the Viking missions to Mars in the 1970s was to search for life. Numerous theories were put forth to explain the Viking data, most of which involved an oxidizing species in the Martian surface material. In December 1992, the Mars Oxidant Experiment (MOx) was selected as the U.S. contribution to the Russian Mars 96 mission. Two landers are scheduled for launch in November 1996 and should arrive at Mars in September 1997. The MOx instrument on the Russian lander is designed to investigate the chemical nature of the Martian surface material, with particular emphasis on its oxidative character. The instrument uses fiber-optic technology to monitor real-time physicochemical changes in a suite of chemically sensitive thin-film materials. This report describes the scientific rationale and basis for the MOx instrument, along with the details of its design and construction. 15 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.

Search for bioorganic compounds and organisms on Mars

A prototype of new instrument is under construction as a part of Russian Mars program to search for bioorganic compounds and microorganisms which might be frozen in rock under the places where the traces of water were found or near the poles of Mars. The proposed instrument consists of a quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) to detect chemical compounds and a fluorescent microscope system (FMS) to detect organisms and bioorganic compounds in bulk.

The Mars '94 Oxidant Experiment (MOx): Creation of something from nothing in 1 year

In December 1992 the Mars Oxidant Experiment (MOx) instrument was selected to be the U.S. contribution to the Russian Mars '94 mission by being included as part of the lander payload. The experiment is designed to investigate, characterize and understand the nature of the martian soil with respect to the presence of peroxides or superoxides and to test for the possibility of other kinds of chemical oxidants by examining time-related changes in various materials. MOx consists of 7 reaction cells, each of which have 9 small surface spots coated with materials thought to be sensitive to various types of oxidants. Five of these cells will be place in contact with the martian surface and two cells will be exposed to the martian atmosphere to measure gaseous reactions. Non-reactive spots in each cell provide controls to compensate for electronic drifts, thermal variations, and any mechanical perturbations. The entire instrument had to fit within virtually no remaining volume in the lander; not exceed 850 gms mass (< 2 lbs); consume virtually no power; require few, if any, commands; survive landing shocks at 250 g's; experience diurnal temperature variations of over 100°C and provide its own sequence and memory storage operations. This paper describes MOx and its capabilities, along with a view of the team approach to accomplish the effort in slightly over one year from dream to finished spaceflight hardware.

A Mössbauer experiment on Mars

A Mossbauer spectrometer for the mineralogical analysis of the Mars surface is under development. This instrument will be installed on a Mars-Rover, which is part of the Russian Mars'96 mission. Due to power and mass restrictions, the electromechanical drive and the electronic components have been extremely miniaturized, and for the rude conditions during take-off and landing, very much ruggedized in comparison to standard systems. Solid-state detectors (PIN-diodes) are used for γ- and X-ray detection in backward geometry and will also give information on the elemental composition by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The different operations of the spectrometer are controlled autonomously by a microprocessor.

Evris

AbstractThe EVRIS experiment is an exploratory mission devoted to stellar seismology. It will observe approximately ten bright stars, for 20 days each, during the cruise of the Russian MARS 94 mission. The photometer will be able to detect amplitudes of modes as small as a few 10−6 magnitude. Some objects of masses lower than the solar one will allow to test the thermodynamics.

An imaging spectrometer for planetary studies

VNIR, a Visible Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, was developed at IFSI-CNR and it is the visible channel of an experiment, named OMEGA, to be flown on the Russian Mars 94 mission, that will provide detailed mineralogical and chemical maps of the Mars surface. We have tested and calibrated the instrument in our laboratory, using it to take images and spectra of meteorites and terrestrial rocks. In the present work a description of the camera with some preliminary results of this activity are given.

The magnetic fields of Mercury, Venus and Mars

Just as clearly as Mariner 10 established that Mercury has an intrinsic magnetic field, the Pioneer Venus orbiter has established that Venus has no significant intrinsic field. This is perhaps the opposite of what might be expected. Mercury, a small planet might be expected to cool rapidly and its internal dynamo to cease, while Venus, which is almost as large as the Earth, should not have lost much heat. On the contrary the source of energy of the Mercury dynamo appears to be extant whereas that of Venus appears to be extinct. The existence of a Martian magnetic field is controversial. No unambiguous signature of a Martian magnetic field has been reported. If the field on the nightside of Mars is of planetary rather than solar origin the Russian Mars spacecraft observations indicate the Martian dipole lies near the planetary equator rather than its pole.