Mars Global Surveyor

Mars Global Surveyor carried a Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES), which provided thermal infrared spectra. Lattice vibrations in many minerals absorb thermal energy, so the... 

Hamilton, V. E., Wyatt, M. B., McSween, H. Y. and Christensen, P. R. (2001) Analysis of terrestrial and Martian volcanic compositions using thermal emission spectroscopy 2. Application to Martian surface spectra from the Mars Global Surveyor thermal emission spectrometer. Journal of Geophysical Research, 106, 14,733-14,746. 

MD (1998) Results from the Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer. Science 279 1692-1698... 

Spectrometers on several spacecraft have provided information on the mineralogy of the martian surface, but only one set of spectral data is sufficiently quantitative to be recast into geochemistry. The thermal emission spectrometer (TES) on Mars Global Surveyor and the thermal emission spectrometer imaging system (THEMIS) on Mars Odyssey have provided global mineral mapping, and linear deconvolution allows the... 

The accepted mean density of Mars, based on its measured volume and determination of its mass from spacecraft orbits, is 3.9335 0.0004 g cm (Lodders and Fegley, 1998). The density of the elastic lithosphere (approximately equivalent to the crust), estimated from models of the relationship between gravity and topography from Mars Global Surveyor data, is 2.95-2.99 g cm (McKenzie et al., 2002), which is similar to the density of basalt. The planet s dimensionless moment of inertia (0.3662 0.0017), calculated from Mars Pathfinder measurement of the rate at which its spin pole precesses (Folkner et al., 1997), constrains the core radius to —1,300-1,500 km, depending on core composition. 

Figure 10 Polar projections showing the global distributions of materials having the composition of basalt (green), andesite (red), and dust (blue). Compositions are based on TES spectra from Mars Global Surveyor (after Wyatt and...

Figure 11 Chemical classification of martian volcanic rocks. Squares show basaltic materials in the southern highlands (surface 1) and andesitic materials in the northern lowlands (surface 2), derived from deconvolved TES spectra from Mars Global Surveyor (Hamilton et al., 2001). Analyzed compositions of the Mars Pathfinder dust-free rock (Wanke et al., 2001) and martian meteorites (basaltic shergottites are filled circles and nakhlites are...

Compositions of the pervasive layered deposits seen in Mars Global Surveyor imagery (Malin and Edgett, 2000) have not been measured directly. However, TES spectra, which are dominated by sand-sized particles, indicate that igneous minerals (pyroxenes and plagioclase) are abundant on the martian surface. Quartz, which should be readily detectable in TES spectra, has not been observed. Deconvolutions of the spectra of soils and dust are dominated by framework silicates, either plagioclase or zeolites (Bandfield and Smith, 2003 McSween et aL, 2003). 

The Mars Global Surveyor, which has been orbiting the red planet since April 1999, has sent back detailed pictures of sedimentary rocks that NASA scientists say probably formed in lakes and shallow seas. Erosional channels suggesting the presence of flowing water on Mars sometime in the past were described long ago, but the new images provide the first solid evidence that oceans once existed on Mars. Whether these oceans drained away under the surface of the planet or evaporated into space, or both, is as yet unknown. 

Solar cells generate electricity in the sunshine but not in the dark. Thus space stations and spacecraft nui on power from batteries during dark periods. As of Jtme 2003, solar power has been practical for spacecraft operating no farther from the Stm than the orbit ofMars. For example, Magellan, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Observer, and the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope operate on solar power. 

The Mars Global Surveyor launched from ( ape Canaveral in Ntivember 19%. It reached Mars orbit ill 1997. One of live instruments on board was an IR emission spectrometer, called a thermal emission spec-Ironieier. The spacecraft eompicled its mapping mission in 2iXJl. providing measurements of the Martian surface and atmosphere. The Mar> rt)ver Spirit has u... 

Data relay via Mars Climate Orbiter, Mars Global Surveyor, or direct-to-Earlh high-gain antenna... 

Dominick, S.M., 1999. Design, development, and flight performance of the mars global surveyor propulsion system. In AIAA-99-2176,35th Joint Propulsion Conference, Los Angeles, CA, June 20-24. 

FIGURE 32.24 Mars Global Surveyor 23-Ah CPV battery assembly. 

These are applicable to the 10 cm spectral resolution measurements obtained by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer carried on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft (Christensen et al., 1998), and points on both sides of the 15 pun CO2 band are included. Rapid calculation of atmospheric transmittances is required for temperature retrieval from a large volume of spacecraftmeasurements, and the A -distribution method is used (Goody Yung, 1989). 

Fig. 9.2.1 Zonal mean meridional temperature cross section of Mars obtained by inversion of Mars Global Surveyor (TES) measurements. The data were acquired at the time of the northern hemisphere fall equinox. The zonal mean atmospheric pressure at the planetary surface is indicated (Smith et al., 2001).

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