NASA Mars-Exploration-Rover

Fig. 3.14 Left. NASA Mars-Exploration-Rover (artist view courtesy NASA, JPL, Cornell). On the front side of the Rover the robotic arm carrying the Mossbauer spectrometer and other instruments can be seen in stowed position. Right, robotic arm before placement on soil target at Victoria crater rim, Meridian Planum, Mars. The Mossbauer instrument MIMOS II with its circular contact plate can be seen, pointing towards the rover camera. See also Sect. 8.3...

Fig. 8.27 NASA Mars-Exploration-Rover artist view (courtesy NASA, JPL, Cornell). On the front side of the Rover, the robotic arm (IDD) carrying the Mossbauer spectrometer and other instruments can be seen...

The miniaturized Mossbauer instruments have proven as part of the NASA Mars Exploration Rover 2003 mission that Mossbauer spectroscopy is a powerful tool for planetary exploration, including our planet Earth. For the advanced model of MIMOS II, the new detector technologies and electronic components increase sensitivity and performance significantly. In combination with the high-energy resolution of the SDD, it will be possible to perform XRF analysis in parallel to Mossbauer spectroscopy. In addition to the Fe-mineralogy, information on the sample s elemental composition will be obtained. 

Perhaps we will learn more about this fascinating planet when the new NASA Odyssey mission and the two planned NASA Mars Exploration Rover missions launch and reach Mars in the next few years. 

Iron is one of the most abundant elements in the universe. Mossbauer (MB) spectroscopy is an established laboratory technique and a powerful tool to study Fe-bearing substances. The surface of Mars is Fe-rich compared to Earth, and a miniaturized MB spectrometer (MIMOS II) was developed for its robotic exploration as part of NASA s Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission (Klingelhofer et al. 2003). 

This image of the Martian rock "Humphrey" shows a hole made by a grinding tool carried on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, which landed on Mars on January 4, 2004. The grinding process revealed the inner structure of the rock and produced a sample that could be tested for chemical composition. (NASA/JPL/Photo Researchers, Inc.)... 

Abstract NASA has used aerogel in several space exploration missions over the last two decades. Aerogel has been used as a hypervelocity particle capture medium (Stardust) and as thermal insulation for the Mars Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rovers, and Mars Science Lander. Future applications of aerogel are also discussed and include the proposed use of aerogel as a sample collection medium to return upper atmosphere particles from Mars to earth and as thermal insulation in thermal-to-electric generators for future space missions and terrestrial waste-heat recovery technology. 

Spirit Mars Exploration Rover on Mars. (NASA/JPL-Galtech/Cornell University/Photo Researchers, Inc.)... 

There are several examples of NASA space missions powered by Uthinm-ion batteries. Among these were the two prominent Mars Exploration Rover (MER) programs, pertaining to rovers lannched in the summer of 2003 to survey the surface of Mars, nicknamed Spirit and Opportunity [37, 38]. Both rovers... 

Currently, Yardney is in continuous production of secondary lithium-ion batteries, primary and secondary silver-zinc batteries and primary reserve silver-zinc batteries used on various Department of Defense applications. The primary battery applications include the Navy s Trident IID5 Fleet Ballistic Missile program, the Minuteman III ICBM, and primary power for the MK 21 re-entry vehicle. In 2012, the Trident II missile has achieved 143 successful test launches since 1989—a record unmatched by any other large ballistic missile or space launch vehicle. The most prominent Li-ion batteries made by Yardney have powered the Mars Explorer Rover missions (Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity), the USAF B-2 Bomber and Global Hawk aircraft, and the US Navy Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS). One of the future applications for Yardney s Li-ion batteries is NASA s Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV). 

Fig. 3.13 This spectrum, taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit s Moessbauer spectrometer, shows the presence of an iron-bearing mineral called goethite in a rock called Clovis in the Columbia HUls of Mars. Goethite contains water in the form of hydroxyl as a part of its structure. By identifying this mineral, the examination of Clovis produced strong evidence for past water activity in the area that Spirit is exploring. Image Credit NASA/JPL/University of Mainz...

In Mars exploration-related research within the United States government, NASA maintains close ties with many Defense Department units, including the Naval Research Lab but particularly Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U.S. Army, whose work involving tracked vehicles and robotics have paralleled JPL s work with rovers. 

Fig. 8.36 Leyt Spectrum of the soil close to the crater rim where Opportunity entered and exited the crater. The basaltic soil is unusually high in hematite (but no indication of significant contribution Irom hematitic spherules). Middle rover tracks. Right 750 m diameter (. 75 m deep) eroded impact crater Victoria Crater, formed in sulfate-rich sedimentary rocks. Image acquired by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter High-Resolution Science Experiment camera (Hirise). The red line is the drive path of Opportunity exploring the crater. (Courtesy NASA, JPL, ASU, Cornell University)...

Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, could deposit Earth bacteria on the Martian surface, which fortuitously could find an environment in which to colonise. One possible false alarm for Martian life exploration is that evidence is found on the Martian surface of life on Earth. Extreme measures have been taken with the NASA spacecraft to use exposure to the UV radiation from the Sun to sterilise the spacecraft, rotating the various surfaces to face a prolonged exposure, but none of this could guarantee a sterile spacecraft. 

Evaporites on Mars and Europa. The NASA s robotic explorers, Spirit and Opportunity, landed on at Mars and examined their landing sites for past environmental conditions. Kinds of minerals in a hot-spring environment and dried-up lake beds were photographed suggesting future use of ESR to date these evaporate with a portable ESR on the rover. Sulfate mineral precipitation, epsonite, MgS04 with 7 hydration water molecules in frozen ice, was studied by sampling the icy environment, especially icy fault on the surface of Europa, a satellite of Jupiter.61... 

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