Mars: Sources of Data from the Robotic Missions III

1. Mars: Sources of Data from the Robotic Missions III Geography 494-01 S/07 Dr. Christine M. Rodrigue C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

2. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • NASA Spirit and Opportunity Rovers 2004-present • Spirit in Gusev Crater C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

3. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • NASA Spirit and Opportunity Rovers 2004-present • Opportunity in Meridiani Planum C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

4. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • NASA Mars Exploration Rovers • Spirit and Opportunity instrumentation • Panoramic Camera (Pancam) • Microscopic Imager (MI) • Engineering Navigation Cameras (Navcam) • Engineering Hazard Avoidance Cameras (Hazcam) • Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) • Mössbauer Spectrometer (MB) • Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) • Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) • Magnet Arrays C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

5. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • NASA Mars Exploration Rovers • Spirit and Opportunity instrumentation • Panoramic Camera (Pancam) • Stereoscopic CCD cameras (charge-coupled devices, like digital cameras, not TV cameras) • 4,000 x 24,000 pixel resolution • 8 filters per camera, each camera filtering a somewhat different array of wavelength bands, so 11 bands all together • Parallax and depth perception • Used to scan horizon and landscape for interesting features for the rover to explore • Properly filtered, they can be pointed at the sun to get absolute bearing for navigation and mapping purposes C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

6. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • NASA Mars Exploration Rovers • Spirit and Opportunity instrumentation • Panoramic Camera (Pancam) • Spirit true color image: layers in Gusev C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

7. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • NASA Mars Exploration Rovers • Spirit and Opportunity instrumentation • Panoramic Camera (Pancam) • Opportunity false color image: blueberries in Meridiani C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

8. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • NASA Mars Exploration Rovers • Spirit and Opportunity instrumentation • Panoramic Camera (Pancam) • Opportunity true color panorama mosaic: 8 m Fram Crater C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

9. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • NASA Mars Exploration Rovers • Spirit and Opportunity instrumentation • Panoramic Camera (Pancam) • Spirit true color 9 image 120 panorama: Columbia Hills C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

10. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • NASA Mars Exploration Rovers • Spirit and Opportunity instrumentation • Panoramic Camera (Pancam) • Spirit 360 panorama (true and false color): • Columbia Hills, from part way down Husband Hill (behind rover, which shows as far right and left) and facing toward McCool Hill • 405 images are mosaicked together to form this 360 panorama C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

11. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • NASA Mars Exploration Rovers • Spirit and Opportunity instrumentation • Panoramic Camera (Pancam) • Opportunity anaglyph of Cape Verde layers in Victoria Crater (where the MRO caught the rover and its tracks, which you saw last week) • The two images from the Pancam are tinted red and blue and then superimposed in one image • You wear red/blue glasses, and your brain is tricked into seeing 3-d depth in a 2-d image C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

12. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • NASA Mars Exploration Rovers • Spirit and Opportunity instrumentation • Microscopic Imager (MI) • Microscope and CCD combination • 1024 x 1024 resolution • Single broad-band filter from 0.40 – 0.68 microns (b/w) • Mounted on Instrument Deployment Device or the robot arm on which the Rock Abrasion Tool is deployed for grinding into rocks C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

13. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • NASA Mars Exploration Rovers • Spirit and Opportunity instrumentation • Microscopic Imager (MI) • Opportunity close up of concretions/ layers: source of blueberries C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

14. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • NASA Mars Exploration Rovers • Spirit and Opportunity instrumentation • Rock Abrasion Tool • RAT grinds a hole about 5 mm deep and 45 mm in diameter • Exposes subsurface minerals in a rock that haven’t been altered by surface processes • Opportunity MI close up anaglyph of RAT hole C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

15. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • NASA Mars Exploration Rovers • Spirit and Opportunity instrumentation • Spectroscopy • Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) • Mössbauer Spectrometer (MB) • Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

16. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • NASA Mars Exploration Rovers • Spirit and Opportunity instrumentation • Spectroscopy • Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) • Collects IR spectra emitted by rocks, soils, landscape features, and the atmosphere • These are converted to temperature readings • They also can differentiate minerals • Mössbauer Spectrometer (MB) • Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

17. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • Opportunity • Mini-TES • Temperatures in Endurance Crater taken by Opportunity • Blue is ~220K (-53C or -64F) • Red is ~280K (7C or 44F) C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

18. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • Opportunity • Mini-TES • Each pixel’s spectra broken out as an X-Y graph can identify minerals • How Mini-TES “sees” its targets • Sample spectra broken out and identified C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

19. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • Opportunity • Mini-TES • Mini-TES pointed skyward collects atmospheric temperature data • Daily readings over time from late summer to mid winter (sun longitude, with 74 corresponding to perihelion) • Colors correspond to time of day (purple is early morning, green is midday, red is late afternoon) C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

20. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • NASA Mars Exploration Rovers • Spirit and Opportunity instrumentation • Spectroscopy • Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) • Mössbauer Spectrometer (MB) • Measures Rutherford backscattering (180 back-at-you scattering) of gamma rays (extremely short-wave and energetic) • Particularly sensitive to iron in minerals and can differentiate different species of iron-bearing minerals • Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

21. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • Opportunity • Mössbauer spectra for “Bounce Rock” • Rock by landing site in Eagle Crater – possibly broken by impact C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

22. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions • NASA Mars Exploration Rovers • Spirit and Opportunity instrumentation • Spectroscopy • Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) • Mössbauer Spectrometer (MB) • Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) • Alpha particles generated by curium-244 smack atomic nuclei: heavier elements will tend to reflect and lighter elements will tend to absorb them • Protons are generated by the lighter nuclei that absorb alpha particles: great for identifying several elements common in rocks (sodium, magnesium, silicon, aluminium, and sulphur) • X-ray fluorescence measures photons emitted when electrons booted out of lower orbitals and outer electrons move inward to replace them: Photon count by energy level identifies which element has fluoresced and how many orbitals an electron has moved down C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB

23. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB