Mars Science Laboratory
While the two Mars Exploration Rovers - Spirit and Opportunity - continue to explore different locations on Mars, hard work on the next generation NASA rover to further these measurements continues.
Artist's Rendition of MSL on Martian Surface
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is larger, more massive, and substantially more powerful than the MER robots presently at work on Mars. The MSL launch is presently planned for late in 2011. The anticipated mobility range of MSL is approximately 12 miles (20 kilometers) and the mission is expected to last at least two Earth years equivalent to one Mars year.
Sample Analysis at Mars
Goddard Space Flight Center will contribute a set of key science measurements to the MSL mission with the development, integration, calibration, and test of a suite of instruments; a mass spectrometer; a gas chromatograph, and a tunable laser spectrometer. This suite of instruments is called SAM (for Sample Analysis at Mars). The gas chromatograph mass spectrometer greatly extends the breadth of measurements that were implemented on the Viking landers in 1977 and the tunable laser spectrometer precisely measures trace species such as methane. The combined set of composition and isotope measurements will help us answer the questions of the present or past ability of Mars to support life. SAM team members come not only from Goddard and other NASA centers, but also from industry, and universities in the United States and from other countries including France and Mexico. For updates on SAM and its team, click here.
Click the play button to watch Jesse Lewis talk about his work with SAM (to download Quicktime, click here).
The anticipated mobility range of MSL is approximately 12 miles (20 kilometers) and the mission is expected to last at least two Earth years equivalent to one Mars year.
MSL Science Toolkit
- Mast Camera:
- ChemCam:
- Mahli:
- Alpha-Particle-X-ray-Spectrometer:
- CheMin:
- Radiation Assessment Detector:
- Mars Descent Imager:
- SAM:
Performs multi-spectral, stereo imaging at lengths ranging from kilometers to centimeters, and can acquire compressed high-definition video at 10 frames per second without the use of the rover computer. PI, Michael Malin, Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, California.
A laser-induced remote sensing device for chemistry and micro-imaging. It ablates surface coatings from materials at standoff distances of up to 33-feet (10-meters) and measures elemental composition of underlying rocks and soils. PI, Roger Wiens, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico.
This Mars HandLens Imager for the Mars Science Laboratory images rocks, soil, frost and ice at resolutions 2.4 times better, and with a wider field of view, than the Microscopic Imager now onboard the dual Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. PI, Kenneth Edgett, Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, California.
Reveals elemental abundance of rocks and soil. It will be provided by the Canadian Space Agency. PI, Ralf Gellert, Max-Planck-Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany.
An X-ray Diffraction/X-ray Fluorescence instrument for definitive mineralogical analysis. It identifies and quantifies all minerals in complex natural samples such as basalts, evaporites and soils, one of the principle objectives of the MSL mission. PI, David Blake, NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California.
Characterizes the broad spectrum of radiation at the surface of Mars, an essential precursor to human exploration of the planet. The instrument would be funded by the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. PI, Donald Hassler, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado.
Produces high-resolution color-video imagery of the descent and landing phase, providing geological context information, as well as allowing for precise landing-site determination of the rover. PI, Michael Malin, Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, California.
This Sample Analysis at Mars features an integrated set of devices consisting of a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer and a tunable laser spectrometer. It conducts mineral and atmospheric analyses, detect a wide range of organic compounds and perform stable isotope analyses of organics and noble gases. PI, Paul Mahaffy, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.
For more details, visit the MSL website Here.
