mars science lab table of contents table of contents: mission overview timeline scientific...
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MARS SCIENCE LABMARS SCIENCE LABTABLE OF CONTENTSTABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents:• Mission Overview• Timeline• Scientific Objective
s• Spacecraft• Equipment• Links
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Artist’s render of MSL on Mars.
MARS SCIENCE LABMARS SCIENCE LABMISSION OVERVIEWMISSION OVERVIEW
• The Mars Science Lab is a 2009 international effort to study the conditions of Mars and further determine whether it could sustain life.
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Artist’s render of MSL on Mars.
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MARS SCIENCE LABMARS SCIENCE LABTIMELINETIMELINE
• September or October 2009: MSL launches.
• Summer 2010: MSL lands on the surface of Mars.
• 2012: MSL will end operations.
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MSL landing with “sky-crane.”
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MARS SCIENCE LABMARS SCIENCE LABSCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVESSCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES
• To detect any carbon-based compounds.
• To determine whether life could be sustained on Mars.
• To study the distribution of water.
• To investigate the nature and history of Mars’s atmosphere.
• To investigate the processes that formed and modified rocks on the surface.
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MSL drilling.
MARS SCIENCE LABMARS SCIENCE LABSPACECRAFTSPACECRAFT
• The rover is twice as long and four times as heavy as Spirit and Opportunity.
• Upon landing, MSL will separate from its shell and eventually be lowered by a sky-crane, which will help the rover land softly.
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MSL’s landing sequence.
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MARS SCIENCE LABMARS SCIENCE LABEQUIPMENT INDEXEQUIPMENT INDEX
Equipment Index:
• Cameras
• Spectrometers
• Radiation Detectors
• Environmental Sensors
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MSL
MARS SCIENCE LABMARS SCIENCE LABCAMERASCAMERAS
• MSL is equipped with three cameras:– The Mast Camera
(MastCam) can take high-def images and videos.
– The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) takes close-up pictures of rocks and can identify minerals in samples.
– The Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) takes pictures of the surface during the spacecraft’s descent.
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MastCam
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MARS SCIENCE LABMARS SCIENCE LABSPECTROMETERSSPECTROMETERS
• MSL is equipped with four spectrometers:– The Alpha Particle X-Ray
Spectrometer (APXS) uses X-Rays to determine the chemical composition of samples.
– Laser-Induced Remote Sensing for Chemistry and Micro-Imaging (ChemCam) uses a laser to vaporize materials and then identifies the type and composition of the rock being studied.
– Chemistry & Mineralogy X-Ray Diffraction (CheMin) measures the abundances of minerals.
– The Sample Analysis at Mars Instrument Suite (SAM) studies the abundances of various isotopes of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
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ChemCam in action.
MARS SCIENCE LABMARS SCIENCE LABRADIATION DETECTORSRADIATION DETECTORS
• MSL is equipped with two radiation detectors:– The Radiation
Assessment Detector (RAD) measures and identifies radiation in Mars’s atmosphere.
– Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) shoots neutrons underground to detect if they are absorbed by water. If there is no water, the neutrons should reflect back at a rapid rate.
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An illustration of how DAN works.
MARS SCIENCE LABMARS SCIENCE LABENVIRONMENTAL SENSORSENVIRONMENTAL SENSORS
• The Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) measures atmospheric pressure, humidity, temperature, wind speed and direction, and ultraviolet radiation.
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REMS
MARS SCIENCE LABMARS SCIENCE LABLINKSLINKS
• http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/
• http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/future/msl.html
• http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/gallery/videos.html
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Artist’s render of MSL on Mars.
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