1. Mars: Sources of Data from the Robotic Missions III
Geography 441/541
S/18
Dr. Christine M. Rodrigue
C.M. Rodrigue, 2018
Geography, CSULB

2. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions
NASA Spirit and Opportunity Rovers 2004-present
Spirit in Gusev Crater:
C.M. Rodrigue, 2018
Geography, CSULB

3. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions
NASA Spirit and Opportunity Rovers 2004-present
Opportunity in Meridiani Planum
C.M. Rodrigue, 2018
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, 2018
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 altogether
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, 2018
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, 2018
Geography, CSULB

7. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions
NASA Mars Exploration Rovers
Spirit and Opportunity instrumentation
Panoramic Camera (Pancam)
Opportunity false color: hæmatite "blueberries" in Meridiani
Fe2O3 (Iron [III] oxide), suggests groundwater
C.M. Rodrigue, 2018
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, 2018
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, 2018
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, 2018
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, 2018
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, 2018
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, 2018
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, 2018
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, 2018
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, 2018
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, 2018
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, 2018
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, 2018
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, 2018
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, 2018
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, paying for the better "real estate" by emitting a photon: Photon count by energy level identifies which element has fluoresced and how many orbitals an electron has moved down
C.M. Rodrigue, 2018
Geography, CSULB

23. Mars: Data from Robotic Missions
C.M. Rodrigue, 2018
Geography, CSULB