NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Mars 2001 Lander Mission: Measurement Synergy Through Coordinated Operations Planning And ImplementationThe 2001 Mars Surveyor Program Mission includes an orbiter with a gamma ray spectrometer and a multispectral thermal imager, and a lander with an extensive set of instrumentation, a robotic arm, and the Marie Curie Rover. The Mars 2001 Science Operations Working Group (SOWG) is a subgroup of the Project Science Group that has been formed to provide coordinated planning and implementation of scientific observations, particularly for the landed portion of the mission. The SOWG will be responsible for delivery of a science plan and, during operations, generation and delivery of conflict-free sequences. This group will also develop an archive plan that is compliant with Planetary Data System (PDS) standards, and will oversee generation, validation, and delivery of integrated archives to the PDS. In this report we cover one element of the SOWG planning activities, the development of a plan that maximizes the scientific return from lander-based observations by treating the instrument packages as an integrated payload. Scientific objectives for the lander mission have been defined. They include observations focused on determining the bedrock geology of the site through analyses of rocks and also local materials found in the soils, and the surficial geology of the site, including windblown deposits and the nature and history of formation of indurated sediments such as duricrust. Of particular interest is the identification and quantification of processes related to early warm, wet conditions and the presence of hydrologic or hydrothermal cycles. Determining the nature and origin of duricrust and associated salts is -very important in this regard. Specifically, did these deposits form in the vadose zone as pore water evaporated from soils or did they form by other processes, such as deposition of volcanic aerosols? Basic information needed to address these questions includes the morphology, topography, and geologic context of landforms and materials exposed at the site, together with quantitative information on material mineralogy, chemistry, and physical properties (rock textures; soil grain size and shape distributions; degree and nature of soil induration; soil magnetic properties). The calibration targets provide radiometric and mineralogical control surfaces. The magnets allow observations of magnetic phases. Patch plates are imaged to determine adhesive and abrasive properties of soils. Coordinated mission planning is crucial for optimizing the measurement synergy among the packages included on the lander. This planning has already begun through generation of multi-sol detailed operations activities. One focus has been to develop a scenario to use the arm to dig a soil trench to a depth of tens of centimeters. The activity will be monitored through use of Pancam and RAC to ensure nominal operations and to acquire data to determine subsurface physical properties (e.g., angle of repose of trench walls). Pancam and Mini-TES observations would also provide constraints on mineralogy and texture for the walls and bottom of the trench during excavation. If desired, soils excavated at depth could be deposited on the surface and Mossbauer and APXS measurements could be acquired for these materials. Soil samples from various depths would be delivered to MECA for characterization of aqueous geochemistry and physical properties of soil grains, particularly size, shape, and hardness. These physical properties would be determined by optical and atomic force microscopy. When completed, detailed information of soil properties as a function of depth would be obtained. These various data sets would constrain our understanding of whether or not there are systematic variations in soil characteristics as a function of depth. These variations might be related, for example, to evaporative moisture losses and formation of salt deposits, thereby indicating water transport processes occurred fairly recently. Many other value-added measurement scenarios are being developed. For example, characterizing the nature and dynamics of dust deposition will be done using MIP/DART to provide deposition rates, Pancam and RAC imaging of lander and rover surfaces to extrapolate these measurements to other areas, and a variety of measurements to determine if the bulk loose soil has the same characteristics as dust that accumulates during the mission. Bedrock geology of the site is primarily an APEX-focus setting, mineralogy, and texture, and APXS data to be we interest will be to determine the extent to which rock hydrothermal processes, given that APEX is the precursor 4 and 2005 rover missions. Additional information is contained in the original.
Document ID
20000025376
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Arvidson, R.
(Washington Univ. Saint Louis, MO United States)
Bell, J. F., III
(Cornell Univ. Ithaca, NY United States)
Kaplan, D.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX United States)
Marshall, J.
(Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Inst. Moffett Field, CA United States)
Mishkin, A.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA United States)
Saunders, S.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA United States)
Smith, P.
(Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ United States)
Squyres, S.
(Cornell Univ. Ithaca, NY United States)
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
September 1, 1999
Publication Information
Publication: Studies of Mineralogical and Textural Properties of Martian Soil: An Exobiological Perspective
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: Lunar and Planning Science
Location: Houston, TX
Country: United States
Start Date: March 15, 1999
End Date: March 19, 1999
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NCC2-926
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available