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tem provides information about how quickly or slowly surface features cool off after sunset, which |
gives an indication of where the surface is rocky and where it is dusty. Odyssey's observations |
have helped evaluate potential landing sites for the Mars Exploration Rovers. When the rovers |
reach Mars, radio relay via Odyssey will be one way they will return data to Earth. |
! Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (2005): This mission is being developed to provide detailed |
information about thousands of sites on Mars, connecting the big-picture perspective of an orbiter |
with a level of local detail that has previously come only from landing a spacecraft on the surface. |
The spacecraft's telescopic camera will reveal martian landscapes in resolution fine enough to |
show rocks the size of a desk. Maps of surface minerals will be produced in unprecedented detail |
for thousands of potential future landing sites. Scientists will search in particular for types of miner- |
als that form in wet environments. A radar instrument on the orbiter will probe hundreds of meters |
(or yards) below Mars' surface for layers of frozen or melted water, and other types of geologic lay- |
ers. Another instrument will document atmospheric processes changing with Mars' seasons, and |
study how water vapor enters, moves within and leaves the atmosphere. |
! Mars Scouts (2007 and later): Mars Scouts are competitively proposed missions intended to |
supplement and complement, at relatively low cost, the core missions of NASA's Mars Exploration |
Program. From 25 original proposals, NASA selected four candidate Scout missions in late 2002 |
for further study. One will be chosen in August 2003 as the first Mars Scout, for launch in 2007. |
The four finalists include an orbiter, a lander, an airplane, and a quick dip into Mars' atmosphere to |
fetch dust and gas samples back to Earth. Mars Volcanic Emission and Life Scout consists of an |
orbiter for exploring Mars' atmosphere for emissions that could be related to active volcanism or |
microbial activity. Phoenix is a surface laboratory that proposes to land in Mars' northern plains to |
investigate water ice, organic molecules and climate. The Aerial Regional-scale Environmental |
Study proposes to fly a rocket-propelled aircraft through Mars' atmosphere to measure water vapor |
and other gases near the surface for improved understanding of the chemical evolution of the plan- |
et and potential biological activity. The Sample Collection for Investigation of Mars would swoop |
close enough to the martian surface to grab a sampling of atmospheric dust and gas and return |
them back to Earth. A second round of Scout solicitation in the future will select a handful of addi- |
tional Mars Scout missions, one of which would fly in 2011. |
! Mars Science Laboratory (2009): NASA proposes to develop and launch a roving science lab- |
oratory that would operate on Mars for more than a year and travel for at least several kilometers |
or miles. The mission would mark major advances in measurement capabilities and surface |
access. The rover will examine the potential of the Red Planet as a habitat for extant or extinct |
life. It would also demonstrate technologies for accurate landing and surface-hazard avoidance that |
will be necessary for sending future missions to sites that are scientifically compelling but difficult to |
reach. This mission is designed to make the transition from a program in which we "follow the |
water" to one in which we "follow the clues to search for the missing carbon" -- and hence to per- |
form the first indirect life detection in a generation on the martian surface. |
! The Next Decade of Mars Exploration: For the second decade of this century, NASA propos- |
es additional reconnaissance orbiters, rovers and landers, and the first mission to return samples |
of martian rock and soil to Earth. The flexible program includes many options. Scientists and mis- |
sion planners foresee technology development for advanced capabilities, such as Mars ascent |
vehicle, automatic rendezvous in Mars orbit and planetary protection. |
ers serve as a frozen gallery of the solar system's early days. |
Thus, even if life never developed on Mars -- something that we cannot answer today |
-- scientific exploration of the planet may yield critical information unobtainable by any |
other means about the pre-biotic chemistry that led to life on Earth. Mars as a fossil |
graveyard of the chemical conditions that fostered life on Earth is an intriguing possibil- |
Science Investigations |
The Mars Exploration Rover mission seeks to determine the history of climate and |
rover is equipped with a suite of science instruments that will be used to read the geo- |
logic record at each site, to investigate what role water played there, and to determine |
how suitable the conditions would have been for life. |
Science Objectives |
Based on priorities of the overall Mars Exploration Program, the following science |
objectives were developed for the 2003 rovers: |
! Search for and characterize a diversity of rocks and soils that hold clues to |
past water activity (water-bearing minerals and minerals deposited by |
precipitation, evaporation, sedimentary cementation, or hydrothermal activity). |
! Investigate landing sites, selected on the basis of orbital remote sensing, that |
have a high probability of containing physical and/or chemical evidence of the |
action of liquid water. |
! Determine the spatial distribution and composition of minerals, rocks and soils |
surrounding the landing sites. |
! Determine the nature of local surface geologic processes from surface |
morphology and chemistry. |
! Calibrate and validate orbital remote-sensing data and assess the amount |
and scale of heterogeneity at each landing site. |
! For iron-containing minerals, identify and quantify relative amounts of specific |
mineral types that contain water or hydroxyls, or are indicators of formation by |
an aqueous process, such as iron-bearing carbonates. |
! Characterize the mineral assemblages and textures of different types of rocks |
and soils and put them in geologic context. |
! Extract clues from the geologic investigation, related to the environmental |
conditions when liquid water was present and assess whether those |
environments were conducive for life. |
Science Instruments |
The package of science instruments on the rovers is collectively known as the Athena |
science payload. Led by Dr. Steven Squyres, professor of astronomy at Cornell |
University, Ithaca, N.Y., the Athena package was originally proposed to fly under differ- |
ent Mars lander and rover mission concepts before being finalized as the science pay- |
load for the Mars Exploration Rovers. |
The package consists of two instruments designed to survey the landing site, as well |
as three other instruments on an arm designed for closeup study of rocks. Also on the |
arm is a tool that can scrape away the outer layers of rocks. Those instruments are |
supplemented by magnets and calibration targets that will enable other studies. |
The two instruments that will survey the general site are: |
! Panoramic Camera will view the surface using two high-resolution color |
stereo cameras to complement the rover's navigation cameras. Delivering |
panoramas of the martian surface with unprecedented detail, the instrument's |
narrow-angle optics provide angular resolution more than three times higher |
than that of the Mars Pathfinder cameras. The camera's images will help |
scientists decide what rocks and soils to analyze in detail, and will provide |
information on surface features, the distribution and shape of nearby rocks, and |
the presence of features carved by ancient waterways. |
! The Mini-Thermal Emission Spectrometer is an instrument that sees |
infrared radiation emitted by objects. It will determine from afar the mineral |
composition of martian surface features and allow scientists to select specific |
rocks and soils to investigate in detail. Observing in the infrared allows |
scientists to see through dust that coats many rocks, allowing the instrument to |
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