Curiosity: Canadian science instrument part of NASA’s Mars rover
Curiosity outfitted with Canadian-made spectrometer
Canada’s very own Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer is now part of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission.
Curiosity has landed, and its Mars mission includes a Canadian-made spectrometer provided by the Canadian Space Agency.
NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory touched down on the red planet on August 7, marking the second time a Canadian science instrument landed on Mars. The mission’s rover, dubbed Curiosity, carries an instrument roughly the size and shape of a Rubik’s cube provided by the Canadian Space Agency.
Known as the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer, the device will probe the chemistry of rocks and soils on Mars to help determine if the planet ever was, or could still be today, an environment able to support microbial life.
“In 2008, Canadians celebrated as NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander mission marked the first time we, as a country, landed Canadian technology on the surface of another planet,” says Agency President Steve MacLean. “Mars Science Lab is another first for Canada: the first time we reach out and ‘touch’ Mars, since APXS will investigate the planet’s surface.”
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The size of a small car, Curiosity is a mobile science lab equipped with the largest, most advanced suite of science instruments ever to land on Mars.
Curiosity will analyze samples on site to determine whether Mars was ever a habitable planet, characterize the climate and geology of Mars, and pave the way for human exploration.
The Spectrometer is one of 10 science instruments on Curiosity and will determine the chemical composition of Martian rocks and soil samples to establish their geological history, identify possible alterations by water and perform sample triage for the on-board laboratory instruments.
It will be used regularly throughout the mission, which is planned to last one full Martian year (687 Earth days).
An improved version of the instruments on Pathfinder, Spirit, and Opportunity, this latest version of APXS was developed specifically for MSL under the scientific leadership of Spectrometer Principal Investigator Dr. Ralf Gellert of the University of Guelph.
Gellert also heads the Spectrometer science team, which is composed of members from the University of Guelph, the University of New Brunswick, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (a division of Caltech), the University of California, San Diego, Cornell University, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Australian National University.
With funding from the Agency, scientists from Brock University, the University of Western Ontario and the Agency are also participating in the mission as NASA-selected Participating Scientists. The Agency is investing $17.8 million in the design, construction, primary operations and scientific support of Spectrometer.
The Agency managed the development and construction of the instrument with MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. as the prime contractor for Spectrometer.
The University of Guelph provided the scientific direction for the design and engineering support during the development, calibrated the Spectrometer and will lead the science operations for the instrument.
Category: Science
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