[meteorite-list] NASA Selects Investigations For The Mars Science Laboratory

[Ron Baalke]

Donald Savage/Gretchen Cook-Anderson
Headquarters, Washington                December 14, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-1727/0836)

RELEASE: 04-398

NASA SELECTS INVESTIGATIONS FOR THE MARS SCIENCE LABORATORY

     NASA has selected eight proposals to provide 
instrumentation and associated science investigations for the 
mobile Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, scheduled for 
launch in 2009. Proposals selected today were submitted to 
NASA in response to an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) 
released in April.

The MSL mission, part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, 
will deliver a mobile laboratory to the surface of Mars to 
explore a local region as a potential habitat for past or 
present life. MSL will operate under its own power. It is 
expected to remain active for one Mars year, equal to two 
Earth years, after landing.

In addition to the instrumentation selected, MSL will carry a 
pulsed neutron source and detector for measuring hydrogen 
(including water), provided by the Russian Federal Space 
Agency. The project also will include a meteorological 
package and an ultraviolet sensor provided by the Spanish 
Ministry of Education and Science.

"This mission represents a tremendous leap forward in the 
exploration of Mars," said NASA's Deputy Associate 
Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, Dr. 
Ghassem Asrar. "MSL is the next logical step beyond the twin 
Spirit and Opportunity rovers. It will use a unique set of 
analytical tools to study the red planet for over a year and 
unveil the past and present conditions for habitability of 
Mars," Asrar said.

"The Mars Science Laboratory is an extremely capable system, 
and the selected instruments will bring an analytical 
laboratory to the martian surface for the first time since 
the Viking Landers over 25 years ago," said Douglas 
McCuistion, Mars Exploration Program director at NASA 
Headquarters.

The selected proposals will conduct preliminary design 
studies to focus on how the instruments can be accommodated 
on the mobile platform, completed and delivered consistent 
with the mission schedule. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory 
(JPL), Pasadena, Calif., manages the MSL Project for the 
Science Mission Directorate.

Selected investigations and principal investigators:

--  "Mars Science Laboratory Mast Camera," Michael Malin, 
Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS), San Diego, Calif. Mast 
Camera will perform multi-spectral, stereo imaging at lengths 
ranging from kilometers to centimeters, and can acquire 
compressed high-definition video at 10 frames per second 
without the use of the rover computer.

--  "ChemCam: Laser Induced Remote Sensing for Chemistry and 
Micro-Imaging," Roger Wiens, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 
Los Alamos, N.M. ChemCam will ablate surface coatings from 
materials at standoff distances of up to 10 meters and 
measure elemental composition of underlying rocks and soils.

--  "MAHLI: MArs HandLens Imager for the Mars Science 
Laboratory," Kenneth Edgett, MSSS. MAHLI will image rocks, 
soil, frost and ice at resolutions 2.4 times better, and with 
a wider field of view, than the Microscopic Imager on the 
Mars Exploration Rovers. 

--  "The Alpha-Particle-X-ray-Spectrometer for Mars Science 
Laboratory (APXS)," Ralf Gellert, Max-Planck-Institute for 
Chemistry, Mainz, Germany. APXS will determine elemental 
abundance of rocks and soil. APXS will be provided by the 
Canadian Space Agency.

--  "CheMin: An X-ray Diffraction/X-ray Fluorescence 
(XRD/XRF) instrument for definitive mineralogical analysis in 
the Analytical Laboratory of MSL," David Blake, NASA's Ames 
Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. CheMin, will identify 
and quantify all minerals in complex natural samples such as 
basalts, evaporites and soils, one of the principle 
objectives of Mars Science Laboratory.

--  "Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD)," Donald Hassler, 
Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colo. RAD will 
characterize the broad spectrum of radiation at the surface 
of Mars, an essential precursor to human exploration of the 
planet. RAD will be funded by the Exploration Systems Mission 
Directorate at NASA Headquarters.

--  "Mars Descent Imager," Michael Malin, MSSS. The Mars 
Descent Imager will produce high-resolution color-video 
imagery of the MSL descent and landing phase, providing 
geological context information, as well as allowing for 
precise landing-site determination.
 
--  "Sample Analysis at Mars with an integrated suite 
consisting of a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer, and a 
tunable laser spectrometer (SAM)," Paul Mahaffy, NASA's 
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. SAM will perform 
mineral and atmospheric analyses, detect a wide range of 
organic compounds and perform stable isotope analyses of 
organics and noble gases.


-end-