Subsurface In situ elemental composition measurements with PING

Author

Parsons, Aaron ; McClanahan, T. ; Bodnarik, J. ; Evans, L. ; Nowicki, S. ; Schweitzer, J. ; Starr, R.

Author_Institution

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Ctr., Greenbelt, MD, USA

fYear

2013

fDate

2-9 March 2013

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

11

Abstract

This paper describes the Probing In situ with Neutron and Gamma rays (PING) instrument, that can measure the subsurface elemental composition in situ for any rocky body in the solar system without the need for digging into the surface. PING consists of a Pulsed Neutron Generator (PNG), a gamma ray spectrometer and neutron detectors. Subsurface elements are stimulated by high-energy neutrons to emit gamma rays at characteristic energies. This paper will show how the detection of these gamma rays results in a measurement of elemental composition. Examples of the basalt to granite ratios for aluminum and silicon abundance are provided.

Keywords

gamma-ray detection; neutron detection; PING instrument; PNG; elemental composition measurement; gamma ray spectrometer; high-energy neutrons; neutron detectors; probing in situ with neutron and gamma rays instrument; pulsed neutron generator; solar system; subsurface in situ elemental composition measurements; Detectors; Extraterrestrial measurements; Gamma-rays; Instruments; Materials; Neutrons; Surface treatment;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Aerospace Conference, 2013 IEEE

Conference_Location

Big Sky, MT

ISSN

1095-323X

Print_ISBN

978-1-4673-1812-9

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/AERO.2013.6496922

Filename

6496922