Title :
Advanced planetary thermal spectroscopy
Author :
Schueler, Carl F. ; Silverman, Steven H. ; Greenfield, M.I. ; Christensen, Philip R.
Author_Institution :
Santa Barbara Remote Sensing, Goleta, CA, USA
Abstract :
Advanced technology miniaturization of the 14.5-kg Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) allows new scientific missions. A 2to 3-kg mini-TES is being developed under a NASA Planetary Instrument Definition and Development (PIDDP) effort by Arizona State University and Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. Mini-TES will obtain spectra from 6 to 40 μm, applicable to flyby spacecraft atmospheric and surface analyses to help select planets and smaller objects for examination from orbit. From low-altitude, mini-TES could assess aerosols, ice and vapor abundance and composition, as well as vertical temperature profiles, and examine surface composition with 1-km to 100-m resolution. Mini-TES could analyze ice, rock, and soil with from 1-m to 20-cm resolution from a fixed lander down to a centimeter from a rover, as well as provide surface-based atmospheric analyses
Keywords :
Mars; aerosols; geophysical techniques; ice; planetary atmospheres; remote sensing; rocks; soil; space research; spectroscopy; 2 to 3 kg; 6 to 40 mum; Arizona State University; Mars Global Surveyor; NASA; Santa Barbara Remote Sensing; Thermal Emission Spectrometer; aerosols; atmospheric analyses; ice; miniaturization; planetary thermal spectroscopy; rock; soil; surface analyses; surface composition; vapor; vertical temperature profiles; Ice surface; Instruments; Mars; NASA; Planetary orbits; Planets; Remote sensing; Space technology; Space vehicles; Spectroscopy;
Conference_Titel :
Aerospace Conference, 1997. Proceedings., IEEE
Conference_Location :
Snowmass at Aspen, CO
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-3741-7
DOI :
10.1109/AERO.1997.577983
