Overview

In 1969, astronauts reached the Moon and returned with the first extraterrestrial rock samples ever collected for study on Earth. In June of 2003, a new mission to Mars�the Mars Sample Return mission, carrying the Athena Rover�will launch, and we will take a important new set of "small steps" in the exploration of space. Scheduled to land on Mars during March of 2004, Athena will be the first stage of a mission designed to take the giant leap of bringing back to Earth the first rock and soil samples ever collected from another planet.

"No matter what we find, getting samples will change our understanding, revolutionize our understanding of Mars. A lot of theories about Mars will be blown away," says Jim Bell, the scientist in charge of the Pancam digital camera the Athena rover will carry to Mars.

Like the 2001 APEX experiment, design, testing, and implementation of the Athena Rover's scientific payload will be led by Cornell University, and will include a team of scientists from across the globe. Using a large rover with up to 100 times the range of any previous Mars surface vehicle, Athena will collect rock samples and load them into a soccer ball-sized container. A copy of the 2003 Athena Rover will do the same job again at a different site in 2005. Both containers will be blasted into orbit around Mars, where they will be picked up and delivered back to Earth by the 2005 mission to the red planet.

Rover Diagram

The Rover Diagram



The Instruments

The Rover

The mast of the lander houses two instruments: Pancam at the top and Mini-TES at its base. A M�ssbauer Spectrometer, the third of the lander's APEX instruments, is mounted on its robotic arm.


Pancam

Using two high-resolution, digital cameras atop the mast, the Pancam provides a panoramic 3-D view of the Martian surface with extreme, unprecedented detail. With a resolution almost four times that of the cameras on the Pathfinder and Mars Polar Lander missions, Pancam will offer the best look at Mars yet. Scientists will see not only where certain Martian surface features around the Lander are located, but also which features warrant further investigation. Pancam imaging can tell the story of Martian rock distribution, dunes, and maybe ancient waterways. Imaging at different wavelengths can even tell about the mineralogical make-up of the Martian surface it pictures.


Mini-Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES)

Mini-TES, or the Mini-Thermal Emission Spectrometer, observes the infrared (or thermal) radiation emitted by rocks and soils. Most minerals have their own distinctive infrared "fingerprint", and Mini-TES will reveal to scientists what minerals the rocks and soils around the lander are made of. Detecting and imaging thermal radiation allows helps scientists to see what's under thin layers of dust that cover Martian rocks, aiding in the identification of rock and soil specimens. Located at the bottom of the mast, the Mini-TES gets a panoramic view by using the mast like a periscope.

Robotics Arm On Rover


Raman Spectrometer

Compounds and minerals here and on Mars have reliable, identifying "fingerprints" that are detected by observing a phenomenon known as "Raman scattering". The Raman Spectrometer on Athena's robotic arm produces Raman scattering patterns for specimens by placing a sensor head up against the sample, shining a small, red laser beam through optical fiber to the object, and analyzing what light comes back. Almost all of the light that is reflected or scattered is the same color, but the scant amount that is different divulges information about what exactly the sample is made of. Whereas Athena's other instruments provide a peek or glance at a rock or soil sample's composition, the Raman Spectrometer may be used to delve deeper into the identity of curious findings, or likely candidates for fossil samples.


Microscopic Imager

A combination of a microscope and a camera, the Microscopic Imager produces close-ups of the rock and soil samples being examined by the other instruments. These detailed microscopic images offer a context for the other data, and helps in determining whether rocks formed in water, as a result of volcanic activity, or perhaps because of an impact event�like a meteor collision. Many of the features of the Martian surface are on a small scale, and the Microscopic Imager offers a way of examining these tiny, almost hidden, details.


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