The Magnetic Properties Experiments on Mars Pathfinder

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A remarkable result from the Viking missions was the discovery that the Martian soil is highly magnetic, in the sense that the soil is attracted by permanent magnets. Both the strong and weak magnets on the Viking landers were saturated with dust throughout the mission. Appropriate limits for the spontaneous magnetization sigma_S were advanced: 1 Am(2) (kg soil)(-1) < sigma_S < 7 Am(2) (kg soil)(-1) . The essential difference between the Magnet Arrays for Mars Pathfinder and the Viking Magnetic Properties Experiment is that Magnet Arrays on Pathfinder will include magnets of lower strengths that the weakest Viking magnet. The five magnets consist of small ring magnets concentric with oppositely polarized cylindrical magnets. The outer diameter of the ring magnets is 18 mm. Discrete (single phase) particles of strongly magnetic minerals (gamma -Fe2O3 or Fe3O4) will stick to all five magnets, while composite (multiphase) particles will stick preferentially to the strongest magnets. Two Magnet Arrays are placed on the Pathfinder lander, with a distance of 1180 and 1450 mm, respectively, from the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP). The magnets will attract airborne dust, and the dust on the magnets will be periodically viewed by the IMP. The images transmitted to Earth are the data on which conclusions on the magnetic properties of the dust will be based. Besides the Magnet Arrays the Pathfinder lander carries two other types of magnets. The Tip Plate Magnet is placed at a distance of 10 cm from the IMP, and thus allows a rather high resolution imaging of the dust clinging to the magnet. The Ramp Magnets are placed near the end of the ramps by which the micro-rover will descend to the surface. The dust on the Ramp Magnets will be studied by the APX-spectrometer of the micro-rover.

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