Computer Science – Sound
Scientific paper
Apr 2003
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003eaeja.....2504v&link_type=abstract
EGS - AGU - EUG Joint Assembly, Abstracts from the meeting held in Nice, France, 6 - 11 April 2003, abstract #2504
Computer Science
Sound
Scientific paper
ESA has recently completed a study for an exobiology mission to be launched in 2009. Its scientific objective is to search for signs of past and present life on Mars. Life as we know it relies, above all else, upon water. However, the present low ambient temperature and pressure conditions preclude the widespread existence of water on the Martian surface; except, maybe, in very localised environments, and then only episodically. Still, water/ice may lie at some depth underground. Additionally, because of the sterilizing/degrading effect of the Martian UV radiation spectrum, the search for life indicators, whether for present or for extinct life, should best be conducted below the surface. ESA's mission will consist of two main elements: a dedicated communications satellite, and a 200-kg rover. The rover will carry the Pasteur scientific payload. The Pasteur Model Payload used for the study is equipped with a multispectral, stereoscopic camera; an electromagnetic subsurface sounder to identify water/ice deposits; a drill capable of reaching a depth of 2 m, and also of collecting specimens from within surface rocks; a sample preparation unit, an optical microscope; an oxidation sensor; and a variety of spectroscopic instruments. For the characterisation of organic substances, Pasteur also houses a gas chromatographer/mass spectrometer, and a novel device based on protein assay chip technology. Latitudinal bands between 10 and 45 deg, both N and S can be targeted for landing. Over its envisioned lifetime of 180 sols, the rover is designed to cover 30-50 km of ground track over typical Martian terrain. Operations beyond this period will depend on the amount of dust deposited on the rover's solar panels. This paper summarises the present ExoMars concept. Particular attention is devoted to mission-imposed constraints having an influence on the science output: i.e. for instrument selection and operations, power generation, and landing sites.
Exomars Study Team
Gardini Bruno
Kminek Gerhard
Vago Jorge Luis
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