| NASA Mars Science Laboratory Chemical & Camera program, to study rocks and soil on Mars December 4, 2009 -- OPCO Laboratory, working with Dr. David Landis, President of Aurora Design & Technology, has manufactured custom optical components that will be used in the upcoming Mars Science Lab (MSL) mission, to be launched in 2010. OPCO provided several replicated mirrors and diffraction gratings, that are integrated in the Spectrometers in the Chem Cam Instrument Package mounted on a lunar rover vehicle. One of Chem Cam’s experiments, will be remote laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). A laser, also mounted on the rover, will fire a beam at Martian rocks and soil, ablating surface dust and debris. The exposed material is excited by the plasma generated by the laser pulse, and as it relaxes, emits spectral lines. This allows for a detailed spectral analysis of material on the Martian surface, and is the first instrument that allows a detailed analysis several meters away from the rover. Back |
