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Space Topics: Mars ExpressScience InstrumentsBecause of the high cost of space exploration, ESA is unlikely to be able to send return Mars missions every two years. Therefore, the Mars Express spacecraft was packed with a scientist’s “wish list” of instruments that are investigating Mars from the top of its atmosphere to several kilometers beneath its surface. Energetic neutral atoms analyzer (ASPERA) will study how the solar wind, the stream of charged particles (ions and electrons) racing outward from the Sun, interacts with the Martian atmosphere and thus shed new light on the mechanisms by which water vapor and other gases could have escaped from Mars in the past. The instrument will use a technique known as energetic neutral atom imaging to visualize the charged and neutral gas environments around Mars. Principal investigator: Rickard Lundin, Swedish Institute of Space Science, Kiruna, Sweden High/Super Resolution Stereo Color imager (HRSC) is a stereoscopic camera that is providing the first simultaneously captured stereo images from Mars. With this camera, Mars Express is photographing the entire planet in color at a resolution of 10 to 30 meters, to reveal detail as small as 2 meters. The images will be used to produce a geologic map showing the location of different minerals and rock types. The HRSC makes use of a modified second-flight model of the High Resolution Stereo Camera originally developed for the Mars '96 mission. Principal investigator: Gerhard Neukum, Freie Universität, Berlin, Germany Radio science experiment (MaRS) uses radiowaves to study both the surface and atmosphere. The experiment is measuring local variations in gravity over the surface of Mars and is providing pressure and temperature profiles of the atmosphere. Principal investigator: Martin Pätzold, University of Cologne, Germany Subsurface sounding radar/altimeter (MARSIS) is a ground-penetrating radar instrument that was designed to search beneath Mars' surface for liquid water, ice, or permafrost layers. Deployment of the MARSIS boom was delayed due to safety concerns, but took place successfully on June 17, 2005. The primary objective of MARSIS is to map the distribution of water and ice in the upper portions of the Martian crust. Using techniques similar to oil prospecting on Earth, the instrument analyzes reflections of radio waves in the upper 2-3 kilometers of Martian crust to reveal the subsurface structure. It can distinguish between dry, frozen, and wet soil. Principal investigator: Giovanni Picardi, Universita di Roma 'La Sapienza', Rome, Italy Infrared mineralogical mapping spectrometer (OMEGA) was designed to examine the global distribution of minerals and chemicals on the surface of Mars. Omega determines the mineral content of the Martian surface and the molecular composition of the atmosphere by analyzing sunlight reflected from the surface and diffused through the atmosphere. The instrument will also perform similar analyses on heat radiation emitted from the surface. Information from Omega will contribute to our understanding of the structure of the Martian landscape and the role played by water over timescales ranging from seasons to billions of years. Like HRSC, OMEGA was originally developed for the Mars '96 mission. Principal investigator: Jean-Pierre Bibring, Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Orsay, France Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS) is measuring the global atmospheric distribution of water vapor and other minor constituents with greater accuracy than previous missions. (The Martian atmosphere consists mainly of carbon dioxide, with some nitrogen and argon, and with a very small proportion of water vapor and ozone.) Using the PFS, scientists have detected methane in the atmosphere, which could be a sign of geologic out gassing or even biological life. Principal investigator:Principal investigator: Vittorio Formisano, Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario, Rome, Italy Ultraviolet and infrared atmospheric spectrometer (SPICAM) measures the composition of the Martian atmosphere over smaller volumes than the PFS instrument. It is measuring ozone using a technique similar to that used on the Mariner 9 spacecraft that first discovered ozone on Mars. SPICAM will also use the technique of stellar occultation to measure the vertical profiles of carbon dioxide, temperature, ozone, aerosols, and clouds. Principal investigator: Jean-Loup Bertaux, Service d'Aeronomie, Verrières-le-Buisson, France
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