Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals

Last updated

Perseverance rover - SHERLOC Mars2020Rover-SHERLOC-20140731.jpg
SHERLOC's calibration target aboard the Perseverance Mars rover with Mars Meteorite in the centre of top row PIA24261-MarsPerseveranceRover-SHERLOC-CalibrationTarget-20201208.jpg
SHERLOC's calibration target aboard the Perseverance Mars rover with Mars Meteorite in the centre of top row

Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) is an ultraviolet Raman spectrometer that uses fine-scale imaging and an ultraviolet (UV) laser to determine fine-scale mineralogy, and detect organic compounds designed for the Perseverance rover as part of the Mars 2020 mission. [1] [2] [3] It was constructed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory with major subsystems being delivered from Malin Space Science Systems and Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Contents

SHERLOC has a calibration target with possible Mars suit materials, and it will measure how they change over time in the Martian surface environment. [4]

Goals

According to a 2017 Universities Space Research Association (USRA) report: [2]

The goals of the SHERLOC investigation are to:

To do this SHERLOC does the following:

— Beegle, L.W., et al., USRA (2017) [2]

Construction

There are three locations on the rover where SHERLOC components are located. The SHERLOC Turret Assembly (STA) is mounted at the end of the rover arm. The STA contains spectroscopy and imaging components. The SHERLOC Body Assembly (SBA) is located on the rover chassis and acts as the interface between the STA and the Mars 2020 rover. The SBA deals with command and data handling, along with power distribution. The SHERLOC Calibration Target (SCT) is located on the front of the rover chassis and hold spectral standards.

SHERLOC consists of both imaging and spectroscopic elements. It has two imaging components consisting of heritage hardware from the MSL MAHLI instrument. The Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering (WATSON) is a built to print re-flight that can generate color images over multiple scales. The other, Autofocus Context Imager (ACI), acts as the mechanism that allows the instrument to get a contextual image of a sample and to autofocus the laser spot for the spectroscopic part of the SHERLOC investigation.

For Spectroscopy, it utilizes a NeCu laser to generate UV photons (248.6 nm) which can generate characteristic Raman and fluorescence photons from a scientifically interesting sample. The deep UV laser is co-boresighted to a context imager and integrated into an autofocusing/scanning optical system that allows correlation of spectral signatures to surface textures, morphology and visible features. The context imager has a spatial resolution of 30 μm and currently is designed to operate in the 400-500 nm wavelength range. [5]

SHERLOC
PIA23894-MarsPerseveranceRover-SHERLOC-20200526.jpg
instrument – outside>
PIA23621-Mars2020Rover-SHERLOC-20200220.jpg
instrument – inside
PIA23895-MarsPersevranceRover-SHERLOC-TestImage-20200526.jpg
Test image
(26 May 2020)
Test – WATSON camera focus
(Mars; video; 0:05; 10 May 2021)
PIA25245-Mars-PerseveranceRover-SHERLOC-Test-20220722.jpg
Test rock study
(22 July 2022)
PIA25919-MarsPerseveranceRover-QuartierRock-SHERLOC-20230712.jpg
Quartier rock (context)
(12 July 2023)
PIA25919-MarsPerseveranceRover-QuartierRock-Closeup-20230712.png
Quartier rock study
(12 July 2023)

Results from Mars

WATSON Selfie image of Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter Mars 2020 selfie containing both perseverance rover and ingenuity.gif
WATSON Selfie image of Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter

Over the course of three years, SHERLOC and WATSON have been successfully collecting spectra and images of minerals and organics on the surface of Mars. [6] [7] Utilizing WATSON and ACI images, there was confirmation that the Jezero Crater floor consists of aqueously altered mafic material with various igneous origins. [8] In addition, WATSON has been used to collect selfies of the Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter. Recently, it successfully sealed and stored the first two rock samples from Mars. Because of it, We now know that these rocks derived from a volcanic environment, and that there was liquid water there in Mars's past, that formed salts that SHERLOC has seen. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mars rover</span> Robotic vehicle for Mars surface exploration

A Mars rover is a remote-controlled motor vehicle designed to travel on the surface of Mars. Rovers have several advantages over stationary landers: they examine more territory, they can be directed to interesting features, they can place themselves in sunny positions to weather winter months, and they can advance the knowledge of how to perform very remote robotic vehicle control. They serve a different purpose than orbital spacecraft like Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. A more recent development is the Mars helicopter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jezero (crater)</span> Crater on Mars

Jezero is a crater on Mars in the Syrtis Major quadrangle, about 45.0 km (28.0 mi) in diameter. Thought to have once been flooded with water, the crater contains a fan-delta deposit rich in clays. The lake in the crater was present when valley networks were forming on Mars. Besides having a delta, the crater shows point bars and inverted channels. From a study of the delta and channels, it was concluded that the lake inside the crater probably formed during a period in which there was continual surface runoff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martian regolith</span> Fine regolith found on the surface of Mars

Martian regolith is the fine blanket of unconsolidated, loose, heterogeneous superficial deposits covering the surface of Mars. The term Martian soil typically refers to the finer fraction of regolith. So far, no samples have been returned to Earth, the goal of a Mars sample-return mission, but the soil has been studied remotely with the use of Mars rovers and Mars orbiters. Its properties can differ significantly from those of terrestrial soil, including its toxicity due to the presence of perchlorates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeolis quadrangle</span> One of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars

The Aeolis quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Aeolis quadrangle is also referred to as MC-23 . The Aeolis quadrangle covers 180° to 225° W and 0° to 30° south on Mars, and contains parts of the regions Elysium Planitia and Terra Cimmeria. A small part of the Medusae Fossae Formation lies in this quadrangle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Composition of Mars</span> Branch of the geology of Mars

The composition of Mars covers the branch of the geology of Mars that describes the make-up of the planet Mars.

Rosalind Franklin, previously known as the ExoMars rover, is a planned robotic Mars rover, part of the international ExoMars programme led by the European Space Agency and the Russian Roscosmos State Corporation. The mission was scheduled to launch in July 2020, but was postponed to 2022. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused an indefinite delay of the programme, as the member states of the ESA voted to suspend the joint mission with Russia; in July 2022, ESA terminated its cooperation on the project with Russia. As of May 2022, the launch of the rover is not expected to occur before 2028 due to the need for a new non-Russian landing platform.

<i>Curiosity</i> (rover) NASA robotic rover exploring Gale crater on Mars

Curiosity is a car-sized Mars rover exploring Gale crater and Mount Sharp on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. Curiosity was launched from Cape Canaveral (CCAFS) on November 26, 2011, at 15:02:00 UTC and landed on Aeolis Palus inside Gale crater on Mars on August 6, 2012, 05:17:57 UTC. The Bradbury Landing site was less than 2.4 km (1.5 mi) from the center of the rover's touchdown target after a 560 million km (350 million mi) journey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory</span> Event timeline of the NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission

The Mars Science Laboratory and its rover, Curiosity, were launched from Earth on 26 November 2011. As of November 11, 2024, Curiosity has been on the planet Mars for 4360 sols since landing on 6 August 2012. (See Current status.)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CheMin</span>

CheMin, short for Chemistry and Mineralogy, is an instrument located in the interior of the Curiosity rover that is exploring the surface of Gale crater on Mars. David Blake, from NASA Ames Research Center, is the Principal Investigator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mars 2020</span> Astrobiology Mars rover mission by NASA

Mars 2020 is a NASA mission that includes the rover Perseverance, the now-retired small robotic helicopter Ingenuity, and associated delivery systems, as part of the Mars Exploration Program. Mars 2020 was launched on an Atlas V rocket at 11:50:01 UTC on July 30, 2020, and landed in the Martian crater Jezero on February 18, 2021, with confirmation received at 20:55 UTC. On March 5, 2021, NASA named the landing site Octavia E. Butler Landing. As of 13 November 2024, Perseverance has been on Mars for 1328 sols. Ingenuity operated on Mars for 1042 sols before sustaining serious damage to its rotor blades, possibly all four, causing NASA to retire the craft on January 25, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellowknife Bay, Mars</span>

Yellowknife Bay is a geologic formation in Gale Crater on the planet Mars. NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, named Curiosity, arrived at the low lying depression on December 17, 2012, 125 sols, or Martian days, into its 668-sol planned mission on the planet. Primary mission goals of the Mars Science Laboratory were to assess the potential habitability of the planet and whether or not the Martian environment is, or has ever been, capable of supporting life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planetary Instrument for X-Ray Lithochemistry</span> X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to determine the elemental composition of Martian soil

Planetary Instrument for X-Ray Lithochemistry (PIXL) is an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to determine the fine scale elemental composition of Martian surface materials designed for the Perseverance rover as part of the Mars 2020 mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hargraves (crater)</span> Crater on Mars

Hargraves is a Hesperian-age complex double-layered ejecta impact crater on Mars. It was emplaced near the crustal dichotomy in the vicinity of the Nili Fossae, the Syrtis Major volcanic plains, and the Isidis impact basin, and is situated within the Syrtis Major quadrangle. Hargraves has been the target of focused study because its ejecta apron is particularly well-preserved for a Martian crater of its size. It has been analogized to similar double-layered ejecta blankets on Earth, including that of the Ries impact structure, which was where the conceptual model for how such craters formed was first advanced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SuperCam</span> Instruments on the Perseverance Mars rover

SuperCam is a suite of remote-sensing instruments for the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission that performs remote analyses of rocks and soils with a camera, two lasers and four spectrometers to seek organic compounds that could hold biosignatures of past microbial life on Mars, if it ever existed there.

Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) is a miniature Raman spectrometer that is part of the science payload on board the European Space Agency'sRosalind Franklin rover, tasked to search for biosignatures and biomarkers on Mars. The rover is planned to be launched not earlier than 2028 and land on Mars in 2029.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethany Ehlmann</span> American planetary scientist

Bethany List Ehlmann is an American geologist and a professor of Planetary Science at California Institute of Technology. A leading researcher in planetary geology, Ehlmann is also the President of The Planetary Society, Director of the Keck Institute for Space Studies, and a Research Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

<i>Perseverance</i> (rover) NASA Mars rover deployed in 2021

Perseverance, nicknamed Percy, is a car-sized Mars rover designed to explore the Jezero crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission. It was manufactured by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched on July 30, 2020, at 11:50 UTC. Confirmation that the rover successfully landed on Mars was received on February 18, 2021, at 20:55 UTC. As of 13 November 2024, Perseverance has been active on Mars for 1328 sols since its landing. Following the rover's arrival, NASA named the landing site Octavia E. Butler Landing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moogega Cooper</span> American astronomer

Moogega Cooper-Stricker (born 1985) is an American astronomer, and the Lead of Planetary Protection for the Mars 2020 Mission and is involved with the InSight Mission. Dr. Cooper also takes part in programs and speaking engagements to encourage young women or and others from underrepresented communities to pursue careers in science and technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Mars 2020</span> Event timeline of the NASA Mars 2020 mission

The Mars 2020 mission, consisting of the rover Perseverance and helicopter Ingenuity, was launched on July 30, 2020, and landed in Jezero crater on Mars on February 18, 2021. As of November 13, 2024, Perseverance has been on the planet for 1328 sols. Ingenuity operated for 1042 sols until its rotor blades, possibly all four, were damaged during the landing of flight 72 on January 18, 2024, causing NASA to retire the craft.

References

  1. ↑ Webster, Guy (31 July 2014). "SHERLOC to Micro-Map Mars Minerals and Carbon Rings". NASA . Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Beegle, L.W.; et al. (2017). "The SHERLOC Investigation For MARS 2020 (SHERLOC: Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals, an Investigation for 2020)" (PDF). Universities Space Research Association . Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  3. ↑ Bhartia, Rohit; Beegle, Luther W.; DeFlores, Lauren; Abbey, William; Razzell Hollis, Joseph; Uckert, Kyle; Monacelli, Brian; Edgett, Kenneth S.; Kennedy, Megan R.; Sylvia, Margarite; Aldrich, David; Anderson, Mark; Asher, Sanford A.; Bailey, Zachary; Boyd, Kerry (25 May 2021). "Perseverance's Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) Investigation". Space Science Reviews. 217 (4): 58. doi: 10.1007/s11214-021-00812-z . ISSN   1572-9672.
  4. ↑ "The next NASA rover could lead to safer space suits for astronauts exploring Mars". The Mercury News. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  5. ↑ Beegle, L.; Bhartia, R.; White, M.; DeFlores, L.; Abbey, W.; Wu, Yen-Hung; Cameron, B.; Moore, J.; Fries, M. (1 March 2015). "SHERLOC: Scanning habitable environments with Raman & luminescence for organics & chemicals". 2015 IEEE Aerospace Conference. pp. 1–11. doi:10.1109/AERO.2015.7119105. ISBN   978-1-4799-5379-0. S2CID   28838479.
  6. ↑ Scheller, Eva L.; Razzell Hollis, Joseph; Cardarelli, Emily L.; Steele, Andrew; Beegle, Luther W.; Bhartia, Rohit; Conrad, Pamela; Uckert, Kyle; Sharma, Sunanda; Ehlmann, Bethany L.; Abbey, William J.; Asher, Sanford A.; Benison, Kathleen C.; Berger, Eve L.; Beyssac, Olivier (9 December 2022). "Aqueous alteration processes in Jezero crater, Mars—implications for organic geochemistry". Science. 378 (6624): 1105–1110. doi:10.1126/science.abo5204. ISSN   0036-8075.
  7. ↑ Sharma, Sunanda; Roppel, Ryan D.; Murphy, Ashley E.; Beegle, Luther W.; Bhartia, Rohit; Steele, Andrew; Hollis, Joseph Razzell; Siljeström, Sandra; McCubbin, Francis M.; Asher, Sanford A.; Abbey, William J.; Allwood, Abigail C.; Berger, Eve L.; Bleefeld, Benjamin L.; Burton, Aaron S. (July 2023). "Diverse organic-mineral associations in Jezero crater, Mars". Nature. 619 (7971): 724–732. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06143-z. ISSN   1476-4687. PMC   10371864 .
  8. ↑ Wogsland, B. V.; Minitti, M. E.; Kah, L. C.; Yingst, R. A.; Abbey, W.; Bhartia, R.; Beegle, L.; Bleefeld, B. L.; Cardarelli, E. L.; Conrad, P. G.; Edgett, K.; Hickman‐Lewis, K.; Hugget, J.; Imbeah, S.; Kennedy, M. R. (November 2023). "Science and Science‐Enabling Activities of the SHERLOC and WATSON Imaging Systems in Jezero Crater, Mars". Earth and Space Science. 10 (11). doi: 10.1029/2022EA002544 . ISSN   2333-5084.
  9. ↑ "Perseverance's Selfie with Ingenuity - NASA Science". science.nasa.gov. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.