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The SuperCam infrared instrument on the NASA MARS2020 mission: performance and qualification results
The rover will carry several different instruments to perform field analyses in biology, climatology, mineralogy, geology and geochemistry. Among this payload, the SuperCam instrument, an improved new generation of the ChemCam instrument on Curiosity, has been developed for remote microscale characterization of the mineralogy and elemental chemistry of the Mars surface, along with the search for extant organic materials. In addition to the elemental characterization offered by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), a new remote Raman spectroscopy analysis and an infrared spectrometer have been added for a complete mineralogical and chemical characterization of the samples. A context color imaging capability is also implemented to place the analyzed samples in their geological context.
SuperCam consists of three units. The “Body Unit” built by the LANL (Los Alamos National Laboratories) in the US, the “Mast Unit” built by a French consortium of 5 laboratories (IRAP as leader, LESIA, LATMOS, IAS, and LAB) funded by the French Space Agency (CNES), and a “Calibration Target Unit“ under the responsibility of the University of Valladolid in Spain.
A very compact IRS (Infrared Spectrometer) is part of the SuperCam-MU payload. The IRS concept is based on the spectral selection by an Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter (AOTF) in the 1.3-2.6 μm range with a spectral resolution better than 30 wavenumbers. The AOTF is driven by radio frequencies injected in a transducer mounted directly on a birefringent crystal. This coupling creates acoustic waves in the crystal that behave like a Bragg grating. The incident light is then diffracted in two orders (e-ray and o-ray) at the same wavelength following a so-called tuning relation law (relation between diffracted wavelength and injected radio frequency). Each diffracted order is focused on a photodiode. A complete spectrum is obtained after the scan of all individual wavelengths.
The IRS is built by LESIA and LATMOS, two French laboratories located in Paris area.
After intensive performance and qualification tests as well as a calibration on a flight-representative model, the team has built the flight model. The qualification results and the performances of the instrument are presented.
We present here a study of a Fourier Transform heterodyne spectrometer, which can achieve these objectives, in the visible or infrared. The system is composed of a Michelson interferometer, whose mirrors have been replaced by gratings, a configuration studied in the early days of Fourier Transform spectroscopy, but only recently reused for space instrumentation, with the availability of large infrared mosaics.
A complete study of an instrument is underway, with optical and electronic tests, as well as data processing analysis. This instrument will be proposed for future planetary missions, including ESA/Bepi Colombo Mercury Planetary Orbiter or Earth orbiting platforms.
Since 2006, PERSEE (PEGASE Experiment for Research and Stabilization of Extreme Extinction) laboratory test bench is under development by a consortium composed of Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), Observatoire de Paris-Meudon (LESIA), Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur (OCA), Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales (ONERA), and Thalès Alénia Space (TAS) [8]. It is mainly funded by CNES R&D. PERSEE couples an infrared wide band nulling interferometer with local OPD and tip/tilt control loops and a free flying Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) simulator able to introduce realistic disturbances. Although it was designed in the framework of the PEGASE free flying space mission, PERSEE can adapt very easily to other contexts like FKSI (in space, with a 10 m long beam structure) or ALADDIN [9] (on ground, in Antarctica) because the optical designs of all those missions are very similar. After a short description of the experimental setup, we will present first the results obtained in an intermediate configuration with monochromatic light. Then we will present some preliminary results with polychromatic light. Last, we discuss some very first more general lessons we can already learn from this experiment.
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