The Russian neutron detector at Curiosity has begun work. No water detected yet
On Friday, a Russian DAN detector and a neutron generator were switched on the rover. The press service of the IKI RAS, where the device was created, reports:
The DAN detector (“Dynamic albedo of neutrons”) is Russia's contribution to the project of the rover and one of two “foreigners” among the scientific instruments on board (the second is the REMS meteorological station created by Spanish scientists).
Igor Mitrofanov, head of the laboratory of space gamma spectroscopy of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, under whose guidance the device was created, said:
Speaking about the results of measuring radiation, Mitrofanov noted that it is too early to judge the real Martian background.
During movement the device is planned to be kept on constantly.
DAN is a neutron “probe” —the device’s neutron generator irradiates the planet’s surface with high-energy neutrons, and the detector determines the hydrogen content, which means water, and also hydrated minerals by the secondary neutron flux property. Zones with a large number of these substances are of greatest interest for finding traces of life.
On Thursday, the device was first turned on and showed the ability to operate successfully in a passive mode, without turning on the generator. On Friday, August 17, at 14.30 Moscow time, the device was switched on together with the DAN-ING generator (pulsed neutron generator).
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The generator irradiates the surface layer of the planet with high-energy neutrons, which penetrate to a depth of 1 meter and create a "response" stream of secondary neutrons. These neutrons are “caught” by a DAN-DE detector. The neutron flux density allows us to judge the number of hydrogen atoms that actively absorb neutrons.
The technology of the DAN device was successfully tested on two similar detectors created earlier in the IKI. One of them, the HEND device, has been working in the Martian orbit for over 10 years, aboard the Mars-Odyssey probe. His data showed that in the high latitudes of the planet there is a large amount of ice - a thick layer of permafrost, and the data of the LEND detector aboard the LRO probe made it possible to find ice in the craters at the lunar poles.
Also, before setting off (the first goal is Sharpe Mountain, or Eolid, about five kilometers high), as a test of a laser drilling machine, the rover will melt an eight-centimeter stone, three meters from Curiosity
Telemetric and scientific information was obtained, which indicates the normal operation of the equipment. The DAN equipment worked for one hour regularly without any remarks and was turned off on command. Received the first scientific information on the composition of the substance of Mars and the radiation background in the landing area
The DAN detector (“Dynamic albedo of neutrons”) is Russia's contribution to the project of the rover and one of two “foreigners” among the scientific instruments on board (the second is the REMS meteorological station created by Spanish scientists).
Igor Mitrofanov, head of the laboratory of space gamma spectroscopy of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, under whose guidance the device was created, said:
The composition of the substance in the landing area is “polluted” with a stream of combustion (from the engines of the “sky crane” that lowered the rover), so for the time being it is too early to get scientific data. So far, it can be said that at the landing point no more water remains in the ground than in the concrete floor of our laboratory.
Speaking about the results of measuring radiation, Mitrofanov noted that it is too early to judge the real Martian background.
We must first carefully subtract the background from the riteg (radioisotope generator), which stands next to our device. We will know in two or three days
During movement the device is planned to be kept on constantly.
DAN is a neutron “probe” —the device’s neutron generator irradiates the planet’s surface with high-energy neutrons, and the detector determines the hydrogen content, which means water, and also hydrated minerals by the secondary neutron flux property. Zones with a large number of these substances are of greatest interest for finding traces of life.
On Thursday, the device was first turned on and showed the ability to operate successfully in a passive mode, without turning on the generator. On Friday, August 17, at 14.30 Moscow time, the device was switched on together with the DAN-ING generator (pulsed neutron generator).
')
The generator irradiates the surface layer of the planet with high-energy neutrons, which penetrate to a depth of 1 meter and create a "response" stream of secondary neutrons. These neutrons are “caught” by a DAN-DE detector. The neutron flux density allows us to judge the number of hydrogen atoms that actively absorb neutrons.
The technology of the DAN device was successfully tested on two similar detectors created earlier in the IKI. One of them, the HEND device, has been working in the Martian orbit for over 10 years, aboard the Mars-Odyssey probe. His data showed that in the high latitudes of the planet there is a large amount of ice - a thick layer of permafrost, and the data of the LEND detector aboard the LRO probe made it possible to find ice in the craters at the lunar poles.
Also, before setting off (the first goal is Sharpe Mountain, or Eolid, about five kilometers high), as a test of a laser drilling machine, the rover will melt an eight-centimeter stone, three meters from Curiosity
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/149813/
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