Open AccessThe MVACS tunable diode laser spectrometers
Author(s) -
May Randy D.,
Forouhar Siamak,
Crisp David,
Woodward W. Stephen,
Paige David A.,
Pathare Asmin,
Boynton William V.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: planets
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/1999je001146
Subject(s) - spectrometer , laser , gas analyzer , atmosphere of mars , water vapor , mars exploration program , tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy , spectrum analyzer , tunable laser , materials science , diode , remote sensing , optics , environmental science , martian , physics , geology , optoelectronics , chemistry , meteorology , astrobiology , environmental chemistry
Two independent tunable diode laser spectrometers are resident aboard the Mars Polar Lander as part of the Mars Volatiles and Climate Surveyor payload. One spectrometer is located on the meteorological mast for measurements of H 2 O and CO 2 in the free atmosphere, and the other serves as the H 2 O and CO 2 analyzer for the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer. Water vapor is measured using a tunable diode laser operating at 1.37 μm, while CO 2 is measured using a second laser operating near 2.05 μm. The 2.05 μm laser also has isotopic analysis capability. In addition to the major CO 2 isotopomer ( 12 C 16 O 16 O), analyses of 13 C 16 O 16 O and 12 C 18 O 16 O in the atmosphere and in the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer are possible under certain conditions. The spectrometers were designed and built at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and have their heritage in a series of tunable diode laser spectrometers developed for Earth atmospheric studies using high‐altitude aircraft and balloon platforms. The 1.37 μm diode laser on the meteorological mast will provide the first in situ measurements of water vapor in the Martian boundary layer, with a detection sensitivity an order of magnitude greater than the water vapor abundances inferred from the remote‐sensing observations by the Viking Orbiters.