Development of a compact laser for ChemCam instrument and potential use for wind measurement on Mars

B. Faure; M. Saccoccio; S. Maurice; E. Durand; C. Derycke; F. Montmessin; D. Bruneau

doi:10.1117/12.829352

9 October 2009 Development of a compact laser for ChemCam instrument and potential use for wind measurement on Mars

B. Faure, M. Saccoccio, S. Maurice, E. Durand, C. Derycke, F. Montmessin, D. Bruneau

Proceedings Volume 7479, Lidar Technologies, Techniques, and Measurements for Atmospheric Remote Sensing V; 74790N (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.829352
Event: SPIE Remote Sensing, 2009, Berlin, Germany

Abstract

A new conduction cooled compact laser for Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) on Mars is presented. The laser provides pulses with energy higher than 30mJ at 1μm of wavelength with a good spatial quality (M² between 1 and 3 according to the temperature). The performance of the laser is within the specifications on a large temperature range (-20°C/+20°C). This laser will be mounted on the ChemCam Instrument of the NASA mission MSL 2009 (finally reported to 2011). The goal of this instrument is to study the chemical composition of Martian rocks. A laser source (subject of this presentation) emits a pulse. It creates a luminous plasma on the rock, which is then analyzed by three spectrometers. The laser source was developed by the French company Thales Laser, under funding and with technical support from CNES. The laser is compact and does not require any active cooling. More recently, the laser was studied by the LATMOS (Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales, former Service d'Aéronomie). The goal of this study was to make spectral measurements on the laser to evaluate its capacity to be used as a luminous source for Lidar applications, and in particular for a Doppler Lidar measuring the wind speed. As the laser is very well adapted to the harsh Martian environments, one of the possible applications would be wind speed measurements on Mars. The first results obtained by the LATMOS are good and do not show any impossibilities for this target application.

Citation Download Citation

B. Faure, M. Saccoccio, S. Maurice, E. Durand, C. Derycke, F. Montmessin, and D. Bruneau "Development of a compact laser for ChemCam instrument and potential use for wind measurement on Mars", Proc. SPIE 7479, Lidar Technologies, Techniques, and Measurements for Atmospheric Remote Sensing V, 74790N (9 October 2009); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.829352

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available