Abstract
The description of Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) experiment is presented, as a part of the NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission onboard the mars rover Curiosity. The instrument DAN includes Pulsing Neutron Generator (PNG) producing pulses of 14.1 MeV neutrons for irradiation of subsurface material below the rover, and Detectors and Electronics (DE) unit, which operates the instrument itself and measures the die-away time profiles of epithermal and thermal neutrons following each neutron pulse. It is shown that the DAN investigation will measure a content of hydrogen along the path of the MSL rover, and it will also provide information about a depth distribution of hydrogen at 10–20 regions selected for the detailed studies and sampling analysis.
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Abbreviations
- ASA:
-
Active Surface Analysis
- ASM:
-
Active Surface Monitoring
- CEN:
-
Counter of Epithermal Neutrons
- CTEN:
-
Counter of Thermal and Epithermal Neutrons
- DAN:
-
Dynamic Albedo of neutrons
- DE:
-
Detectors and Electronics
- FWHM:
-
Full Width Half Maximum
- GCR:
-
Galactic Cosmic Rays
- HCAS:
-
Hydrogen or Chemical Anomaly Spot
- ING:
-
Industrial Neutron Generator
- MCNPX:
-
Monte Carlo Neutrons Protons X-rays
- MeV:
-
Mega electron Volt
- MMTRG:
-
Multi Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator
- MSL:
-
Mars Science Laboratory
- PDS:
-
Planetary Data System
- PNG:
-
Pulsing Neutron Generator
- PSA:
-
Passive Surface Analysis
- SPE:
-
Solar Particle Event
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Acknowledgements
In conclusion, the all DAN team would like to express their gratitude to the entire team of the MSL project for excellent professional support of DAN development and integration onboard the rover Curiosity. The authors are also very much thankful to anonymous reviewers of this paper for helpful comments, questions and language corrections, which have improved the original paper very much.
We wish to thank the International Space Science Institute (ISSI, Bern, Switzerland) for the support of researches (included in the framework of international team “Nuclear Planetology” in 2007–2010) presented in this paper.
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Mitrofanov, I.G., Litvak, M.L., Varenikov, A.B. et al. Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) Experiment Onboard NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory. Space Sci Rev 170, 559–582 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-012-9924-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-012-9924-y