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The MESSENGER Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer

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The Messenger Mission to Mercury

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Abstract

A Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer (GRNS) instrument has been developed as part of the science pay load for NASA’s Discovery Program mission to the planet Mercury. Mercury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) launched successfully in 2004 and will journey more than six years before entering Mercury orbit to begin a one-year investigation. The GRNS instrument forms part of the geochemistry investigation and will yield maps of the elemental composition of the planet surface. Major elements include H, O, Na, Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, Fe, K, and Th. The Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (GRS) portion detects gamma-ray emissions in the 0.1-to 10-MeV energy range and achieves an energy resolution of 3.5 keV full-width at half-maximum for 60Co (1332 keV). It is the first interplanetary use of a mechanically cooled Ge detector. Special construction techniques provide the necessary thermal isolation to maintain the sensor’s encapsulated detector at cryogenic temperatures (90 K) despite the intense thermal environment. Given the mission constraints, the GRS sensor is necessarily body-mounted to the spacecraft, but the outer housing is equipped with an anticoincidence shield to reduce the background from charged particles. The Neutron Spectrometer (NS) sensor consists of a sandwich of three scintillation detectors working in concert to measure the flux of ejected neutrons in three energy ranges from thermal to~7 MeV. The NS is particularly sensitive to H content and will help resolve the composition of Mercury’s polar deposits. This paper provides an overview of the Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer and describes its science and measurement objectives, the design and operation of the instrument, the ground calibration effort, and a look at some early in-flight data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, 20723, USA

    John O. Goldsten, Edgar A. Rhodes, Graham A. Murphy, Reid S. Gurnee, Kim Strohbehn, Bruce D. Williams, Edward D. Schaefer & Christopher A. Monaco

  2. Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    William V. Boynton

  3. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USA

    William C. Feldman & David J. Lawrence

  4. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA

    Jacob I. Trombka

  5. Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA

    David M. Smith

  6. Computer Sciences Corporation, Science Programs, Lanham-Seabrook, MD, 20706, USA

    Larry G. Evans

  7. Scientific and Engineering Solutions, Inc., Chagrin Falls, OH, 44023, USA

    Jack White

  8. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, 94550, USA

    Norman W. Madden, Christopher P. Cork, J. Del Eckels, Wayne O. Miller, Morgan T. Burks, Lisle B. Hagler, Steve J. DeTeresa & Monika C. Witte

  9. Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    Peter C. Berg

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  1. John O. Goldsten
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Physics Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD, USA

    D. L. Domingue

  2. Institute of Geophysics & Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    C. T. Russell

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Goldsten, J.O. et al. (2007). The MESSENGER Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer. In: Domingue, D.L., Russell, C.T. (eds) The Messenger Mission to Mercury. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-77214-1_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-77214-1_10

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