MicrOmega-IR

MicrOmega-IR

Operator	European Space Agency
Manufacturer	Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, of the CNRS
Instrument type	Infrared hyperspectral microscope
Function	Subsurface composition
Mission duration	≥ 7 months[1]
Website	ExoMars Rover Instrument Suite
Properties
Mass	≈2 kg
Host spacecraft
Spacecraft	Rosalind Franklin rover
Operator	European Space Agency
Launch date	NET 2028

Grains of Earth olivine, one of the minerals MicroOmega is designed to detect

MicrOmega-IR is an infrared hyperspectral microscope that is part of the science payload on board the European Rosalind Franklin rover,[2] tasked to search for biosignatures on Mars. The rover is planned to be launched not earlier than 2028. MicrOmega-IR will analyse in situ the powder material derived from crushed samples collected by the rover's core drill.[3][4]

Development

The MicrOmega mnemonic is derived from its French name Micro observatoire pour la mineralogie, l'eau, les glaces et l'activité;[1] IR stands for infrared. It was developed by France's Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale at the CNRS. France has also flown MicrOmega on other missions such as the 2011 Fobos-Grunt and the Hayabusa2 MASCOT mobile lander currently exploring asteroid Ryugu.[5] France is also developing a variant called MacrOmega Near-IR Spectrometer for the Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) lander, a Japanese sample-return mission to Mars' moon Phobos.[6]

The Principal Investigator of the MicrOmega-IR for the Rosalind Franklin rover is Jean-Pierre Bibring, a French astronomer and planetary scientist at the Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale. Co-PIs are astrobiologists Frances Westall and Nicolas Thomas.[7]

MicrOmega was developed by a consortium including:[8]

• IAS (Orsay, France)
• LESIA (Meudon, France)
• CBM (Orléans, France)
• University Of Bern (Bern, Switzerland)
• Russian Space Research Institute (IKI) (Moscow, Russia)

Overview

MicrOmega-IR	Parameter/units [9]
Type	Infrared hyperspectral microscope
Manufacturer	Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, of the CNRS
Spectral range	0.9–4 μm [10]
Spectral sampling	20/cm from 0.95 μm to 3.65 μm
Imaging resolution	20  μm^2/pixel
Field of view	5 × 5  mm^2
Mass	≈ 2 kilograms (4.4 lb)

MicrOmega-IR is a visible and infrared hyperspectral microscope that is designed to characterize the texture and composition of crushed samples presented to the instrument.[9] Its objective is to study mineral grain assemblages in detail to try to unravel their geological origin, structure and composition, including potential organics.[9] These data will be vital for interpreting past and present geological processes and environments on Mars. Because MicrOmega-IR is an imaging instrument, it can also be used to identify grains that are particularly interesting, and assign them as targets for Raman and MOMA observations.[9]

It is composed of 2 microscopes: MicrOmega/VIS has a spatial sampling of approximately 4 μm, working in 4 colors in the visible range. The other one is the MicrOmega/NIR hyperspectral microscope working in the spectral range 0.95 μm - 3.65 μm with a spatial sampling of 20 μm per pixel.[10] Its main supporting components include:[11]

• A monochromator based on an Acousto-optic modulator illumination system.
• Infrared magnification optics.
• Infrared focal plane.
• The thermal control system.
• The sample container.

The IR instrument uses a HgCdTe (Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride) matrix detector, the Sofradir Mars SW 320 x 256 pixels.[12]

Examples of materials for identification, if present:[13]

• pyroxene
• olivine
• ferric oxides
• hydrated phyllosilicates
• sulfates
• carbonates
• ices
• organics (organic as in organic chemistry)

See also

• Astrobiology
• Life on Mars
• Mars Multispectral Imager for Subsurface Studies (Another ExoMars drill-related instrument)

References

1. Vago, Jorge L.; et al. (July 2017). "Habitability on Early Mars and the Search for Biosignatures with the ExoMars Rover". Astrobiology. 17 (6–7): 471–510. Bibcode:2017AsBio..17..471V. doi:10.1089/ast.2016.1533. PMC 5685153. PMID 31067287.
2. Howell, Elizabeth (July 24, 2018). "ExoMars: Searching for Life on Mars". Space.com. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
3. Vago, Jorge; Witasse, Olivier; Baglioni, Pietro; Haldemann, Albert; Gianfiglio, Giacinto; et al. (August 2013). "ExoMars: ESA's Next Step in Mars Exploration" (PDF). Bulletin (155). European Space Agency: 12–23.
4. Korablev, Oleg I.; et al. (July 2017). "Infrared Spectrometer for ExoMars: A Mast-Mounted Instrument for the Rover" (PDF). Astrobiology. 17 (6–7): 542–564. Bibcode:2017AsBio..17..542K. doi:10.1089/ast.2016.1543. PMID 28731817.
5. MicroMega Instrument for MASCOT. CNES, France. August 26, 2016. Accessed: 21 July 2018.
6. Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) Mission Overview. (PDF). JAXA. 10 April 2017.
7. The ExoMars Rover Instrument Suite - MicrOmega. European Space Agency. Published: 25 August 2017.
8. Vaitua, Leroi; Bibring, Jean-Pierre; Berthé, Michel (2017-11-21). "MicrOmega IR: a new infrared hyperspectral imaging microscope or in situ analysis". International Conference on Space Optics — ICSO 2008. Vol. 10566. p. 50. doi:10.1117/12.2308234. ISBN 9781510616219. S2CID 73677729.
9. The MicrOmega Investigation Onboard ExoMars. Jean-Pierre Bibring, Vincent Hamm, Cédric Pilorget, Jorge L. Vago, and the MicrOmega Team. Astrobiology, Vol. 17, No. 6-7. 1 July 2017. doi:10.1089/ast.2016.1642.
10. Leroi, Vaitua; Bibring, Jean-Pierre; Berthe, Michel (2009). "Micromega/IR: Design and status of a near-infrared spectral microscope for in situ analysis of Mars samples". Planetary and Space Science. 57 (8–9): 1068–1075. Bibcode:2009P&SS...57.1068L. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2008.12.014.
11. MicrOmega Instrument Prototype. European Space Agency. 12 October 2015.
12. Vaitua, Leroi; Bibring, Jean-Pierre; Berthé, Michel (2017-11-21). "MicrOmega IR: a new infrared hyperspectral imaging microscope or in situ analysis". International Conference on Space Optics — ICSO 2008. Vol. 10566. p. 50. doi:10.1117/12.2308234. ISBN 9781510616219. S2CID 73677729.
13. Leroi, Vaitua; Bibring, Jean-Pierre; Berthe, Michel (July 2009). "Micromega/IR: Design and status of a near-infrared spectral microscope for in situ analysis of Mars samples". Planetary and Space Science. 57 (8–9): 1068–1075. Bibcode:2009P&SS...57.1068L. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2008.12.014. ISSN 0032-0633.