Instruments
The proposed baseline payload for the Marco Polo mission consists of a suite of remote-sensing instruments that are mounted on the mother spacecraft for global observations of the target asteroid. A close-up imager underneath the spacecraft body images the asteroid's surface before and after sampling.
The scientific instrumentation supports the selection of the sampling site both in terms of scientific interest and safety (for example, visual inspection of ricks, craters, slopes). It also provides additional scientific context data which could not be retrieved from the returned sample. That includes a complete mineralogical and elevation map of the surface in various wavelengths, description of the exosphere and interior of the asteroid.
Instrument |
Observation |
| Narrow/wide angle camera |
Multispectral imaging |
| Visible/near infrared spectrometer |
Chemical composition and mineralogy |
| Mid-infrared spectrometer |
Thermophysical properties of surface |
| Laser altimeter |
Mapping of surface topography |
| Radio science experiment |
Determination of mass and structure |
| Neutral Particle analyser |
Analysis of neutral atoms |
| Close-up imager |
Images of regolith |
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Schematic design of a possible camera. Credit: MPI, Germany |
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Last Update: 23 Dec 2009
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