This diagram depicts the sensor head of the Planetary Instrument for X-RAY Lithochemistry, or PIXL, which has been selected as one of seven investigations for the payload of NASA's Mars 2020 rover mission. PIXL is an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer that will also contain an imager with high resolution to determine the fine-scale elemental composition of Martian surface materials.
Mars 2020 is a mission concept that NASA announced in late 2012 to re-use the basic engineering of Mars Science Laboratory to send a different rover to Mars, with new objectives and instruments, launching in 2020.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages NASA's Mars Exploration Program for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
Name | Value | Additional Values |
---|---|---|
Target | Mars | |
System | ||
Target Type | Planet | |
Mission | Mars 2020 | Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) |
Instrument Host | Curiosity Rover | |
Host Type | Rover | |
Instrument | Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithography (PIXL) | |
Detector | ||
Extra Keywords | Color | |
Acquisition Date | ||
Release Date | 2014-07-31 | |
Date in Caption | ||
Image Credit | NASA/JPL-Caltech | |
Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA18406 | |
Identifier | PIA18406 |