PIA18406: X-Ray Instrument for Mars 2020 Rover is PIXL


X-Ray Instrument for Mars 2020 Rover is PIXL

Caption:

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.

Background Info:

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.

Cataloging Keywords:

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