U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Measuring the Elemental Composition of Phobos: The Mars-moon Exploration with GAmma rays and NEutrons (MEGANE) Investigation for the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) Mission
The Mars-moon Exploration with GAmma rays and NEutrons (MEGANE) investigation will use gamma-ray and neutron spectroscopy to measure the elemental composition of Mars' moon Phobos. MEGANE is part of the Japanese Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission that will make comprehensive remote sensing measurements of both of Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos. MMX will also return to Earth regolith samples of Phobos. The science goals of the MEGANE investigation mirror those of the MMX mission. MEGANE will use elemental composition measurements to determine if Phobos is a captured asteroid or the end result of a giant impact event on Mars, study Phobos surface processes, provide reconnaissance to support the sample site selection, and supply compositional context for the returned samples. To accomplish its measurements, MEGANE will use a high-purity Ge gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS), and a neutron spectrometer (NS) that consists of two 3He gas proportional neutron sensors. The GRS derives heritage from similar instruments from NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging mission and the Psyche mission that is currently in development; the NS is based on similar instruments used for NASA's Lunar Prospector and Psyche missions.
Lawrence, David J., et al. "Measuring the Elemental Composition of Phobos: The Mars-moon Exploration with GAmma rays and NEutrons (MEGANE) Investigation for the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) Mission." Earth and Space Science, vol. 6, no. 12, Nov. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019ea000811
Lawrence, David J., Peplowski, Patrick N., Beck, Andrew W., Burks, Morgan T., Chabot, Nancy L., Cully, Michael J., Elphic, Richard C., Ernst, Carolyn M., Fix, Samuel, Goldsten, John O., Hoffer, Erin M., Kusano, Hiroki, Murchie, Scott L., Schratz, Brian C., Usui, Tomohiro, & Yokley, Zachary W. (2019). Measuring the Elemental Composition of Phobos: The Mars-moon Exploration with GAmma rays and NEutrons (MEGANE) Investigation for the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) Mission. Earth and Space Science, 6(12). https://doi.org/10.1029/2019ea000811
Lawrence, David J., Peplowski, Patrick N., Beck, Andrew W., et al., "Measuring the Elemental Composition of Phobos: The Mars-moon Exploration with GAmma rays and NEutrons (MEGANE) Investigation for the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) Mission," Earth and Space Science 6, no. 12 (2019), https://doi.org/10.1029/2019ea000811
@article{osti_1863675,
author = {Lawrence, David J. and Peplowski, Patrick N. and Beck, Andrew W. and Burks, Morgan T. and Chabot, Nancy L. and Cully, Michael J. and Elphic, Richard C. and Ernst, Carolyn M. and Fix, Samuel and Goldsten, John O. and others},
title = {Measuring the Elemental Composition of Phobos: The Mars-moon Exploration with GAmma rays and NEutrons (MEGANE) Investigation for the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) Mission},
annote = {The Mars-moon Exploration with GAmma rays and NEutrons (MEGANE) investigation will use gamma-ray and neutron spectroscopy to measure the elemental composition of Mars' moon Phobos. MEGANE is part of the Japanese Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission that will make comprehensive remote sensing measurements of both of Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos. MMX will also return to Earth regolith samples of Phobos. The science goals of the MEGANE investigation mirror those of the MMX mission. MEGANE will use elemental composition measurements to determine if Phobos is a captured asteroid or the end result of a giant impact event on Mars, study Phobos surface processes, provide reconnaissance to support the sample site selection, and supply compositional context for the returned samples. To accomplish its measurements, MEGANE will use a high-purity Ge gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS), and a neutron spectrometer (NS) that consists of two 3He gas proportional neutron sensors. The GRS derives heritage from similar instruments from NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging mission and the Psyche mission that is currently in development; the NS is based on similar instruments used for NASA's Lunar Prospector and Psyche missions.},
doi = {10.1029/2019ea000811},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1863675},
journal = {Earth and Space Science},
issn = {ISSN 2333-5084},
number = {12},
volume = {6},
place = {United States},
publisher = {Wiley, American Geophysical Union},
year = {2019},
month = {11}}
Peplowski, Patrick N.; Burks, Morgan; Goldsten, John O.
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 942https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2019.162409
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 325, Issue 1587https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.1988.0066