MEGANE investigations of Phobos and the Small Body Mapping Tool

• Published in: Earth, planets, and space Vol. 73; no. 1; p. 217
• Main Authors: Chabot, Nancy L., Peplowski, Patrick N., Ernst, Carolyn M., Nair, Hari, Lucks, Michael, Steele, R. Josh, Lawrence, David J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 13.12.2021; Springer; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: 7. Planetary science; Chemical composition; Datasets; Discovery and exploration; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Gamma rays; Gamma-ray spectroscopy; Geology; Geophysics/Geodesy; Mapping; Mars; Mars missions; Mars satellites; Martian moons; Martian Moons eXploration: The scientific investigations of Mars and its moons; Measurement; MEGANE; MMX; Moon; Natural history; Neutron spectroscopy; Observations; Outer space; Phobos; Phobos (Satellite); Spacecraft; Spectroscopy; Spectrum analysis; United States; MMX; Gamma-ray spectroscopy; MEGANE; Martian moons; Neutron spectroscopy; Phobos
• ISSN: 1343-8832; 1880-5981; 1880-5981
• DOI: 10.1186/s40623-021-01509-x

The MEGANE instrument onboard the MMX mission will acquire gamma-ray and neutron spectroscopy data of Phobos to determine the elemental composition of the martian moon and provide key constraints on its origin. To produce accurate compositional results, the irregular shape of Phobos and its proximity to Mars must be taken into account during the analysis of MEGANE data. The MEGANE team is adapting the Small Body Mapping Tool (SBMT) to handle gamma-ray and neutron spectroscopy investigations, building on the demonstrated record of success of the SBMT being applied to scientific investigations on other spacecraft missions of irregularly shaped bodies. This is the first application of the SBMT to a gamma-ray and neutron spectroscopy dataset, and the native, three-dimensional foundation of the SBMT is well suited to MEGANE’s needs. In addition, the SBMT will enable comparisons between the MEGANE datasets and other datasets of the martian moons, including data from previous spacecraft missions and MMX’s multi-instrument suite.