The Scientists Behind the
Science on Mars
Meet the spectroscopists working on the NASA
rover missions to Mars.
MARS MISSION 2020
MARS & PERSEVERANCE
MARS emanates a sense of adventure and promise, capturing the imagination and interest of scientists and explorers from all over the world. Although no human has ever set foot on this red planet, it has been a destination successfully reached by human-engineered spacecrafts and rovers. The latest rover by NASA is the SUV-sized Perseverance, which touched down on Mar’s Jezero Crater on February 18th, 2021. Its mission: analyze rocks and soil on Mars and collect samples that will one day be brought back to Earth. It is equipped with upgraded cameras and sophisticated instrumentation including several spectrometers:
Here, we bring to you the stories of some of the scientists involved with the spectrometers on the Perseverance mission.
APPLIED SPECTROSCOPY
LEARN HOW SPECTROSCOPY
IS WORKING ON MARS
LIAISON BETWEEN ENGINEERING TEAMS AT JPL & SCIENTISTS AROUND THE WORLD
Dr. Vivian Z. Sun
Systems Engineer, Co-Campaign Science Lead
Dr. Sun helps put together the rover’s daily plans and acts as a liaison between the engineering team at JPL and science teams from around the world.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR OF SUPERCAM
Dr. Roger Wiens
Leader of the SuperCam Team
Roger Wiens is the Principal Investigator of both ChemCam on the Curiosity rover and SuperCam on the Perseverance rover.
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH COLLABORATOR & SPDL ON SUPERCAM TEAM
Dr. S. Michael Angel
Carolina Trustee Professor
Professor Angel published the first practical remote Raman spectroscopy paper using a small telescope and a charge-coupled device (CCD) detector.
ABOUT THIS WEBSITE
SOCIETY FOR APPLIED SPECTROSCOPY
The Society for Applied Spectroscopy knows that the science on Mars is more than just groundbreaking instruments, it’s the scientists behind those instruments. We’re fulfilling our mission to advance spectroscopy by bringing you in-depth stories humanizing the spectroscopists with instruments on Mars.
SPECTROSCOPY BY THE NUMBERS
4
SPECTROSCOPY CORE TEAMS
2
LASERS
405
PERSEVERANCE TEAM MEMBERS
7
SPECTROMETERS & SCIENTIFIC CAMERAS
JOIN THE TEAM
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Connect with other spectroscopists, discover the latest advances in spectroscopy, develop your career and share your own skills and challenges.
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