| TES Fact Sheet
The Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) was a special instrument on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. Its main tasks were to monitor the atmosphere, map rock mineralogies, and detect heat. These observations, made for nearly a decade, yielded much information on the physical and thermal properties of the Martian environment and surface.
- TES was a multi-spectral interferometer and bolometer
- Spectrometer Channels:
cover 6 to 50 microns (1700 to 200 cm-1), available at either 5 or 10 cm-1 spectral sampling
- Two Bolometer Channels:
5.5-100 microns and 0.3-2.7 microns
- Spatial Resolution:
3 kilometers per pixel
- Chief Science Goals:
- Determine the composition and distribution of surface materials
- Determine the composition, particle size, and spatial and temporal distribution of suspended dust
- Determine the location, temperature, height, and water abundance of H2O clouds
- Determine the composition, seasonal behavior, total energy balance, and physical properites of the polar caps
- Determine the particle size distribution of rocks and fine particles on the surface
- Principal Investigator:
Philip Christensen, Arizona State University
- More details on TES:
Christensen, P.R., et al. (1992) Thermal Emission Spectrometer Experiment: Mars Observer Mission, Journal of Geophysical Research, 97, 7719-7734.
Mars Odyssey Mission Fact Sheet
- Launched:
November 7, 1996, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida
- Cruise to Mars:
about 310 days (10 months)
- Mars arrival:
September 12, 1997
- Aerobraking & Science Phase Data Collection:
completed February 1999
- Science mapping:
began February 28, 1999
- Contact lost:
November 2, 2006
- Spacecraft dimensions:
4 x 4 x 6 feet (1.2 x 1.2 x 1.8 meters)
40 feet (12 meters) across with fully deployed solar panels
Spacecraft mass (at Mars): 1,691 pounds (767 kilograms)
- Main instruments:
- Mars Global Surveyor site at Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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