Background lines in the Mars Odyssey 2001 gamma-ray detector

Larry G. Evans; William V. Boynton; Robert C. Reedy; Richard D. Starr; Jacob I. Trombka

doi:10.1117/12.455976

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10 January 2003 Background lines in the Mars Odyssey 2001 gamma-ray detector

Larry G. Evans, William V. Boynton, Robert C. Reedy, Richard D. Starr, Jacob I. Trombka

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Proceedings Volume 4784, X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Detectors and Applications IV; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.455976
Event: International Symposium on Optical Science and Technology, 2002, Seattle, WA, United States

Abstract

The Mars Odyssey spacecraft was launched on 7 April 2001 and went into orbit around Mars on 24 October 2001. One of the primary scientific instruments carried on the spacecraft is a germanium gamma-ray spectrometer that will measure the elemental composition of Mars. Cruise measurements taken during July and August 2001 are used to characterize the energy resolution of the detector and to measure and identify the background gamma rays. These gamma rays originate in the detector, in material surrounding the detector, and from the spacecraft. More than 110 gamma rays were observed in the background spectrum. The sources of most of these gamma rays were tentatively identified. Understanding the sources of the background gamma rays is important for the future when using the orbital data to determine the composition of Mars.

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Larry G. Evans, William V. Boynton, Robert C. Reedy, Richard D. Starr, and Jacob I. Trombka "Background lines in the Mars Odyssey 2001 gamma-ray detector", Proc. SPIE 4784, X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Detectors and Applications IV, (10 January 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.455976

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