Experience of DAN investigation of subsurface water on Mars onboard the rover Curiosity for the future ADRON-RM experiment on the ExoMars rover

     Remote neutron sensing onboard martian rovers is an advanced technique in planetary science. Such measurements provide investigations on hydrogen abundances and elements with high thermal neutron absorption cross sections down to ~60 cm of subsurface [1]. The presence of hydrogen (mostly water/ice) in subsurface significantly influences the neutron leakage spectrum due moderation and thermalization through collisions with hydrogen nuclei. As a result, the variations of neutron flux detected onboard in different energy bands correlate with subsurface hydrogen/water abundance.

     Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) is the first neutron spectrometer installed on the NASA’s rover [2]. More than 7 years, NASA rover is successfully traversing across Mars surface exploring Gale crater. Adron-RM is the next generation neutron spectrometer, which is a part of the ExoMars 2022 rover payload [3].

     This work will present scientific potential of remote neutron technique to distinguish local features in martian subsurface, based on DAN findings. In addition, we will provide Adron-RM measurement schematic and scientific potential on investigations in the area of the ExoMars 2022 landing site.

     References

[1] Nikiforov, S. Y., et al., (2020). Assessment of water content in martian subsurface along the traverse of the Curiosity rover based on passive measurements of the DAN instrument. Icarus, 346, 113818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2020.113818

[2] Mitrofanov, I. G., et al., (2012). Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) experiment onboard NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory. Space Science Reviews, 170(1–4), 559–582. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-012-9924-y

[3] Mitrofanov, I. G., et al., (2017). The ADRON-RM Instrument Onboard the ExoMars Rover. Astrobiology, 17(6–7), 585–594. https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2016.1566