Design, Function, and Implementation of China's First LIBS Instrument (MarSCoDe) on the Zhurong Mars Rover

MarSCoDe (Mars Surface Composition Detector) is China's first instrument for Mars material analysis, which accompanies the Zhurong Mars rover landing on Utopia Planitia and will detect interested Martian rock and soil targets based on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technique. MarSCoDe consists of a bioxial pointing mirror (BPM), an optical head, a calibration targets assembly (CTA), a spectrometer module (SM) and a payload controller. The MarSCoDe is scheduled to analyze twelve major elements. To achieve accurate quantitative analysis and classification of Mars targets, a PSO (particle swarm optimization)-based calibration scheme is adopted to correct the spectral shift due to the temperature change on Mars, and then a convolutional neural network (CNN) was proposed to implement the analysis of elements. Finally, the mineral types of Martian objects will be identified according to the alkali silica ratio. The detection results of the MarSCoDe will provide further information about the evolution of Mars.

Automated summary

MarSCoDe is China's first instrument for Mars material analysis, which will detect interested Martian rock and soil targets using the LIBS technique. With a calibration scheme based on PSO and a CNN for element analysis, Mars targets can be accurately quantitatively analyzed and classified, and the mineral types of Martian objects can be identified based on the alkali silica ratio. The detection results will provide further information about the evolution of Mars.