Deuterated PET: The new verification target of the Raman spectrometer for the MMX mission to explore Phobos

JAXA's upcoming MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission will deliver a small rover to Phobos, to explore its surface complementary to the MMX orbiter and the sample return lander. On board this rover is a Raman spectrometer, the RAX Instrument (RAman Spectrometer for MMX), a payload to science. RAX has been designed for being capable to analyze the mineral composition of the Phobos' surface, in order to help reveal the nature and distribution of materials on the surface and ultimately the origin and evolution of the moon. Attached to MMX spacecraft, with direct view from the RAX instrument, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) target will be placed for on-ground and during cruise, spectral instrument performances verification, before the MMX rover is released and dropped to the Phobos surface for developing its scientific tasks. A novel deuterated PET material was proposed as verification target (VT) to check the spectral instrument performances. INTA-CAB developed, manufactured and qualified for the MMX-RAX space mission, 13 mm diameter and 2-mm thick pellets of this material, which incorporates two relevant improvement characteristics: reduction in fluorescence and additional Raman bands with regard to ordinary PET used with this purpose. The material was selected as RAX VT and delivered to DLR for performance tests and later integration into the MMX rover together with the RAX flight model. The RAX VT will be critical to check the instrument performances during the several months cruise phase after launch and just before its landing on Phobos surface. This paper reports the development and characterization of the deuterated PET.

Automated summary

JAXA's MMX mission plans to send a small rover called MMX rover to explore the surface of Phobos with the help of the RAX instrument. The RAX instrument, a Raman spectrometer, is designed to analyze the mineral composition of Phobos' surface. A deuterated PET material was developed and tested as a verification target for the RAX instrument's performance.