DESCRIPTION |
Instrument Overview
===================
The MECA instrument suite is a component of the Mars '07 Phoenix
investigation, which will also return data from a Thermal and
Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA), three cameras, and a meteorology
suite (MET). Phoenix is motivated by the goals of (1) studying the
history of water in all its phases, and (2) searching for
habitable zones. Samples of surface and subsurface soil and ice
will be delivered to MECA and TEGA from a trench excavated by a
Robot Arm (RA), while MECA's Thermal and Electrical Conductivity
Probe (TECP) will be deployed in soil and air by the Robot Arm.
The Robot Arm Camera (RAC) will document the morphology of the
trench walls, while the Surface Stereo Imager (SSI) and the Mars
Descent Imager (MARDI) establish a geological context. Throughout
the mission, MET will monitor polar weather and local water
transport.
The MECA instrument suite is composed of an Atomic Force
Microscope (AFM), a Thermal Electrical Conductivity Probe (TECP)
and a Wet Chemistry Laboratory (WCL). This data set description
catalog file will describe the WCL. A complete description of the
WCL can be found in [KOUNAVESETAL2008].
Scientific Objectives
=====================
As part of the overall Phoenix science goals, the specific
objective of the WCL is to characterize the aqueous
chemical properties of soil samples as delivered by the Lander's
robotic arm from the surface and at least two depths. To fulfill
this goal, each WCL cell will determine:
(1) hydrogen ion activity (pH),
(2) redox potential (Eh/ORP),
(3) solution electrical conductivity (EC),
(4) concentration of selected soluble inorganic ionic
species, and
(5) possible redox couples and/or electrochemically
mediated reactions.
Calibration
===========
Calibration of the WCL instrument is discussed in the WCL
Calibration Report, which can be found in the Calibration
folder of the MECA Non-imaging data archive.
Most WCL sensors will have three separate calibration steps
prior to their use on Mars. Each individual electrochemical
sensor was first calibrated prior to integration into the beaker
by laboratory measurement in several standard solutions using
commercial electronics. The second calibration was performed with
the same solutions after beaker integration, using flight-like
analog electronics and a laboratory digital controller. The
exceptions were the bromide and iodide sensors, which could not
be tested after integration without contaminating the chloride
sensor. The final two-point calibration will occur on Mars. In
general, the ion selective electrodes exhibit classic logarithmic
Nernstian behavior over the specified measurement range.
Error analysis indicated that the best results for calculating
unknown sample concentrations are obtained by using the average
slope obtained from all the preflight calibrations anchored at
the TS21 point.
Operational Considerations and Operational Modes
================================================
MECA's wet chemistry laboratory (WCL) comprises four single-use
modules, each consisting of a beaker assembly and an actuator
assembly. The modules mix soil samples with a leaching solution
in a pressure vessel for electrochemical analysis. The scientific
objective of the WCL is to determine the total pH, redox
properties, and concentration of the principal aqueously solvated
components of the acquired soil samples.
Detectors
=========
Chemical data is returned by 26 distinct sensors, some redundant,
lining the walls of each beaker. These measure: Temperature;
pH (3); conductivity; oxidation-reduction potential; the anions
chloride (2), bromide, and iodide; cations sodium, potassium,
calcium, magnesium; and barium, used in a sulfate titration. Also
included are electrodes for cyclic voltammetry, anodic stripping
voltammetry, and chronopotentiometry (3). Lithium electrodes (2)
are used as a reference relative to the known concentration of
lithium salts in the solution. Sensors for nitrate, ammonium,
dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide, which for various reasons
do not provide a quantitative measure of soil composition, are
used only for context. A heater is imbedded in the base of the
beaker to maintain water temperature during operation.
Each WCL actuator assembly (AA) includes a tank containing 26
ml of a calibration and leaching solution, a sample loading drawer
with a capacity of ~1.0 cm3, temperature and pressure sensors,
heaters, a stirring mechanism, and a device to dispense up to five
small crucibles into the solution. The AA is responsible for soil,
water, and solid reagent addition as well as stirring and two-zone
internal heating (tank and drawer). Telemetry returned by the AA
includes internal cell pressure, water storage tank and sampling
drawer temperatures, and certain limit switch positions.
Electronics
===========
Pre-amplifier circuitry for the electrochemical sensors is
embedded in the beaker walls. Analog to digital conversion
(12-bit) is performed on a heavily-multiplexed Analog Board which
interfaces to an FPGA on the primary MECA control and measurement
electronics (CME) board. The FPGA also generates waveforms for the
voltammetric and potentiometric sensors, performs temperature
control, and operates actuators. Also returned in telemetry is a
reading from an external temperature sensor located on the base of
the microscopy sample stage.
Operational Modes
=================
Each WCL experiment lasts two days (Sol A and Sol B), not
necessarily sequential. After an initial post-landing checkout,
preparation for a chemical experiment starts with melting the
frozen leaching/calibration solution in the storage tank and
delivering it to the beaker by actuating a puncture mechanism.
Sensors are calibrated in that solution, and then calibrated again
after addition of a crucible containing small quantities of
specific salts. The combined ion concentration from the initial
solution and from the crucible, less than 10-4 molar for most
ions, establishes the detection floor. The final step is to open
the sampling drawer and receive a sample from the robotic arm. The
total sample volume is estimated with an accuracy of 0.25 cc
(maximum 1 cc) from images acquired by the robot arm camera. For
the remainder of the day, the concentration of major anions and
cations are monitored as well as key indicators such as pH, redox
potential, conductivity, and cyclic voltammetry, stirring when
appropriate and maintaining a constant temperature of 5C. At the
end of the day the solution is allowed to freeze in the beaker.
A second day (Sol B) of measurement begins with thawing of the
solution in the beaker, determining the sensor baseline, and
adding an acid-containing crucible to lower the pH. Monitoring
continues as on the first day. The final activity is the
sequential addition of three crucibles of barium chloride. A
sulfate titration is performed by monitoring the barium and
chloride levels as the crucible contents slowly dissolve.
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REFERENCES |
Kounaves, S.P. M.H. Hecht, S.J. West, J.M. Morookian, S.M.M. Young, R. Quinn,
P. Grunthaner, X. Wen, M. Weilert, C. Cable, A. Fisher, K. Gospodinova, J.
Kapit, S. Stroble, P.-C. Hsu, B.C. Clark, D.W. Ming, and P. Smith, The 2007
Phoenix Mars Scout Lander MECA Wet Chemistry Laboratory, J. Geophys. Res., in
press, 2008.
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