The Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA) is a scientific instrument aboard the ''Phoenix'' spacecraft, a Mars lander which landed and operated on the planet

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

in 2008. TEGA's design is based on experience gained from the failed

Mars Polar Lander The Mars Polar Lander, also known as the Mars Surveyor '98 Lander, was a 290-kilogram uncrewed spacecraft lander launched by NASA on January 3, 1999, to study the soil and climate of Planum Australe, a region near the south pole on Mars. It fo ...

. Soil samples taken from the

Martian Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. Trends in the planet's portrayal have largely been influenced by advances in planetary science. It became the most popular celes ...

surface by the robot arm are eventually delivered to the TEGA, where they are heated in an oven to about 1,000 °C. This heat causes the volatile compounds to be given off as gases which are sent to a

mass spectrometer Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a '' mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is us ...

for analysis. This spectrometer is adjusted to measure particularly the isotope ratios for

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

, and heavier gases. Detection values are as low as 10 parts per billion. The Phoenix TEGA has 8 ovens, which are enough for 8 samples. Major components: *

Differential Scanning Calorimeter Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is a thermoanalytical technique in which the difference in the amount of heat required to increase the temperature of a sample and reference is measured as a function of temperature. Both the sample and re ...

*Mass Spectrometer The soil was delivered to TEGA by a robotic arm with a scoop.

References

External links

''Phoenix'' site description of TEGA

TEGA archives software

Mars Scout Program Spacecraft instruments {{US-spacecraft-stub

See also

References

External links