Calibration of the MESSENGER X-Ray Spectrometer

•The MESSENGER XRS measured ~1–10 keV X-rays from the surface of Mercury.•Surface abundances of Mg, Al, Si, S, Ca, Ti, and Fe were obtained.•Calibration measurements are presented for the reduction and analysis of these data. The X-Ray Spectrometer (XRS) that flew on the MESSENGER spacecraft measure...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Planetary and space science 2016-03, Vol.122, p.13-25
Main Authors: Starr, Richard D., Schlemm II, Charles E., Ho, George C., Nittler, Larry R., Gold, Robert E., Solomon, Sean C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aluminum
Calibration
Mercury
MESSENGER
MESSENGER Mission
Orbitals
Reduction
Spectrometers
Statistics
X-rays
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Summary:•The MESSENGER XRS measured ~1–10 keV X-rays from the surface of Mercury.•Surface abundances of Mg, Al, Si, S, Ca, Ti, and Fe were obtained.•Calibration measurements are presented for the reduction and analysis of these data. The X-Ray Spectrometer (XRS) that flew on the MESSENGER spacecraft measured X-rays from the surface of Mercury in the energy range ~1–10keV. Detection of characteristic Kα-line emissions from Mg, Al, Si, S, Ca, Ti, and Fe yielded the surface abundances of these geologically important elements. Spatial resolution as fine as ~40km (across track) was possible at periapsis for those elements for which counting statistics were not a limiting factor. Four years of orbital observations have made it possible to generate from XRS spectra detailed elemental composition maps that cover a majority of Mercury׳s surface. Converting measurements to compositions requires a thorough understanding of the XRS instrument capabilities. The ground and flight calibration measurements presented here are necessary for the reduction and analysis of the X-ray data from the MESSENGER mission.
ISSN:0032-0633
1873-5088
DOI:10.1016/j.pss.2016.01.003