Activity 14

Introduction

To understand the operation of the analysis, you should have already read the Reading on X-rays, Earth, Moon and Mars. The principle of PIXE is discussed in the Reading

Welcome to Mars!

The following images are all rather large, and will take a while to load, especially if you are using a modem. However, they are well worth the wait! If you know how to save the images you have loaded with your browser, you might well save them on your hard disk. You will probably be wanting to show these impressive images to your friends.

• First, take a glorious panoramic view of Mars. (Use your browser's scroll bars to change your point of view.)

• Now, watch the rover deploying the APXS against one of the Martian rocks.

• Here, the rover is seen analyzing the Martian soil. Can you see the APXS being deployed from the back of the rover?

• There is a lot more about the Mars Pathfinder at the NASA web site devoted to this project. You are bound to find it interesting, but don't get distracted, there is work to be done!

Go on to the PIXE Reading