What crucial device on a lander determines elemental makeup by heating samples?
Answer
Instrument designed for in situ chemical analysis
Landers are focused on surface and near-surface analysis to understand a world's geology and environment thoroughly. A particularly crucial component for determining the fundamental chemical makeup of rocks and soil is the instrument dedicated to in situ chemical analysis. This typically involves sophisticated mechanisms, such as onboard ovens, which heat collected samples to high temperatures, allowing the resulting released gases or residues to be analyzed by spectrometers to determine the precise elemental composition.
Related Questions
What replaces the eyepiece for higher-quality imaging in amateur telescopes?Which feature do space-based observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope bypass?What advantage does a small sensor orbiting Mars have over the largest Earth-bound scopes?What characteristic defines a Flyby mission like Mariner or Voyager during data acquisition?What specialized devices do Orbiters carry for sustained, long-term survey of a planet's globe?What crucial device on a lander determines elemental makeup by heating samples?What advanced instrument often found on mobile laboratories like rovers determines elemental composition precisely?Which remote sensing technology uses laser pulses to create precise three-dimensional topographic maps?What measurement do specialized Mass Spectrometers provide when chemically breaking down a sample?Why must onboard devices manage power distribution without real-time input from Earth controllers?According to the device category table, what is the primary data type collected by a Seismometer?