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MicrOmega-IR
Operator	European Space Agency
Manufacturer	Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, of the CNRS
Instrument type	Infrared hyperspectral microscope
Function	Subsurface composition
Mission duration	≥ 7 months
Website	ExoMars Rover Instrument Suite
Properties
Mass	≈2 kg
Host spacecraft
Spacecraft	Rosalind Franklin rover
Operator	European Space Agency
Launch date	NET 2028

MicrOmega-IR is an infrared hyperspectral microscope that is part of the science payload on board the European Rosalind Franklin rover,^[2] tasked to search for biosignatures on Mars. The rover is planned to be launched not earlier than 2028. MicrOmega-IR will analyse in situ the powder material derived from crushed samples collected by the rover's core drill.^[3]^[4]

Development

The MicrOmega mnemonic is derived from its French name Micro observatoire pour la mineralogie, l'eau, les glaces et l'activité;^[1] IR stands for infrared. It was developed by France's Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale at the CNRS. France has also flown MicrOmega on other missions such as the 2011 Fobos-Grunt and the Hayabusa2 MASCOT mobile lander currently exploring asteroid Ryugu.^[5] France is also developing a variant called MacrOmega Near-IR Spectrometer for the Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) lander, a Japanese sample-return mission to Mars' moon Phobos.^[6]

The Principal Investigator of the MicrOmega-IR for the Rosalind Franklin rover is Jean-Pierre Bibring, a French astronomer and planetary scientist at the Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale. Co-PIs are astrobiologists Frances Westall and Nicolas Thomas.^[7]

MicrOmega was developed by a consortium including:^[8]

IAS (Orsay, France)
LESIA (Meudon, France)
CBM (Orléans, France)
University Of Bern (Bern, Switzerland)
Russian Space Research Institute (IKI) (Moscow, Russia)

Overview

MicrOmega-IR	Parameter/units ^[9]
Type	Infrared hyperspectral microscope
Manufacturer	Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, of the CNRS
Spectral range	0.9–4 μm ^[10]
Spectral sampling	20/cm from 0.95 μm to 3.65 μm
Imaging resolution	20 μm²/pixel
Field of view	5 × 5 mm²
Mass	≈ 2 kilograms (4.4 lb)

MicrOmega-IR is a visible and infrared hyperspectral microscope that is designed to characterize the texture and composition of crushed samples presented to the instrument.^[9] Its objective is to study mineral grain assemblages in detail to try to unravel their geological origin, structure and composition, including potential organics.^[9] These data will be vital for interpreting past and present geological processes and environments on Mars. Because MicrOmega-IR is an imaging instrument, it can also be used to identify grains that are particularly interesting, and assign them as targets for Raman and MOMA observations.^[9]

It is composed of 2 microscopes: MicrOmega/VIS has a spatial sampling of approximately 4 μm, working in 4 colors in the visible range. The other one is the MicrOmega/NIR hyperspectral microscope working in the spectral range 0.95 μm - 3.65 μm with a spatial sampling of 20 μm per pixel.^[10] Its main supporting components include:^[11]

A monochromator based on an Acousto-optic modulator illumination system.
Infrared magnification optics.
Infrared focal plane.
The thermal control system.
The sample container.

The IR instrument uses a HgCdTe (Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride) matrix detector, the Sofradir Mars SW 320 x 256 pixels.^[12]

Examples of materials for identification, if present:^[13]

pyroxene
olivine
ferric oxides
hydrated phyllosilicates
sulfates
carbonates
ices
organics (organic as in organic chemistry)

References

^ ^a ^b Vago, Jorge L.; et al. (July 2017). "Habitability on Early Mars and the Search for Biosignatures with the ExoMars Rover". Astrobiology. 17 (6–7): 471–510. Bibcode:2017AsBio..17..471V. doi:10.1089/ast.2016.1533. PMC 5685153. PMID 31067287.
^ Howell, Elizabeth (July 24, 2018). "ExoMars: Searching for Life on Mars". Space.com. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
^ Vago, Jorge; Witasse, Olivier; Baglioni, Pietro; Haldemann, Albert; Gianfiglio, Giacinto; et al. (August 2013). "ExoMars: ESA's Next Step in Mars Exploration" (PDF). Bulletin (155). European Space Agency: 12–23.
^ Korablev, Oleg I.; et al. (July 2017). "Infrared Spectrometer for ExoMars: A Mast-Mounted Instrument for the Rover" (PDF). Astrobiology. 17 (6–7): 542–564. Bibcode:2017AsBio..17..542K. doi:10.1089/ast.2016.1543. PMID 28731817.
^ MicroMega Instrument for MASCOT. CNES, France. August 26, 2016. Accessed: 21 July 2018.
^ Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) Mission Overview. (PDF). JAXA. 10 April 2017.
^ The ExoMars Rover Instrument Suite - MicrOmega. European Space Agency. Published: 25 August 2017.
^ Vaitua, Leroi; Bibring, Jean-Pierre; Berthé, Michel (2017-11-21). "MicrOmega IR: a new infrared hyperspectral imaging microscope or in situ analysis". International Conference on Space Optics — ICSO 2008. Vol. 10566. p. 50. doi:10.1117/12.2308234. ISBN 9781510616219. S2CID 73677729.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d The MicrOmega Investigation Onboard ExoMars. Jean-Pierre Bibring, Vincent Hamm, Cédric Pilorget, Jorge L. Vago, and the MicrOmega Team. Astrobiology, Vol. 17, No. 6-7. 1 July 2017. doi:10.1089/ast.2016.1642.
^ ^a ^b Leroi, Vaitua; Bibring, Jean-Pierre; Berthe, Michel (2009). "Micromega/IR: Design and status of a near-infrared spectral microscope for in situ analysis of Mars samples". Planetary and Space Science. 57 (8–9): 1068–1075. Bibcode:2009P&SS...57.1068L. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2008.12.014.
^ MicrOmega Instrument Prototype. European Space Agency. 12 October 2015.
^ Vaitua, Leroi; Bibring, Jean-Pierre; Berthé, Michel (2017-11-21). "MicrOmega IR: a new infrared hyperspectral imaging microscope or in situ analysis". International Conference on Space Optics — ICSO 2008. Vol. 10566. p. 50. doi:10.1117/12.2308234. ISBN 9781510616219. S2CID 73677729.
^ Leroi, Vaitua; Bibring, Jean-Pierre; Berthe, Michel (July 2009). "Micromega/IR: Design and status of a near-infrared spectral microscope for in situ analysis of Mars samples". Planetary and Space Science. 57 (8–9): 1068–1075. Bibcode:2009P&SS...57.1068L. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2008.12.014. ISSN 0032-0633.