Institutions
Here is the list of institutions that has been involved in the development, the operations, the data processing, the public outreach, and the science interpretation of the ChemCam experiment.
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a premier national security research institution. The people of Los Alamos continually work on advanced technologies to provide the United States with the best scientific and engineering solutions to many of the nation’s most crucial challenges. With approximately 10,000 employees, LANL is Located 35 miles northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on 36 square miles of DOE-owned property. It has more than 2,000 individual facilities, including 47 technical areas.
Visit at : www.lanl.gov
LANL is the PI institution. The laboratory has been developing the LIBS technique for nearly 30 years. It has designed, developed, integrated, and tested the instrument Body Unit. It has overseen the integration of the whole instrument and its delivery to JPL. It has the final responsibility for the accomplishment of the project.
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planetologie (IRAP)
The Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology (IRAP) is a new Mixed Research Unity (UMR 5277) of the CNRS and the University Paul Sabatier which results from the gathering of the old laboratories LATT, CESR, from part of the DTP and from a few researchers and teachers-researchers of the LMTG (about 300 people in total).
The scientific objectives of the IRAP are the study and the understanding of the Universe and its content : the Earth as a planet, its ionized environment, the sun and its planets, the stars and their planetary systems, the galaxies, the very first stars and the primeval Big Bang.
With technical employees specialized in the field of conception, construction, integration and operation of ground and space instruments and laboratory experiments leading to characterize physical process, this new UMR of the UPS backing on to the CNES is one of the main poles of the ground-space astrophysics in France.
Visit at: www.irap.omp.eu
IRAP is the deputy-PI institution. Jointly with the French Space Agency (CNES), the laboratory has been coordinating the development, fabrication, integration, tests, and delivery of the ChemCam Mast-Unit. He is now coordinating data processing and operations of the instrument, in partnership with many institutions across France and the US.
Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES)
Founded in 1961, the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) is the government agency responsible for shaping and implementing France’s space policy in Europe. Its task is to invent the space systems of the future, bring space technologies to maturity and guarantee France’s independent access to space. CNES is a pivotal player in Europe’s space program, and a major source of initiatives and proposals that aim to maintain France and Europe’s competitive edge. It conceives and executes space programs with its partners in the scientific community and industry, and is closely involved in many international cooperation programs—the key to any far-reaching space policy. The agency’s more-than 2,400-strong workforce constitutes an exceptional pool of talent, with some 1,800 engineers and executives, 35% of whom are women. Through its ability to innovate and its forward-looking vision, CNES is helping to foster new technologies that will benefit society as a whole, focusing on:
access to space
civil applications of space
sustainable development
science and technology research
security and defense
Visit at : www.cnes.fr