Organization
Mars 2020 is a NASA robotic exploration mission to set down a rover on the surface of the red planet to search for signs of ancient microbial life and prepare samples for retrieval and return to Earth by the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission. The mission was developed for NASA by Caltech/JPL and is carrying 7 instruments, among them SuperCam.
SuperCam is currently surveying the chemistry and mineralogy of Martian rocks and soil. The suite of instruments was developed jointly by the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the IRAP astrophysics and planetology research institute in Toulouse, with a contribution from the University of Valladolid for the calibration targets. CNES is the contracting authority for the French contribution to SuperCam. CNES, the French scientific research centre CNRS and universities are providing human resources. A number of research laboratories have worked on building, qualifying and calibrating the instrument.
- IRAP, Toulouse
- LESIA, Meudon
- LAB, Bordeaux
- LATMOS, Guyancourt
- ISAE-SUPAERO, Toulouse
- OMP, Toulouse
- IAS, Orsay
Other French laboratories have helped to develop the instruments’ design and, when the time comes, will be involved in surface operations on Mars:
- IPAG and ISTerre, Grenoble
- IMPMC, Paris
- LPGN, Nantes
- LGL-TPE, Lyon
- LOMA, Bordeaux
- GeoRessources, Nancy
- PHASE, Toulouse
Acronyms
| Acronym | City/Country | Structure |
| Caltech/JPL | Pasadena (USA) | California institute of technology / Jet propulsion laboratory |
| CNES | Toulouse (Fr) | Centre national d’études spatiales |
| Georessources | Nancy (Fr) | Geology research laboratory |
| IAS | Orsay (Fr) | Space astrophysics institute |
| IMPMC | Paris (Fr) | Mineralogy, materials physics and cosmochemistry institute |
| IPAG | Grenoble (Fr) | Planetology and astrophysics institute |
| IRAP | Toulouse (Fr) | Astrophysics and planetology research institute |
| ISAE-Supaéro | Toulouse (Fr) | Aeronautics and space institute |
| ISTerre | Grenoble (Fr) | Earth sciences institute |
| JPL | USA | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| LAB | Bordeaux (fr) | Bordeaux Astrophysics Laboratory |
| LANL | Los Alamos (USA) | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| LATMOS | Guyancourt (Fr) | Atmospheres, environments and space observations laboratory |
| LESIA | Meudon (Fr) | Space and astrophysics instrumentation research laboratory |
| LGLTPE | Lyon (Fr) | Earth, planets and environment geology laboratory |
| LOMA | Bordeaux (Fr) | Waves and materials laboratory |
| LPGN | Nantes (FR) | Planetology and geodynamics laboratory |
| NASA | USA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
| OMP | Toulouse (Fr) | Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées |
| PHASE | Toulouse (Fr) | Applied environmental human physics laboratory |
