Development of a thin section device for space exploration: Overview and system performance estimates Christopher B. Dreyer a,⇑ , Kris Zacny b , John P.H. Steele a , James R. Schwendeman a , Gale Paulsen b , Robert C. Andersen c , John Skok a a Colorado School of Mines, 1600 Illinois St., Golden, CO 80401, USA b Honeybee Robotics Spacecraft Mechanisms Corporation, 398 West Washington Blvd, Suite 200, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA c Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA Received 22 May 2012; received in revised form 13 December 2012; accepted 17 December 2012 Available online 23 December 2012 Abstract In this paper we present a conceptual design of a spaceborne instrument for the in situ production of rock thin sections on planetary surfaces. The in situ Automated Rock Thin Section Instrument (IS-ARTS) conceptual design demonstrates that the in situ production of thin sections on a planetary body is a plausible new instrument capability for future planetary exploration. Thin section analysis would reduce much ambiguity in the geological history of a sampled site that is present with instruments currently flown. The technical chal- lenge of producing a thin section device compatible with the spacecraft environment is formidable and has been thought too technically difficult to be practical. Terrestrial thin section preparation requires a skilled petrographist, several preparation instruments that individ- ually exceed typical spacecraft mass and power limits, and consumable materials that are not easily compatible with spaceflight. In two companion papers we present research and development work used to constrain the capabilities of IS-ARTS in the technical space com- patible with the spacecraft environment. For the design configuration shown we conclude that a device can be constructed that is capable of 50 sample preparations over a 2 year lifespan with mass, power, and volume constraints compatible with current landed Mars mission configurations. The technical requirements of IS-ARTS (mass, power and number of samples produced) depend strongly on the sample mechanical properties, sample processing rate, the sample size and number of samples to be produced. Ó 2012 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Planetary missions; In situ measurement; Sample preparation; Space science instrument 1. Introduction A number of analytical instruments such as for example alpha particle x-ray spectrometer (Rieder et al., 2003) and the mo ¨ ssbauer spectrometer (Morris et al., 2004) have landed on different planetary surfaces. Although these instruments provided valuable elemental data, they are not the typical instruments used by a terrestrial geologist. Science data collected from planetary rovers and/or landers is analogous to a geologist’s measurements in the field. Ele- mental composition data does not provide definitive answers regarding the mineralogy of the rocks or possible evidence of life (microfossils). Mineralogical and petrolog- ical evidence for the presence or absence of past water, sec- ondary alteration such as weathering and metamorphism (shock and heat), and local habitat identification cannot be determined with a high degree of certainty using data sets currently available for planetary surfaces. On Earth, the main tool used by a geologist to gather this type of information is to identify the optical properties of the min- erals by making thin-sections of the rocks/soils and 0273-1177/$36.00 Ó 2012 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2012.12.012 ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 303 273 3890; fax: +1 303 273 3602. E-mail addresses: cdreyer@mines.edu (C.B. Dreyer), zacny@honey- beerobotics.com (K. Zacny), jsteele@mines.edu (J.P.H. Steele), jim.sch- wendeman@gmail.com (J.R. Schwendeman), paulsen@honeybeerobotics. com (G. Paulsen), robert.c.anderson@jpl.nasa.gov (R.C. Andersen), jskok@mines.edu (J. Skok). www.elsevier.com/locate/asr Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Advances in Space Research 51 (2013) 1659–1673