ALBERT

Description: The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission is focused on assessing the past or present habitability of Mars, through interrogation of environment and environmental records at the Curiosity rover field site in Gale crater. The MSL team has two methods available to collect, process and deliver samples to onboard analytical laboratories, the Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument (CheMin) and the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite. One approach obtains samples by drilling into a rock, the other uses a scoop to collect loose regolith fines. Scooping was planned to be first method performed on Mars because materials could be readily scooped multiple times and used to remove any remaining, minute terrestrial contaminants from the sample processing system, the Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA). Because of this cleaning effort, the ideal first material to be scooped would consist of fine to very fine sand, like the interior of the Serpent Dune studied by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit team in 2004 [1]. The MSL team selected a linear eolian deposit in the lee of a group of cobbles they named Rocknest (Fig. 1) as likely to be similar to Serpent Dune. Following the definitions in Chapter 13 of Bagnold [2], the deposit is termed a sand shadow. The scooping campaign occurred over approximately 6 weeks in October and November 2012. To support these activities, the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) acquired images for engineering support/assessment and scientific inquiry.

Description: The Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) on Spirit has studied the mineralogy and thermophysical properties at Gusev crater. Undisturbed soil spectra show evidence for minor carbonates and bound water. Rocks are olivinerich basalts with varying degrees of dust and other coatings. Dark-toned soils observed on disturbed surfaces may be derived from rocks and have derived mineralogy (+/-5 to 10%) of 45% pyroxene (20% Ca-rich pyroxene and 25% pigeonite), 40% sodic to intermediate plagioclase, and 15% olivine (forsterite 45% +/-5 to 10). Two spectrally distinct coatings are observed on rocks, a possible indicator of the interaction of water, rock, and airfall dust. Diurnal temperature data indicate particle sizes from 40 to 80 microm in hollows to approximately 0.5 to 3 mm in soils.

Description: Upcoming experiments aim to produce high fidelity polarization maps of the cosmic microwave background. To achieve the required sensitivity, we are developing monolithic, feedhorn-coupled transition edge sensor polarimeter arrays operating at 150 GHz. We describe this focal plane architecture and the current status of this technology, focusing on single-pixel polarimeters being deployed on the Atacama B-mode Search (ABS) and an 84-pixel demonstration feedhorn array backed by four 10-pixel polarimeter arrays. The feedhorn array exhibits symmetric beams, cross-polar response less than -23 dB and excellent uniformity across the array. Monolithic polarimeter arrays, including arrays of silicon feedhorns, will be used in the Atacama Cosmology Telescope Polarimeter (ACTPol) and the South Pole Telescope Polarimeter (SPTpol) and have been proposed for upcoming balloon-borne instruments.

Description: We present more than three years of observations at different frequencies, from radio to high-energy -rays, of the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) Galaxy PMN J0948+0022 (z = 0.585). This source is the first NLS1 detected at energies above 100 MeV and therefore can be considered the prototype of this emerging new class of -ray emitting active galactic nuclei (AGN). The observations performed from 2008 August 1 to 2011 December 31 confirmed that PMN J0948+0022 generates a powerful relativistic jet, which is able to develop an isotropic luminosity at gamma-rays of the order of 1048 erg per second, at the level of powerful quasars. The evolution of the radiation emission of this source in 2009 and 2010 followed the canonical expectations of relativistic jets with correlated multiwavelength variability (gamma-rays followed by radio emission after a few months), but it was difficult to retrieve a similar pattern in the light curves of 2011. The comparison of gamma-ray spectra before and including 2011 data suggested that there was a softening of the highenergy spectral slope. We selected five specific epochs to be studied by modelling the broad-band spectrum, which are characterised by an outburst at gamma-rays or very low/high flux at other wavelengths. The observed variability can largely be explained by changes in the injected power, the bulk Lorentz factor of the jet, or the electron spectrum. The characteristic time scale of doubling/halving flux ranges from a few days to a few months, depending on the frequency and the sampling rate. The shortest doubling time scale at gamma-rays is 2.3 +/- 0.5 days. These small values underline the need of highly sampled multiwavelength campaigns to better understand the physics of these sources.

Description: MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager) is a 2-megapixel focusable macro lens color camera on the turret on Curiosity's robotic arm. The investigation centers on stratigraphy, grain-scale texture, structure, mineralogy, and morphology of geologic materials at Curiosity's Gale robotic field site. MAHLI acquires focused images at working distances of 2.1 cm to infinity; for reference, at 2.1 cm the scale is 14 microns/pixel; at 6.9 cm it is 31 microns/pixel, like the Spirit and Opportunity Microscopic Imager (MI) cameras.

Description: The Magnetometer/Electron Reflectometer onboard Lunar Prospector has observed the solar wind interaction with remanent crustal magnetic fields at altitudes from 20 to 120 km. This interaction may be responsible for the formation of albedo swirls.

Description: The Alpha Particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) on the Curiosity rover in Gale Crater [1] is the 4th such instrument to have landed on Mars [2]. Along the rover's traverse down-section toward Glenelg (through sol 102), the APXS has examined four rocks and one soil [3]. Gale rocks are geochemically diverse and expand the range of Martian rock compositions to include high volatile and alkali contents (up to 3.0 wt% K2O) with high Fe and Mn (up to 29.2% FeO*).

Description: Nanocrystal nonvolatile floating-gate memories are a good candidate for space applications - initial results suggest they are fast, more reliable and consume less power than conventional floating gate memories. In the nanocrystal based NVM device, charge is not stored on a continuous polysilicon layer (so-called floating gate), but instead on a layer of discrete nanocrystals. Charge injection and storage in dense arrays of silicon nanocrystals in SiO2 is a critical aspect of the performance of potential nanocrystal flash memory structures. The ultimate goal for this class of devices is few- or single-electron storage in a small number of nanocrystal elements. In addition, the nanocrystal layer fabrication technique should be simple, 8-inch wafer compatible and well controlled in program/erase threshold voltage swing was seen during 100,000 program and erase cycles. Additional near-term goals for this project include extensive testing for radiation hardness and the development of artificial layered tunnel barrier heterostructures which have the potential for large speed enhancements for read/write of nanocrystal memory elements, compared with conventional flash devices. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Description: Long Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are the most dramatic examples of massive stellar deaths, usually associated with supernovae. They release ultra-relativistic jets producing non-thermal emission through synchrotron radiation as they interact with the surrounding medium. Here we report observations of the peculiar GRB 101225A (the "Christmas burst"). Its gamma-ray emission was exceptionally long and followed by a bright X-ray transient with a hot thermal component and an unusual optical couuterpart. During the first 10 days, the optical emission evolved as an expanding, cooling blackbody after which an additional component, consistent with a faint supernova, emerged. We determine its distance to 1.6 Gpc by fitting the spectral-energy distribution and light curve of the optical emission with a GRB-supernova template. Deep optical observations may have revealed a faint, unresolved host galaxy. Our proposed progenitor is a helium star-neutron star merger that underwent a common envelope phase expelling its hydrogen envelope. The resulting explosion created a GRB-like jet which gets thermalized by interacting with the dense, previously ejected material and thus creating the observed black-body, until finally the emission from the supernova dominated. An alternative explanation is a minor body falling onto a neutron star io the Galaxy

Description: Understanding the Moon is crucial to future exploration of the solar system.The Moon preserves a record of the first billion years of the Earth-Moon system's history, including evidence of the Moon's origin as accumulated debris from a giant impact into early Earth. Lunar rocks provide evidence of early differentiation and extraction of a crust. Lacking an atmospheric shield, the Moon's regolith retains a record of the activity of solar wind over the past 4 billion years. It also holds a complete record of impact cratering, and analysis of samples has allowed calibration of ages, and thus dating of other planetary surfaces. And because of its proximity to Earth, it's low gravity well, and stable surface, the Moon's resources will be useful both in establishing lunar habitations and as fuel for exploration beyond the Moon. Lunar science has advanced tremendously in the 30 years since the Apollo and Luna missions. We know that the Moon is strongly differentiated, and recent tungsten isotope studies indicate that this differentiation occurred soon after solar system formation. The Moon probably accreted rapidly from debris that formed as a large planetesimal struck the early Earth. Ancient highland rocks provide evidence of early lunar differentiation, and basalts formed by later melting within the mantle reveal it cumulus nature. However, the timing, extent, and depth of differentiation, variations within the mantle, and lateral and vertical variations within the crust can only be surmised from the limited sample suites,gravity studies,and surface geophysics of the Apollo era. Data from the recent Lunar Prospector and Clementine missions permit reassessment of the global characteristics of the Moon and a reexamination of the distribution of elemental components, rock and soil types, and resources, as well as remanent magnetism, gravity field, and global topography New research provides some answers, but also leads to new questions.