Thales Laser on Mars 2020 Mission: Three Days to Touchdown
16.2.2021 01:40:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
On 18 February, the Perseverance rover — a key component of the Mars 2020 mission — will touch down on the Red Planet after a long seven-month voyage. SuperCam, one of seven strategic onboard instruments, is a powerful combination of technologies designed to analyse, characterise and select Martian rock samples. SuperCam is the result of close collaboration between Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in the United States and the astrophysics and planetology research institute in France (IRAP, CNRS / CNES / Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier), with contributions from the University of Hawaii and the University of Valladolid in Spain. The Mast Unit, the French part of SuperCam located at the top of the rover’s mast, was designed and built by a consortium of French laboratories1 from CNRS, universities and entities under the scientific lead of the IRAP team and under the responsibility of CNES, the French space agency. The laser supplied by Thales is a key part of the Mast Unit.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210215005423/en/
Credits: NASA
In 2012, Curiosity landed on Mars equipped with the first high-power laser to operate on the surface of another planet, a laser designed and developed by Thales for the ChemCam instrument. The ChemCam laser has been operating faultlessly for over eight years and has fired close to 855,000 shots to date as Curiosity has made its 24-kilometre trek across the surface of the Red Planet. Data from ChemCam has already helped to prove that conditions on Mars were once suitable for microbial life.
The SuperCam instrument, a new and more powerful version of ChemCam, is designed to take Mars exploration to a new level. Like ChemCam, the SuperCam laser will use an infrared beam to heat material to a temperature of around 10,000°C and vaporise it — a method called laser induced breakdown spectroscopy. Coupled with a special camera, this makes it possible to determine the chemical composition of Martian rock samples by measuring the colours of light in the plasma created.
Unlike ChemCam, however, the SuperCam laser can also emit a green laser beam, which will help determine the molecular composition of surface materials. This green beam excites the chemical bonds in samples and produces a different signal according to their various linked components. This analysis technique, known as Raman spectroscopy, will be tested for the first time on Mars and will enable scientists to detect any markers of life. The green laser will also be used to induce fluorescence in mineral and organic compounds, allowing scientists to determine their constituent components with greater accuracy.
“We’re proud to have provided NASA with the first two lasers to operate on Mars. The Mars 2020 mission is a decisive step forward in the study of the Red Planet and preparations for future expeditions. SuperCam, the ‘eyes’ of Perseverance, is the result of close collaboration between partners across the international scientific community. Thales's SuperCam laser delivers unrivalled performance and will enable Perseverance to perform its exploration mission throughout its time on the surface of Mars.” Christophe Salomon, Executive Vice President, Land and Air Systems
About Mars 2020
The goal of the Mars 2020 mission is to study the Red Planet’s surface, search for signs of past life, take rock and dust samples at selected sites and store them for retrieval by the future Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, which will be conducted jointly with the European Space Agency. Thales Alenia Space is closely involved in the MSR mission.
The Mars 2020 mission is designed to gather the necessary knowledge and test the technologies that will be vital for future human expeditions to the Red Planet.
How to produce oxygen from the Martian atmosphere? What resources are available? Is there water beneath the surface, for example? How to improve landing techniques and characterise weather conditions, dust levels and other environmental conditions that could affect the life and work of future astronauts on Mars? These are just some of the questions the Perseverance mission will seek to answer.
About Thales lasers
For more than 35 years, Thales has been a world leader in design, development and manufacturing of high energy nanosecond lasers for industrial applications and the most powerful ultra-short Ti:Sa femtosecond laser systems for leading scientific applications with peak power up to 10 petawatts.
Thales provides the most reliable and easy-to-use products, a unique combination of technological expertise and robustness for implementation into industrial applications that require highest availability such as laser annealing, laser lift-off, laser shock peening and cutting of composites for various industries such as aerospace, microelectronics, flat panel displays and many others. Thales provides also a full range of services, which are optimized to support each customer.
|
About Thales Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global technology leader shaping the world of tomorrow today. The Group provides solutions, services and products to customers in the aeronautics, space, transport, digital identity and security, and defence markets. With 83,000 employees in 68 countries, Thales generated sales of €19 billion in 2019 (on a pro forma basis including Gemalto over 12 months). Thales is investing in particular in digital innovations — connectivity, Big Data, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — technologies that support businesses, organisations and governments in their decisive moments. |
PLEASE VISIT
[1] The Irap ; the Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA, Observatoire de Paris-PSL/CNRS/SU/Université de Paris) ; the Laboratoire d’astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB, CNRS/Université de Bordeaux) ; the Laboratoire « atmosphères et observations spatiales » (LATMOS, CNRS/SU/UVSQ) ; l’Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP, CNRS/IRD/Météo-France/Université de Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier) ; the Institut d’astrophysique spatiale (IAS, CNRS/Université Paris-Saclay).
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210215005423/en/
Contact information
PRESS
Thales, Media Relations
Group and Innovation
Alice Pruvot
+33 (0)7 70 27 11 37
alice.pruvot@thalesgroup.com
Thales Alenia Space, Media Relations
Sandrine Bielecki
+33 (0)4 92 92 70 94
sandrine.bielecki@thalesgroup.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
SES and Air Astana Introduce Multi-orbit Inflight Connectivity on A321LR Fleet30.10.2026 19:35:00 EET | Press release
SES was selected by Air Astana, the award-winning flag carrier of Kazakhstan, to introduce next-generation inflight connectivity services across its Airbus A321LR fleet. The first connected aircraft entered commercial service on 29 October 2026. Fleet-wide deployment will continue across the remaining A321LR fleet. Equipped with SES’s new electronically steered array (ESA) antenna, the aircraft delivers reliable connectivity over the SES multi-orbit network. SES will provide a fully managed inflight connectivity service across the fleet, enabling Air Astana passengers to enjoy a seamless online experience throughout their journey. “Airlines are increasingly looking for connectivity solutions that deliver a seamless passenger experience while providing the flexibility to evolve with changing customer expectations,” said Blane Boynton, Senior Vice President, Aviation at SES. “SES's multi-orbit solution will enable Air Astana to offer a consistent, high-quality online experience across it
CIRCOR to Expand Industrial Portfolio with Acquisition of Green Silence Group S.p.A.30.10.2026 18:06:00 EET | Press release
CIRCOR, a KKR portfolio company and global manufacturer of flow control products for industrial and naval markets, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Green Silence Group S.p.A., an Italian provider of hydraulic pumps, electric motors and advanced engineering solutions. The acquisition will bring together the complementary capabilities of Settima, Motive and Spin expanding CIRCOR’s Industrial portfolio with three-screw and ultra-low-noise hydraulic pumps, Motive electric motors, high-efficiency rare-earth-free motor technologies, power electronics and advanced engineering capabilities. Together, these technologies will broaden CIRCOR’s ability to deliver integrated solutions that improve system efficiency, reduce energy consumption and critical raw materials dependency, and address evolving customer needs across industrial and mobile applications. The combination will also provide Green Silence Group access to CIRCOR’s global commercial and operational
Quectel Sues Telit, Alleging False Statements, Cybersquatting and Unfair Competition30.10.2026 17:41:00 EET | Press release
Quectel Wireless Solutions, a global end-to-end IoT solutions provider, today announced that it has filed legal action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Telit IoT Solutions Inc. The lawsuit seeks to bring an end to Telit’s campaign of false and misleading claims about Quectel and its products. Quectel alleges that, rather than competing on the strength of its products and technology, Telit engaged in a coordinated campaign to undermine Quectel’s reputation by exploiting geopolitical concerns surrounding Chinese technology companies. According to the complaint, Telit funded, promoted, and amplified false and misleading claims about Quectel’s products while positioning itself to customers as a safer “Western” alternative. The lawsuit further alleges that Telit engaged in cybersquatting involving Quectel’s U.S. domain name to advance its campaign. Quectel maintains that these alleged actions have caused substantial harm to its sales, customer
TestMu AI Launches Kane CLI Exploration, an AI Agent That Maps an Entire Web App From a Single URL and Turns It Into Tests30.10.2026 16:00:00 EET | Press release
TestMu AI, the Full Stack Agentic AI Quality Engineering platform, announced Kane CLI Exploration, an autonomous agent that learns a web application before anyone writes a test. Given a single URL, it walks the entire app on its own, flags problems along the way and gives Kane CLI the context it needs to generate and run tests, even when no requirements, user stories or acceptance criteria exist. Every test plan starts from something written down, and many apps never had it. Legacy products lose their specs when the people who wrote them move on, and apps a coding agent built in a week often have no record of intended behavior beyond the prompt history. With nothing to test against, a testing agent ends up grading the app against itself. Starting from the URL a developer provides, the exploration agent moves through every page, junction and flow it can reach, the way a new QA engineer clicks through a product in their first week. For each page it records the controls, the flows in and
The Estée Lauder Companies and Microsoft Announce a New Strategic Partnership to Power Enterprise Efficiency and Consumer-Centric Growth30.10.2026 15:22:00 EET | Press release
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) today announced a new strategic partnership with Microsoft Corp. to advance its cloud and data foundation and support the responsible adoption of AI-enabled capabilities across the enterprise. The collaboration will help connect data and intelligent tools to support faster innovation, more efficient operations, and more relevant consumer experiences. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261030616823/en/ This new partnership is a critical part of The Estée Lauder Companies’ One Operating Ecosystem, which brings together shared platforms, connected data, and best-in-class partners to enable consistent, scalable, and effective execution across the enterprise. A key initiative of this expanded partnership is harnessing the Microsoft platform to advance the company’s Unified Data Platform. This foundation is the core enabler for AI and agility—connecting the company's data acro
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom