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
Unimed Expands Maritime Healthcare Platform with Growing Adoption of Telemed Plus13.8.2026 12:00:00 EEST | Press release
Universal Maritime Solutions (“Unimed” or “the Company”), a leading provider of maritime healthcare, medical supply, and crew wellbeing solutions and a portfolio company of ZCG Private Equity, the private equity fund management platform of Z Capital Group, LLC (“ZCG”), today announced that Bahri, one of the Middle East’s leading maritime operators, has expanded its relationship with Unimed by enrolling in its Telemed Plus premium service. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260813787745/en/ The agreement builds on a longstanding relationship between the companies through Unimed’s MedScale medical supply and medical chest management program and marks another important milestone in the continued rollout of Unimed’s Telemed Plus platform, launched in 2024. The expansion underscores the growing adoption of Unimed’s integrated healthcare platform by leading global maritime operators while demonstrating the increasing v
The Fairest of Them All: Klarna Supercharges Memberships, Removing Fees, Boosting Cashback and Increasing Annual Value to as Much as €6,00013.8.2026 10:09:00 EEST | Press release
Klarna, the global digital bank and flexible payments provider, today unveiled its most significant membership upgrade yet. The revamped tiers deliver more cashback, up to €6,000 worth of perks, and remove service fees — built so a Klarna membership pays for itself, and then some. Klarna's improved membership lineup spans four tiers, each built for a different kind of member but all embodying a flexible ethos: pay only for the Klarna that fits your life. Pay later is free at partner stores, or get broader fee-free access with Everywhere (formerly Core), or climb to Plus, Premium or Max for richer cashback rewards, bigger, everyday perks and a growing set of subscriptions and protections. A Klarna membership is a fairer alternative to a credit card by design, and one of the biggest differences is freedom. While other cards tie you in for a year, a Klarna membership moves with you. Upgrade for a big travel month and drop back down when things are quieter, with no penalty and no year-long
Interactive Brokers Adds Access to the Bucharest Stock Exchange, Offering Access to One of Europe's Strongest-Performing Markets of 202513.8.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Interactive Brokers (Nasdaq: IBKR), an automated global broker, today announced access to the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB). This expansion offers access to one of Europe’s strongest-performing emerging markets of 2025, expanding diversification opportunities for IBKR clients alongside over 170 other global exchanges on a single, advanced platform. Romania was elevated to MSCI’s Advanced Frontier Market status while the BET index reached record highs in 2025 and continued its growth through the first half of 2026. With this integration, IBKR clients can access Romanian equities through the same platform they use for markets worldwide, making it easier to incorporate Romanian listed companies into their global investment strategies. “Adding the Bucharest Stock Exchange expands the choices available to our clients and reinforces our commitment to providing the broadest possible access to global markets,” said Milan Galik, Chief Executive Officer of Interactive Brokers. “Romania is one o
Lenovo Group: Q1 Financial Results 2026/2713.8.2026 07:16:00 EEST | Press release
Lenovo GroupLimited (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY), together with its subsidiaries (‘the Group’), today reported first quarter results for fiscal year 2026/27, marking the highest quarterly revenue growth in the past five years and the strongest quarter in the Group’s history. During the quarter, overall Group revenue reached an all-time quarterly high of US$26.9 billion, up 43% year-on-year, with all business groups delivering record first-fiscal-quarter revenue and operating profit. Adjusted net income[1]was up 176% year-on-year to US$1.1 billion, surpassing the US$1 billion milestone for the first time ever, with adjusted net margin improvements of almost two percentage points year-on-year supported by higher revenue scale and continued efficiency gains. AI-related revenue[2] grew 60% year-on-year to US$9.3 billion, accounting for 35% of total Group revenue in Q1. The Group continues to invest in innovation with R&D expenses up 30% year-on-year. The first quarter results demonstrate the G
Suzano Reports Adjusted EBITDA of R$4.7 Billion in the Second Quarter of 202613.8.2026 02:27:00 EEST | Press release
Suzano, the world’s largest pulp producer, announces its results for the second quarter of 2026 (2Q26), reporting higher prices, stronger volumes and improvements in Adjusted EBITDA and operating cash generation compared to the previous quarter. The quarterly results reflect the competitiveness and resilience of Suzano’s operations in a quarter marked by foreign exchange headwinds and pressure on input costs driven by higher oil prices affecting the industry as a whole. Suzano sold 3.3 million tonnes of pulp and paper combined in 2Q26, comprising 2.9 million tonnes of pulp and 406 thousand tonnes of paper across the packaging, printing and writing, specialty and tissue segments. Net revenue totalled R$11.6 billion and adjusted EBITDA reached R$4.7 billion, both above the levels recorded in the previous quarter. Operating cash generation reached R$2.9 billion, while net income totalled R$1.8 billion in 2Q26. Despite ongoing cost pressures, the cash cost of pulp production (excluding dow
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