DIMPLE Lunar Lander/Rover Mockup (IMAGE)

Southwest Research Institute

DIMPLE Lunar Lander/Rover Mockup

Caption

NASA recently funded the DIMPLE instrument suite shown with a notional lander/rover. SwRI designed the payload project as well as the novel CODEX instrument, which uses radioisotope dating techniques to determine the age of extraterrestrial rocks. With three lasers and a mass spectrometer, the 20-inch-cylinder instrument is designed to vaporize tiny bits of rock and measure the elements and isotopes present to pin down the rock’s age.

Credit

Lockheed Martin/SwRI/University of Bern/ Aerospace Corporation

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