CHRIS HEIRWEGH
OUR WORK
Here you will find a brief history of R&D projects that I have had privilege to be a part of over the past 15 years. Many of my efforts focused on improving our understanding of the physics processes that impact the elemental quantitative abilities of X-ray fluorescence and particle induced X-ray emission analysis techniques. Several of these projects were geared toward improving the analysis of data returned from NASA's Curiosity Rover's Alpha-Particle X-ray Spectrometer and NASA's Perseverance Rover's Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry.
Extended Elemental calibration (under construction)
Calibration of the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Fluorescence Elemental Analysis
We carried out a pre-flight calibration of the PIXL flight hardware to prepare the instrument to perform elemental analysis of rocks and regolith on Mars. Calibration utilized an in-house developed C++ X-ray fluorescence (XRF) quantification code (PIQUANT) supported by measurements performed in a simulated martian atmosphere on a small set of geological reference materials.
XRF Instrument Development for Planetary Science Exploration
Interest in low-cost missions drive the need to develop instruments that can carry out highly capabile measurements similar or superior to earlier generation technologies. Pyroelectrically driven X-ray sources are being investigated as durable, low-cost alternatives to radioactive and tube sources.
PIXL Quantitative XRF (PIQUANT) Software
PIQUANT is an open-sourced C++ physics fundamental parameters quantitative XRF code that is used by PIXL to quantify chemical abundances in the martian rock. We developed PIQUANT to have the capability to correct XRF spectrometer coupling to micro-focusing optic hardware, like the optic installed on PIXL, and to evaluate chemical abundances in unknown rock materials without used of extensive reference samples.
PIXL Science Operations
I am responsible for coordinating a team of science payload uplink and downlink leads in their activities to command PIXL in its exploration of Mars. PIXL is an XRF spectrometer mounted on the arm of NASA's Perseverance Rover and is being utilized support exploration of Mar's Jezero Crater in search of uncovering Mar's past, searching for habitability, biosignatures and informing sample selection for return to Earth on a future mission. Recent efforts are directed toward optimization of the ops process.