Winlight produces the Mach-Zehnder interferometer by molecular adhesion
for the MARBLL instrument, dedicated to the assessment
of Martian wind and aerosol profiles
Winlight System produced and assembled a Mach-Zehnder interferometer by molecular adhesion for the LATMOS laboratory and the CNRS French National Centre for Scientific Research. This interferometer will be integrated into the MARs Boundary Layer Lidar* (MARBLL) instrument, in order to provide simultaneous wind speed and aerosol density measurements in the atmospheric boundary layer.
MARBLL is an optical remote sensing instrument using Doppler wind lidar technology, specially designed to operate from the surface of Mars. The instrument is composed of an emitting device (Nd:YAG laser) and a spectral analyser (Mach-Zehnder interferometer). Developed by LATMOS (UMR8190, CNRS, UVSQ, SU) since 2008, with the continuous support of CNES (the French Space Agency), MARBLL is intended to assess simultaneous wind and aerosol profiles from a rover, orbiter or lander. This unique Mars lidar concept was designed following a call for ideas and was patented by the French space agency CNES and CNRS.
Involved in the development of MARBLL’s demonstrator, Winlight System made the silica prisms and the lightweight frame of the Mach-Zehnder interferometer, on which it also provided optical coatings. Winlight System then assembled the interferometer using its established expertise in molecular adhesion.
The purpose of an interferometer is to measure distances using the effect of interference. Like any Mach-Zehnder interferometer, this instrument includes two mirrors and two semi-reflective mirrors placed on prisms. A coherent light beam is first split into two parts and then recombined by a semi-reflective mirror, causing interference between them. The resulting interference pattern allows very precise measurements of the light source and of any transparent sample placed in the path of one of the two beams. Such a technology will therefore be valuable for the study of Martian wind and aerosol profiles.
This new collaboration between Winlight, LATMOS and CNES maintains continuity in Martian exploration. These organisations have already had the opportunity to work together on the development and integration of the SuperCam instrument aboard the Perseverance rover currently operating on Mars.
We can only hope for similar success for the MARBLL demonstrator, whose performance will soon be tested in the laboratory.
*Light Detection and Ranging.