![]() DAN instrument on the Curiosity rover | |
Operator | NASA |
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Manufacturer | Russian Space Research Institute (IKI) |
Instrument type | neutron spectrometer |
Function | hydrogen and H2O detector |
Mission duration | Primary: 668 sols (687 days) Current: 4278 sols (4395 days) since landing |
Began operations | August 6, 2012 |
Website | msl-scicorner |
Host spacecraft | |
Spacecraft | Curiosity rover |
Operator | NASA |
Launch date | November 26, 2011, 15:02:00 | UTC
Launch site | Cape Canaveral LC-41 |
COSPAR ID | 2011-070A |
The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument is an experiment mounted on the Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity rover. It is a pulsed sealed-tube neutron source and detector used to measure hydrogen or ice and water at or near the Martian surface.[1][2] The instrument consists of the detector element (DE) and a 14.1 MeV pulsing neutron generator (PNG). The die-away time of neutrons is measured by the DE after each neutron pulse from the PNG. DAN was provided by the Russian Federal Space Agency,[1][2] funded by Russia[3] and is under the leadership of Principal Investigator Igor Mitrofanov.[4]