Instrument calibrations and data analysis procedures for the NEAR X-ray spectrometer

The X-Ray spectrometer onboard the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous spacecraf t will measure X-rays from the surface of 433 Eros in the energy region 0.7 -10 keV, Detection of characteristic K alpha line emissions from Mg, Al, Si , Ca, Ti, and Fe will allow the determination of surface abundances of thes e geologically important elements, Spatial resolution as fine as 3 km will be possible for those elements where counting statistics are not a limiting factor, These measurements will make it possible to relate Eros to known c lasses of meteorites and reveal geological processes that occurred on Eros. The calibration measurements and analysis procedures presented here are ne cessary for the reduction and analysis of the X-ray data to be collected du ring one year of orbital operations at Eros, (C) 2000 Academic Press.