The X-Ray and Gamma Ray Specrometers both gather data on the chemical composition of Eros. The X-Ray Spectrometer, with a resolution of two kilometers by two kilometers, analyzes the chemical composition of the surface of Eros to a depth of one centimeter. The Gamma Ray Specrometer, whose resolution is about a quarter of the asteroid, goes to a depth of about ten or twenty centimeters below the surface of Eros.
By comparing the data gathered by these two instruments, we ought to be able to determine whether Eros's composition is homogenous.
And finally, there's the Magnetometer, which measures Eros' magnetic field.
This data is going to tell us a lot about what Eros is made of. We can use this information to calibrate the telescopic data we already have, and we can also apply it to two other problems:
-
The formation of our solar system, and
-
the origin of meteorites