 It consists of four units which together weigh around 31.4 kg, including a pointing device, a power supply, a control unit, and an interferometer with electronics.The main objective of the instrument is to provide temperature profiles of Mars's carbon dioxide atmosphere, and to the study composition of the planet's atmosphere through the infrared radiation that is reflected and emitted by the planet.On March 2004, Professor Vittorio Formisano, the researcher in charge of the Mars Express Planetary Fourier Spectrometer, announced the discovery of methane in the Martian atmosphere.