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Investigation of Mars Clay Analogs by Remote Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Humphries, Seth David Vaniman, David T. Sharma, Satyavan Bates, David E. Misra, Anupam K. Wiens, R. C. McInroy, R. E. Clegg, Samuel Michael |
| Copyright Year | 2011 |
| Abstract | Introduction: Spectral data from orbit indicate that phyllosilicates are widespread on Mars, including smectites (with a range of compositions from aluminous to Fe,Mg-rich), kaolin group minerals, chlorites, serpentine, and illite/muscovite [1, 2, 3]. This broad range of detected phyllosilicates indicates a variety of formation conditions and hence the importance of phyllosilicate mineralogy in petrogenetic interpretations for Mars. Many phyllosilicate-depositing systems, especially those associated with lower-temperature aqueous systems, are likely targets for study of potential habitable environments on Mars; all four candidate sites for the 2011 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) contain claymineral associations of primary interest in this regard [4]. Our goal in this study was to evaluate the operation of Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), as carried on the ChemCam instrument for MSL, against a range of phyllosilicates to define operational parameters and possibilities for characterization. LIBS involves generating a plasma by focusing a high power laser onto the sample surface. The plasma contains electronically excited atoms, ions and small molecules that emit light as they relax to lower electronic states. This emission is collected and used to quantitatively determine the elemental composition and sample identification. Samples: Clay powder samples used in these experiments were NIST chemical standard 97b and Clay Minerals Society (CMS) source clays KGa-2, PFl-1, SHCa1, STx-1b and SWy-2. Table 1 contains XRD determinations of mineralogy for these 6 clay samples. Rock powder samples from the Brammer catalog of standards were also selected as chemical reference materials. The geologic standards were basalts (BCR2, BHVO-2, BIR-1, GBW 07105, GUWBM, MO-14), dolomites (JDo-1, GBW 07217a), andesites (JA-1, JA- |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2011/pdf/1851.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
