Geochemical profile of a layered outcrop in the Atacama analogue using laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy: Implications for Curiosity investigations in Gale

Abstract

[1] We performed laboratory laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and laser Raman spectroscopy measurements on samples from a layered outcrop from the Atacama Desert, Chile. This outcrop is a terrestrial morphological and possibly mineralogical analogue for similar formations that will likely be investigated by the Curiosity rover at Gale Crater. Our results demonstrate that fast LIBS analysis can generate semiquantitative chemical profiles in subminute times using automated data processing tools. Therefore, the LIBS instrument can be an invaluable tactical tool on the Curiosity rover for remote, rapid geochemical survey of layered outcrops, thus serving daily operational needs. The derived chemical profiles, supported by the range of minerals identified by Raman spectroscopy, is consistent with the products of a continental evaporitic lake. In the framework of future surface exploration on Mars, a combined Raman/LIBS investigation may provide a rapid mineralogical/chemical evaluation of targets that can be useful for selecting samples to be eventually collected for sample return purposes or for selecting sample sites to be drilled in the search for astrobiology-relevant species. Citation: Sobron,

Dalangtan Saline Playa in a Hyperarid Region of Tibet Plateau: III. Correlated Multiscale Surface Mineralogy and Geochemistry Survey

“…The detection of both elements is often a very challenging task in LIBS because (1) the strongest S lines in LIBS emission are found in the vacuum UV (<200 nm) and the NIR (>900 mm) ranges (Dudragne et al, 1998;Salle et al, 2004), and most LIBS setups, including ChemCam on Curiosity and SuperCam on Mars 2020 Rovers, cover the range between 200 and 900 nm only; and (2) electronically excited S and Cl in the plasma of S-and Cl-bearing samples readily reacts with oxygen in laboratory atmosphere. This phenomenon results in a very poor SNR of these lines in this UV-NIR spectral range, as we showed in previous articles Wang, 2010, 2011;Sobron et al, 2013a).…”

“…We recorded LIBS spectra from returned samples using a benchtop LIBS system. We preprocessed all the spectra following the procedure described by Sobron et al (2013a). The preprocessing routines include subtraction of continuum background, normalization to the total emission integrated intensity area of each spectrum, and spectra averaging.…”

Hackem-LIBS: An Heterogeneous Stacking Ensemble Model for Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Elemental Quantitative Analysis

“…CSA LIBS dataset [32][33][34][35][36], collected by the Canadian Space Agency, which helps the planetary exploration. Similar with NASA, it also provides different types of soil samples and their corresponding trace elements and oxide concentrations.…”

A Test in a High Altitude Lake of a Multi-Parametric Rapid Methodology for Assessing Life in Liquid Environments on Planetary Bodies: A Potential New Freshwater Polychaete Tubeworm Community

“…In the present case the REA approach was adapted to provide a simple, yet robust, means for obtaining semi-quantitative data from video imagery that would achieve the characterization of distinct habitats or sub-habitats, together with their associated fauna and flora, and an assessment of environmental state. For this purpose, a video camera and sediment sample collection equipment were attached, along with a YSI 6600 multi-parameter probe, to a "lake-lander" platform (Sobron et al, 2013;Rose et al, 2014;Cabrol et al, 2015), which was lowered or towed from a small inflatable boat ( Figures 5A-D).…”

“…With this purpose in mind the Planetary Lake Lander (PLL) project (Cabrol et al, 2012(Cabrol et al, , 2014Pedersen et al, 2015) selected the extreme environment of Laguna Negra, a glacier lake in the southern volcanic zone of the central Chilean Andes, in order to test methods and technologies suitable for work in extreme planetary aqueous environments. The PLL campaign undertaken in 2013 involved a complete investigation of the lake ecosystem, including (i) collection of data on bathymetry (Cabrol et al, 2015), temperature and light distribution levels through the whole water column (Rose et al, 2014;Cabrol et al, 2015), (ii) sampling for water chemistry and the distribution of organics (Sobron et al, 2013), and (iii) investigation of the microbiology of both benthic sediments (Parro et al, 2018) and the water column (Echeverría-Vega et al, 2018). Complementary work involved the analysis, using a Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) approach, of video imagery collected from all depths, supplemented by the collection of water-sediment samples from the bottom of the lake for sedimentological, biological and geochemical analysis (Tilot, 2014a).…”