Microimaging VIS‐IR spectroscopy of ancient volcanic rocks as Mars analogues

Abstract

The SPectral Imager (SPIM) facility is a laboratory VIS-IR spectrometer developed to support spaceborne observations of rocky bodies of the solar system. Currently, this laboratory setup is used to support the Dawn NASA mission and to support the 2018 ExoMars mission in the spectral investigation of Martian subsurface. Specifically, for this mission, a selection of relevant Mars analogue materials has been characterized and stored in the International Space Analogue Rockstore (ISAR), hosted in Orléans, France. In this investigation, two volcanic rock samples from the ISAR collection were analyzed. These two samples were chosen because of their similarity in mineralogical composition and age with Martian basalts and volcanic sands. Moreover, volcanic sands are particularly interesting because they can contain fossils of primitive life forms. The analysis of data collected by SPIM resulted in good agreement with the mineralogical phases detected in these two samples by mineralogical and petrographical techniques, demonstrating the effectiveness of the high spatial and spectral resolution of SPIM for identifying and for mapping different mineralogical species on cut rock and mineral samples.

Microimaging spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy of Northwest Africa 8657 shergottite: Interpretation of future in situ Martian data

“…This is in agreement with what was found by Manzari et al. (), who studied two slabs of two Mars analogs by means of the SPIM imaging spectrometer. In those slabs, not all the pixel spectra were affected by a blue slope.…”

“…The validity of SPIM imaging spectrometer facility was recently proved and confirmed by Manzari et al. () in a study on Mars analogs at submillimeter scale. This facility allows collection of data with a spatial resolution of about 38 μm/pixel in the spectral range 0.25–5 μm (De Angelis et al.…”

“…The visible-infrared microimaging spectroscopy has high potential for meteorite studies, where samples are rare and thus the ability to obtain mineralogical information nondestructively is desirable. The validity of SPIM imaging spectrometer facility was recently proved and confirmed by Manzari et al (2016) in a study on Mars analogs at submillimeter scale. This facility allows collection of data with a spatial resolution of about 38 lm/pixel in the spectral range 0.25-5 lm (De Angelis et al 2015).…”

“…; Manzari et al. ). Ma_MISS (Mars Multispectral Imager for Subsurface Studies) onboard the ExoMars 2020 spacecraft (Coradini et al.…”

“…Visible to infrared (VIS-IR) spectroscopy of Martian meteorites has been extensively used for validation of remotely sensed data from Mars. Recently, visible to infrared microimaging spectroscopy provided simultaneous fine-scale composition (mineralogy, ices, and organics) and imaging at a grain scale (e.g., Cannon et al 2015;Greenberger et al 2015;Ehlmann et al 2016;Manzari et al 2016). Ma_MISS (Mars Multispectral Imager for Subsurface Studies) onboard the ExoMars 2020 spacecraft (Coradini et al 2001;De Sanctis et al 2017) will be the first spectrometer that will study the Martian subsurface in situ to a depth of 2 meters.…”