Image of the circulation of specific components from among the meteorites examined by the group. Credit: IBeA / UPV/EHU
The IBeA research study group of the University of the Basque Country has actually proposed an approach that can be utilized to identify samples from the Mars Sample Return objective.
The UPV/EHU’s IBeA research study group, that includes specialists in Raman spectroscopy, is presently evaluating meteorites with the goal of establishing non-destructive analytical methods for upcoming expeditions of Mars products by the Perseverance rover. The methods will likewise be utilized to take a look at products gathered by the Rosalind Franklin rover and went back to Earth following the Mars Sample Return objective, arranged to begin in 2026.
The IBeA research study group from the University of the Basque Country’s Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, is taking part in NASA’s Mars 2020 area objective, which touched down on Mars on February 18, 2021. Specifically, the group has actually taken part in building and confirming the chemical homogeneity of the design templates consisted of on the calibration card of the SuperCam instrument installed on the Perseverance.
“We made a set of pads perfectly characterized in accordance the instruments we have here, in order to enable us to verify that the LIBS and Raman spectroscopy measurements taken by the SuperCam are correct,” describes Doctor Cristina García-Florentino. “Raman spectroscopy is a technique for determining the molecular composition of unknown samples,” she continues. “In other words, not only can we determine, for example, whether the sample contains calcium or iron, etc., we can also identify the molecular form in which they are present. Thus, we can see whether they contain calcite or gypsum, for example. We can determine the geochemical composition of the planet.”
At the very same time, the research study group is likewise dealing with defining meteorites, with a twofold goal: “Firstly, to get ready for the information that may be sent from Mars by the Perseverance rover; and secondly, to develop non-destructive analytical strategies for characterizing Martian samples from the return mission (Mars Sample Return mission) when it reaches Earth.” To date, Martian meteorites have actually been the only Martian samples readily available for establishing various analysis techniques. In a current research study, the group has actually proposed an ingenious non-destructive analytical technique that might be contributed to the present toolbox of quick analysis methods that can be utilized with future samples.
To show its abilities, the group has actually utilized their analytical proposition to “characterize the Martian meteorite Dar al Gani 735, with the aim of identifying the terrestrial and non-terrestrial alterations suffered by it, as a very valuable complementary methodology to the more traditional petrographic analyses,” describes Dr. García-Florentino.
Access might doubt
In the scientist’s viewpoint, “this research study shows the capacity of Raman spectroscopy as a crucial method in the brand-new approaching expeditions of Mars products by the Rosalind Franklin rover (the ESA’s ExoMars 2022 objective) and the Perseverance rover (NASA’s Mars 2020 objective), on which Raman spectrometers will be installed for the very first time in an extra-terrestrial research study objective in the field.”
According to Dr. García-Florentino, the method is essential “because, once we have samples brought back directly from Mars, we cannot destroy them to analyze them in the initial stages of study. It is therefore important to be ready for when the Martian samples arrive, in order to gain as much information from them as possible, with the fewest possible errors and trying to destroy them as little as possible.”
Nevertheless, the scientist alerts that access to the info and to the samples themselves will be tough: “We still do not know whether we will be granted access to the samples, whether they will allow us to analyze them as we propose here with the techniques we have developed.” Meanwhile, the IBeA group will continue its work, “because each meteorite is a world unto itself; each meteorite is totally different from all others.”
Reference: “Development of innovative non-destructive analytical strategies for Mars Sample Return tested on Dar al Gani 735 Martian Meteorite” by C.García-Florentino, I. Torre-Fdez, P. Ruiz-Galende, J. Aramendia, K. Castro, G. Arana, M. Maguregui, S. Fdz Ortiz de Vallejuelo and J. M. Madariaga, 5 November 2021, Talanta.
DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2020.121863
