Spectroscopic study of olivine-bearing rocks and its relevance to the ExoMars rover mission

Marco Veneranda; Jose Antonio Manrique-Martinez; Guillermo Lopez-Reyes; Jesús Medina; Imanol Torre-Fdez; Kepa Castro; Juan Manuel Madariaga; Cateline Lantz; Francois Poulet; Agata M Krzesińska; Helge Hellevang; Stephanie C Werner; Fernando Rull

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2019.117360

Spectroscopic study of olivine-bearing rocks and its relevance to the ExoMars rover mission

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2019 Dec 5:223:117360. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2019.117360. Epub 2019 Jul 8.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Crystallography and Mineralogy, University of Valladolid, Ave. Francisco Vallés, 8, Boecillo 47151, Spain. Electronic address: marco.veneranda.87@gmail.com.
² Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Crystallography and Mineralogy, University of Valladolid, Ave. Francisco Vallés, 8, Boecillo 47151, Spain.
³ Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48080 Bilbao, Spain.
⁴ Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, CNRS/Université Paris-Sud, France.
⁵ Department of Geosciences, Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics, University of Oslo, Norway.

PMID: 31319272
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2019.117360

Abstract

We present the compositional analysis of three terrestrial analogues of Martian olivine-bearing rocks derived from both laboratory and flight-derived analytical instruments. In the first step, state-of-the-art spectroscopic (XRF, NIR and Raman) and diffractometric (XRD) laboratory systems were complementary used. Besides providing a detailed mineralogical and geochemical characterization of the samples, results comparison shed light on the advantages ensured by the combined use of Raman and NIR techniques, being these the spectroscopic instruments that will soon deploy (2021) on Mars as part of the ExoMars/ESA rover payload. In order to extrapolate valuable indicators of the mineralogical data that could derive from the ExoMars/Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS), laboratory results were then compared with the molecular data gathered through the RLS ExoMars Simulator. Beside correctly identifying all major phases (feldspar, pyroxene and olivine), the RLS ExoMars Simulator confirmed the presence of additional minor compounds (i.e. hematite and apatite) that were not detected by complementary techniques. Furthermore, concerning the in-depth study of olivine grains, the RLS ExoMars simulator was able to effectively detect the shifting of the characteristic double peak around 820 and 850 cm^-1, from which the FeMg content of the analyzed crystals can be extrapolated. Considering that olivine is one of the main mineral phases of the ExoMars landing site (Oxia Planum), this study suggests that the ExoMars/RLS system has the potential to provide detailed information about the elemental composition of olivine on Mars.

Keywords: ExoMars; Olivine; RLS; Raman; Spectroscopy.