Tandem transmission/reflection mode XRD instrument including XRF for in-situ measurement of Martian rocks and soils

Robert Delhez; S. J. Van der Gaast; Arno Wielders; J. L. de Boer; R. B. Helmholdt; J. van Mechelen; C. Reiss; L. Woning; H. Schenk

doi:10.1117/12.457340

26 February 2003 Tandem transmission/reflection mode XRD instrument including XRF for in situ measurement of Martian rocks and soils

Robert Delhez, S. J. Van der Gaast, Arno Wielders, J. L. de Boer, R. B. Helmholdt, J. van Mechelen, C. Reiss, L. Woning, H. Schenk

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4859, Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology V; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.457340
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

The mineralogy of the surface material of Mars is the key to disclose its present and past life and climates. Clay mineral species, carbonates, and ice (water and CO2) are and/or contain their witnesses. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) is the most powerful analytical method to identify and quantitatively characterize minerals in complex mixtures. This paper discusses the development of a working model of an instrument consisting of a reflection mode diffractometer and a transmission mode CCD-XRPD instrument, combined with an XRF module. The CCD-XRD/XRF instrument is analogous to the instrument for Mars missions developed by Sarrazin et al. (1998). This part of the tandem instrument enables "quick and dirty" analysis of powdered (!) matter to monitor semi-quantitatively the presence of clay minerals as a group, carbonates, and ices and yields semi-quantitative chemical information from X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The reflection mode instrument (i) enables in-situ measurements of rocks and soils and quantitative information on the compounds identified, (ii) has a high resolution and reveals large spacings for accurate identification, in particular of clay mineral species, and (iii) the shape of the line profiles observed reveals the kind and approximate amounts of lattice imperfections present. It will be shown that the information obtained with the reflection mode diffractometer is crucial for finding signs of life and changes in the climate on Mars. Obviously this instrument can also be used for other extra-terrestrial research.

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Robert Delhez, S. J. Van der Gaast, Arno Wielders, J. L. de Boer, R. B. Helmholdt, J. van Mechelen, C. Reiss, L. Woning, and H. Schenk "Tandem transmission/reflection mode XRD instrument including XRF for in situ measurement of Martian rocks and soils", Proc. SPIE 4859, Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology V, (26 February 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.457340

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