SHADOWS: a spectro-gonio radiometer for bidirectional reflectance studies of dark meteorites and terrestrial analogs: design, calibrations, and performances on challenging surfaces

Geochemical Transformations of Gypsum Under Multiple Environmental Settings and Implications for Ca-Sulfate Detection on Mars

Calcium sulfate minerals are found in multiple environments on Earth and Mars, with chloride (Cl) salts widely distributed on both planets. Low-temperature studies have explored geochemical processes, including the formation of transient liquid water and ion migration on Mars. Some Cl-salts (e.g., NaCl and CaCl2) can dissolve gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O) in certain environments, making gypsum-Cl salt interactions significant. Additionally, gypsum's geochemical transformation at high temperatures reveals dehydration pathways crucial for understanding Mars' aqueous history and potential for life. This study examines gypsum dehydration through (i) thermal analyses and (ii) interactions with Cl-salts over a temperature range of -90 to 400 °C. We applied three spectroscopic techniques (Raman, visible/near-infrared, and mid-IR) plus X-ray diffraction (XRD) to analyze these samples under variable conditions. This study also provides a low-temperature spectral data set for gypsum and gypsum-Cl salt mixtures, beneficial for orbital analyses. Our findings reveal that experimental (i) heating rates, (ii) temperature ranges, (iii) relative masses of gypsum and Cl-salts, and (iv) dehydration environments (e.g., in situ and in vacuo) influence Ca-sulfate phase formation. Although we find different results in some cases, this study demonstrates that changing experimental conditions affects the detectability and transformation of gypsum. Further, these results indicate that the geochemical environmental conditions on Mars play a role in gypsum's geochemical transformation to dehydrated components. This study also provides structural and chemical data for Ca sulfate assemblages from vibrational spectroscopy and XRD, which extends our knowledge of gypsum and related materials under variable conditions, thus aiding orbital and surface planetary analyses that may help to advance our understanding of planetary geochemistry on Mars.

Supercontinuum laser-based gonio-scatterometer for in and out-of-plane spectral BRDF measurements

The hyperspectral component of bidirectional reflectance measurements, namely from several hundred wavelengths upwards, is attracting growing interest for numerous applications in both optics and computer graphics. In this paper, we present a motorized hyperspectral bidirectional reflectance measurement bench that performs in-plane and out-of-plane measurements for isotropic materials using a supercontinuum laser covering the visible and near infrared range, with a sub-nanometer spectral accuracy. We describe the complete data processing chain, including a method for assessing the alignment error of the measurement bench. From these measurements, we verify the principles of non-negativity, energy conservation and Helmholtz reciprocity. We introduce criteria also to evaluate the validity of the Lambertian hypothesis for the bidirectional reflectance and its deviation from reciprocity, obtained from the measurements directly. We show the need for spectral bidirectional reflectance measurements for certain materials, rejecting the separable function approximation.

Dry powders reflectance model based on enhanced backscattering: case of hematiteα-Fe2O3

By performing bidirectionnal reflectance distribution function (BRDF) measurements, we have identified backscattering as the main phenomenon involved in the appearance of dry nanocrystallized powders. We introduce an analytical and physically based BRDF model that relies on the enhanced backscattering theory to accurately reproduce BRDF measurements. These experimental data were performed on optically thick layers of dry powders with various grains' morphologies. Our results are significantly better than those obtained with previous models. Our model has been validated against the BRDF measurements of multiple synthesized nanocrystallized and monodisperse α-F e 2 O 3 hematite powders. Finally, we discuss the ability of our model to be extended to other materials or more complex powder morphologies.

Detection of biogenic amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) formed by bacteria using FTIR spectroscopy

While the formation of intracellular amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) by living organisms is widespread, its detection in prokaryotes remains difficult owing to its susceptibility to transform or dissolve upon sample preparation. Because of these challenges, a large number of ACC-forming prokaryotes may have been undetected and their abundance in the natural environment is possibly underestimated. This study identifies diagnostic spectral markers of ACC-forming prokaryotes that facilitate their detection in the environment. Accordingly, ACC formed by cyanobacteria was characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy in near-IR, mid-IR, and far-IR spectral regions. Two characteristic FTIR vibrations of ACC, at ∼ 860 cm^-1and ∼ 306 cm^-1, were identified as reliable spectral probes to rapidly detect prokaryotic ACC. Using these spectral probes, several Microcystis strains whose ACC-forming capability was unknown, were tested. Four out of eight Microcystis strains were identified as possessing ACC-forming capability and these findings were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations. Overall, our findings provide a systematic characterization of prokaryotic ACC that facilitate rapid detection of ACC forming prokaryotes in the environment, a prerequisite to shed light on the role of ACC-forming prokaryotes in the geochemical cycle of Ca in the environment.

ROMA: A Database of Rock Reflectance Spectra for Martian In Situ Exploration

The ROMA database (ROck reflectance for MArtian in situ exploration, https://roma.univ-lyon1.fr) provides the reflectance spectra between 0.4 and 3-4 μm of various terrestrial, Martian, and synthetic samples, as a means to document reference measurements for comparison with data acquired by visible and near-infrared spectrometers on planetary surfaces, with a focus on current and future Martian observations by the Perseverance (Mars 2020 mission) and Rosalind Franklin (ExoMars) rovers. The main specificity of this database is to include a significant fraction of spectra of unprocessed rock, which are more realistic analogs and often have different spectral features than the fine powders more commonly analyzed in reflectance spectroscopy. Additionally, these measurements were acquired with a spectrometer whose spot size is similar to those of the SuperCam instrument (Mars 2020 mission) at a few meters from a target. Supplementary information are provided in the ROMA database: higher-level data (such as absorption band parameters) as well as sample mineralogy estimated by whole-rock X-ray diffraction analyses. Future comparisons with this database will help improve the interpretation of spectral measurements acquired on the Martian surface. This work introduces the aim of the library and its current state, but additional data on intact natural rock surfaces will likely be added in the future.

A 4,565-My-old andesite from an extinct chondritic protoplanet

The age of iron meteorites implies that accretion of protoplanets began during the first millions of years of the solar system. Due to the heat generated by ²⁶Al decay, many early protoplanets were fully differentiated with an igneous crust produced during the cooling of a magma ocean and the segregation at depth of a metallic core. The formation and nature of the primordial crust generated during the early stages of melting is poorly understood, due in part to the scarcity of available samples. The newly discovered meteorite Erg Chech 002 (EC 002) originates from one such primitive igneous crust and has an andesite bulk composition. It derives from the partial melting of a noncarbonaceous chondritic reservoir, with no depletion in alkalis relative to the Sun's photosphere and at a high degree of melting of around 25%. Moreover, EC 002 is, to date, the oldest known piece of an igneous crust with a ²⁶Al-²⁶Mg crystallization age of 4,565.0 million years (My). Partial melting took place at 1,220 °C up to several hundred kyr before, implying an accretion of the EC 002 parent body ca. 4,566 My ago. Protoplanets covered by andesitic crusts were probably frequent. However, no asteroid shares the spectral features of EC 002, indicating that almost all of these bodies have disappeared, either because they went on to form the building blocks of larger bodies or planets or were simply destroyed.

Updates to the Oxford Space Environment Goniometer to measure visible wavelength bidirectional reflectance distribution functions in ambient conditions

Understanding how the surfaces of airless planetary bodies-such as the Moon-scatter visible light enables constraints to be placed on their surface properties and top boundary layer inputs to be set within thermal models. Remote sensing instruments-such as Diviner onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter-measure thermal emission and visible light scattering functions across visible (∼0.38-0.7 µm) to thermal infrared (TIR) wavelengths (∼0.7-350 μm). To provide ground support measurements for such instruments, the Oxford Space Environment Goniometer (OSEG) was built. Initially, the OSEG focused on measuring TIR directional emissivity functions for regolith and regolith simulant samples in a simulated space environment, but it has recently been modified to measure visible wavelength Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Functions (BRDFs) of samples in ambient conditions. Laboratory-measured BRDFs can be used (1) to test and to help interpret models-such as the Hapke photometric model-and (2) as visible scattering function inputs for thermal models. This paper describes the modifications to and initial calibration measurements taken by the Visible Oxford Space Environment Goniometer with a 532 nm laser, and details how this setup can be used to measure BRDFs of regolith and regolith simulant samples of airless planetary bodies.

Dwarf planet (1) Ceres surface bluing due to high porosity resulting from sublimation

The Dawn mission found that the dominant colour variation on the surface of dwarf planet Ceres is a change of the visible spectral slope, where fresh impact craters are surrounded by blue (negative spectral-sloped) ejecta. The origin of this colour variation is still a mystery. Here we investigate a scenario in which an impact mixes the phyllosilicates present on the surface of Ceres with the water ice just below. In our experiment, Ceres analogue material is suspended in liquid water to create intimately mixed ice particles, which are sublimated under conditions approximating those on Ceres. The sublimation residue has a highly porous, foam-like structure made of phyllosilicates that scattered light in similar blue fashion as the Ceres surface. Our experiment provides a mechanism for the blue colour of fresh craters that can naturally emerge from the Ceres environment.

The origin of blue ejecta around the fresh craters of dwarf planet Ceres is unknown. Here, the authors show that the blue color results from high porosity of the surface, induced by sublimation of ice-phyllosilicate mixture produced by impacts.

The SuperCam Instrument Suite on the NASA Mars 2020 Rover: Body Unit and Combined System Tests

The SuperCam instrument suite provides the Mars 2020 rover, Perseverance, with a number of versatile remote-sensing techniques that can be used at long distance as well as within the robotic-arm workspace. These include laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), remote time-resolved Raman and luminescence spectroscopies, and visible and infrared (VISIR; separately referred to as VIS and IR) reflectance spectroscopy. A remote micro-imager (RMI) provides high-resolution color context imaging, and a microphone can be used as a stand-alone tool for environmental studies or to determine physical properties of rocks and soils from shock waves of laser-produced plasmas. SuperCam is built in three parts: The mast unit (MU), consisting of the laser, telescope, RMI, IR spectrometer, and associated electronics, is described in a companion paper. The on-board calibration targets are described in another companion paper. Here we describe SuperCam's body unit (BU) and testing of the integrated instrument. The BU, mounted inside the rover body, receives light from the MU via a 5.8 m optical fiber. The light is split into three wavelength bands by a demultiplexer, and is routed via fiber bundles to three optical spectrometers, two of which (UV and violet; 245-340 and 385-465 nm) are crossed Czerny-Turner reflection spectrometers, nearly identical to their counterparts on ChemCam. The third is a high-efficiency transmission spectrometer containing an optical intensifier capable of gating exposures to 100 ns or longer, with variable delay times relative to the laser pulse. This spectrometer covers 535-853 nm ( 105 - 7070 cm - 1 Raman shift relative to the 532 nm green laser beam) with 12 cm - 1 full-width at half-maximum peak resolution in the Raman fingerprint region. The BU electronics boards interface with the rover and control the instrument, returning data to the rover. Thermal systems maintain a warm temperature during cruise to Mars to avoid contamination on the optics, and cool the detectors during operations on Mars. Results obtained with the integrated instrument demonstrate its capabilities for LIBS, for which a library of 332 standards was developed. Examples of Raman and VISIR spectroscopy are shown, demonstrating clear mineral identification with both techniques. Luminescence spectra demonstrate the utility of having both spectral and temporal dimensions. Finally, RMI and microphone tests on the rover demonstrate the capabilities of these subsystems as well.

Ammonium salts are a reservoir of nitrogen on a cometary nucleus and possibly on some asteroids

The measured nitrogen-to-carbon ratio in comets is lower than for the Sun, a discrepancy which could be alleviated if there is an unknown reservoir of nitrogen in comets. The nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko exhibits an unidentified broad spectral reflectance feature around 3.2 micrometers, which is ubiquitous across its surface. On the basis of laboratory experiments, we attribute this absorption band to ammonium salts mixed with dust on the surface. The depth of the band indicates that semivolatile ammonium salts are a substantial reservoir of nitrogen in the comet, potentially dominating over refractory organic matter and more volatile species. Similar absorption features appear in the spectra of some asteroids, implying a compositional link between asteroids, comets, and the parent interstellar cloud.