Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy of martian breccia Northwest Africa 7034: comparison with Mars Science Laboratory results
type: CreativeWork
description: The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover is utilizing laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) instrumentation to determine compositions of rocks shot in Gale crater, Mars, from a distance of 1.56-7 meters. At the same time, martian breccia meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034 was analyzed with the ChemCam engineering model laboratory LIBS instrument at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) at a 1.6 m standoff distance under 7 Torr CO2. Each LIBS location was pulsed with 150 shots at 3 Hz and 13.5 mJ/pulse. Comparison of NWA 7034 LIBS results with the bulk composition acquired with electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) show agreement within LIBS instrument error. Comparison of NWA 7034 data with targets from Gale shows chemical and textural similarities. This study helps bridge the gap between Mars in situ and martian meteorite data by using LIBS data to determine compositions of heterogeneous rock samples outside the compositional range previously observed on Mars.
abstract: The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover is utilizing laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) instrumentation to determine compositions of rocks shot in Gale crater, Mars, from a distance of 1.56-7 meters. At the same time, martian breccia meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034 was analyzed with the ChemCam engineering model laboratory LIBS instrument at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) at a 1.6 m standoff distance under 7 Torr CO2. Each LIBS location was pulsed with 150 shots at 3 Hz and 13.5 mJ/pulse. Comparison of NWA 7034 LIBS results with the bulk composition acquired with electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) show agreement within LIBS instrument error. Comparison of NWA 7034 data with targets from Gale shows chemical and textural similarities. This study helps bridge the gap between Mars in situ and martian meteorite data by using LIBS data to determine compositions of heterogeneous rock samples outside the compositional range previously observed on Mars.
author: Gordon, Suzanne
language: English
keywords: Mars, NWA 7034, LIBS, MSL
date published: 2015-05-01T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:26:14Z
provider: University of New Mexico
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of New Mexico

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/1928/27930