Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy
New tools have been deployed on Mars with the arrival of the Curiosity rover ; among these the ChemCam instrument using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy provides an average of ~200 spectra a day from surface rocks a few meters around the rover. Using laboratory experiments and dedicated tests on Mars, I develop new methods for using ChemCam data to measure the hydration of targets and the distribution of hydrated minerals and other phases.
Schematic of the ChemCam replica setup used for LIBS calibration in the laboratory at IRAP, Toulouse, France. After Rapin et al. (2017a)
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Mars Geochemistry and Paleoenvironments
Mars has a well preserved geological record up to 4 billions years old, where traces of its early evolution involving liquid water can be found. The Curiosity rover is now exploring Gale crater to analyze hundreds of meters of a stratigraphy 3.6 to 3.8 Gyrs old, a period when Mars' environment is thought to have transitioned from wet to dry over time. I participate in rover operations and use data to analyze geochemistry, sedimentology and inform new models on paleoenvironments.
Deposition scenario of sulfate salts in the margin of ancient Gale lake, possibly forming evaporative ponds fed by distributive channel systems. After Rapin et al. (2019)
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Header image: the ChemCam instrument laboratory replica in a climate chamber during calibration experiments