Radiation-induced alteration of apatite on the surface of Mars: first in situ observations with SuperCam Raman onboard Perseverance
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Planetary exploration relies considerably on mineral characterization to advance our understanding of the solar system, the planets and their evolution. Thus, we must understand past and present processes that can alter materials exposed on the surface, affecting space mission data. Here, we analyze the first dataset monitoring the evolution of a known mineral target in situ on the Martian surface, brought there as a SuperCam calibration target onboard the Perseverance rover. We used Raman spectroscopy to monitor the crystalline state of a synthetic apatite sample over the first 950 Martian days (sols) of the Mars2020 mission. We note significant variations in the Raman spectra acquired on this target, specifically a decrease in the relative contribution of the Raman signal to the total signal. These observations are consistent with the results of a UV-irradiation test performed in the laboratory under conditions mimicking ambient Martian conditions. We conclude that the observed evolution reflects an alteration of the material, specifically the creation of electronic defects, due to its exposure to the Martian environment and, in particular, UV irradiation. This ongoing process of alteration of the Martian surface needs to be taken into account for mineralogical space mission data analysis.
Originalsprog | Engelsk |
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Artikelnummer | 11284 |
Tidsskrift | Scientific Reports |
Vol/bind | 14 |
Antal sider | 12 |
ISSN | 2045-2322 |
DOI | |
Status | Udgivet - 2024 |
Bibliografisk note
Funding Information:
We thank the Mars 2020 Science and Engineering teams for their work supporting the scientific research presented in this manuscript. Several contributors are supported by CNES for their work with SuperCam on Perseverance (Mars2020).TF was supported by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) through the ASI/INAF agreement no. 2023-3-HH. OB and SB (IMPMC) acknowledge funding from the CNRS and Sorbonne Universit\u00E9 and thank the IMPMC Cellule Projet for the help in building the laboratory setup used in this study.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
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