Correcting for variable laser-target distances of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy measurements with ChemCam using emission lines of Martian dust spectra

N. Melikechi*, A. Mezzacappa, A. Cousin, N.L. Lanza, J. Lasue, S.M. Clegg, G. Berger, R.C. Wiens, S. Maurice, R.L. Tokar, S. Bender, O. Forni, E.A. Breves, M.D. Dyar, J. Frydenvang, D. Delapp, O. Gasnault, H. Newsom, A.M. Ollila, E. LewinB.C. Clark, B.L. Ehlmann, D. Blaney, C. Fabre, MSL Science Team

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

45 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

As part of the Mars Science Laboratory, the ChemCam instrument acquires remote laser induced breakdown spectra at distances that vary between 1.56 m and 7 m. This variation in distance affects the intensities of the measured LIBS emission lines in non-trivial ways. To determine the behavior of a LIBS emission line with distance, it is necessary to separate the effects of many parameters such as laser energy, laser spot size, target homogeneity, and optical collection efficiency. These parameters may be controlled in a laboratory on Earth but for field applications or in space this is a challenge. In this paper, we show that carefully selected ChemCam LIBS emission lines acquired from the Martian dust can be used to build an internal proxy spectroscopic standard. This in turn, allows for a direct measurement of the effects of the distance of various LIBS emission lines and hence can be used to correct ChemCam LIBS spectra for distance variations. When tested on pre-launch LIBS calibration data acquired under Martian-like conditions and with controlled and well-calibrated targets, this approach yields much improved agreement between targets observed at various distances. This work lays the foundation for future implementation of automated routines to correct ChemCam spectra for differences caused by variable distance.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)51-60
Number of pages10
JournalSpectrochimica Acta. Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy
Volume96
Early online date22 Apr 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2014
Event7th Euro-Mediterranean Symposium on Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (EMSLIBS 2013) - Bari, Italy
Duration: 16 Sept 201320 Sept 2013

Keywords

  • LIBS
  • Mars
  • Dust
  • Remote sensing
  • Geological analysis

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