THE IN-SITU ANALYSIS OF THE MOON, MARS, ASTEROIDS AND OTHER PLANETARY BODIES. G. Klingelhöfer, C. Schröder, M. Blumers, R.V. Morris, B. Bernhardt, J. Brückner, and P. Lechner, Institute of Inorgnic Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-University, Staudinger Weg 9, 55128 Mainz, Germany, klingel@mail.uni-mainz.de, University of Bayreuth and Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Siwartstr. 10, 72076 Tübingen, Germany, christian.schroeder@ifg.uni-tuebingen.de, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA, Von Hoerner & Sulger GmbH, Schwetzingen, Germany, Max-Planck-Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany, PN Sensor GmbH, Munich, Germany.

For the advanced Moessbauer instrument MIMOS IIA, the new detector technologies and electronic components increase sensitivity and performance significantly. In combination with the high energy resolution of the SDD it is possible to perform X-ray fluorescence analysis simultaneously to Moessbauer spectroscopy. In addition to the Fe-mineralogy, information on the sample's elemental composition will be gathered. The ISRU 2010 field campaign demonstrated that in-situ Moessbauer spectroscopy is an effective tool for both science and feedstock exploration and process monitoring. Engineering tests showed that a compact nickel metal hydride battery provided sufficient power for over 12 hr of continuous operation for the MIMOS instruments.

Both Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and the Miniaturized Moessbauer Spectrometer (MIMOS II) have shown their performances in space missions and terrestrial applications. Taking advantage of the challenges of space missions both instruments have become very powerful tools, even small in mass and dimensions.

The Miniaturised Mössbauer Spectrometers MIMOS II on board the two Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) have now been collecting valuable scientific data for more than five years. Mössbauer Spectrometers are part of two future missions: Phobos Grunt (Russian Space Agency) and a joint ESA—NASA Rover in 2018. The new advanced MIMOS IIA instrument described in this paper uses Silicon Drift Detectors (SDD) allowing also X-ray fluorescence chemical analysis (XRF) simultaneously to Mössbauer acquisitions. This paper highlights the features and technological improvements of the new spectrometer MIMOS IIA.

SCOPY. D.Rodionov, G.Klingelhoefer, M. Blumers, B. Bernhardt, I. Fleischer, J. Gironés , M. Maul, E.Evlanov, A. Shlyk, C. d'Uston, Institut für Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Universität Mainz, Germany (Staudinger Weg 9, Mainz, Germany, 55122, klingel@uni-mainz.de), Space Research Institute IKI, Moscow, Russia (Profsouznaya Str., 84/32, Moscow, Russia, 117997, rodionov@iki.rssi.ru), Von Hoerner & Sulger GmbH, Schwetzingen, Germany, CESR Toulouse, France.

Möessbauer spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the mineralogical analysis of Fe-bearing materials. The miniaturized Möessbauer spectrometer MIMOS II has already been working on the surface of Mars for 6 years as part of the NASA Mars Exploration Rovers mission. The improved version of the instrument is a component of the scientific payload of the Phobos-Grunt mission. The scientific objectives of the instrument are the following: to identify the iron-bearing phases, to determine the quantitative distribution of iron among these phases, and to determine the distribution of iron among its oxidation states.

Mobility is a key feature for any science mission and for space exploration in general. Missions with mobile systems provide a much wider spectrum of outcomes by employing a higher number of samples within an increased area of exploration. The additional degree of freedom of a rover in comparison to a lander or even a robotic arm allows the mission to be flexibly adapted to the landing site as it is encountered. Nevertheless, rover vehicles developed for the exploration of planetary surfaces are extreme complex systems, which have to be specialised for the environmental conditions they are dedicated for. With the variation of the environmental conditions on missions to different target planets, the requirements are varying for the landing system, the rover as well as the payload. Since 1989 the company von Hoerner & Sulger is doing research in the field of robotic systems and planetary exploration. Given that, the company is in the mean time well situated in the development and manufacture of rovers and established a good cooperation with academic institutes. The company gained the experience to develop the matching rover chassis for a variety of mission scenarios: The Nanokhod rover is a small mobile scientific platform, designed to transport a package of scientific instruments and to carry out in-situ measurements of rocks and small craters in the vicinity of the landing point. The Microrover has a volume of 160×65×250 mm, it weighs 3,2 kg including a payload mass of 1 kg and has a peak power need of max. 5 W. The Nanokhod is a tethered system that uses the Lander for power supply and as a data relay to Earth. The Nanokhod has recently been designed to withstand the demanding requirements of a flight model on a mission to Mercury. Based on this design, an engineering-level hardware model was built which is suitable for environmental testing, preparing the rover design for a variety of possible future missions. The Solero rover is an innovative Minirover concept, designed for regional exploration of a planetary surface. The vehicle has a passive chassis concept with exceptional climbing abilities, which provides the ability to adjust to all kinds of terrains and thus minimises control needs. The company vH&S is leading already the second ExoMars rover chassis breadboard design and manufacturing activity, which is part of the rover development for the first European Mars rover. The second breadboard is designed and built by vH&S GmbH in collaboration with DLR and two Swiss collaborators. The ExoMars rover for the ESA Cornerstone Mission Aurora, will be a mobile Laboratory having an Exo-biology Payload (Pasteur), including a geochemical package, and carrying a drill that is reaching probes up to a depth of two meter. This paper describes the gained experiences and most important aspects of a rover design for the purpose of planetary exploration. In addition it presents the newest designs and the manufactured models in relation to their missions ...

The two Miniaturized Moessbauer Spectrometers (MIMOS II) on board the two Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity have now been collecting important scientific data for more than four years. The spectrometers provide information about Fe-bearing mineral phases and determine Fe oxidation states. The total amount of targets analized exceeds 600, the total integration time exceeds 260 days for both rovers. Since landing, more than five half-lives of the Co-57 MB sources have past (intensity at the time of landing approx. 150 mCi). Current integration times are about 50 hours in order to achieve reasonable statistics as opposed to 8 hours at the beginning of the mission. In total, 13 different mineral phases were detected: Olivine, pyroxene, hematite, magnetite and nanophase ferric oxide were detected at both landing sites. At Gusev, ilmenite, goethite, a ferric sulfate phase and a yet unassigned phase (in the rock Fuzzy Smith) were detected. At Meridiani, jarosite, metallic iron in meteoritic samples (kamacite), troilite, and an unassigned ferric phase were detected. Jarosite and goethite are of special interest, as these minerals are indicators for water activity. In this abstract, an overview of Moessbauer results will be given, with a focus on data obtained since the last martian winter. The MER mission has proven that Moessbauer spectroscopy is a valuable tool for the in situ exploration of extraterrestrial bodies and for the study of Febearing samples. The experience gained through the MER mission makes MIMOS II a obvious choice for future missions to Mars and other targets. Currently, MIMOS II is on the scientific payload of two approved future missions: Phobos Grunt (Russian Space Agency; 2009) and ExoMars (European Space Agency; 2013).

“PHOBOS-GRUNT” MISSION. G. Klingelhoefer, D. Rodionov, M. Blumers, B. Bernhardt, I. Fleischer, C. Schroeder, R. V. Morris, J. Girones Lopez, Institut fuer Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Universitaet Mainz, Germany (klingel@mail.uni-mainz.de), Space Research Institute IKI, Moscow, Russia (rodionov@iki.rssi.ru), NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA, Von Hoerner&Sulger GmbH, Germany.

A miniaturised Mössbauer spectrometer ‘MIMOS’ operating in a backscattering geometry using 6.4keV X-ray Mössbauer radiation and 14.4keV backscattered γ-ray Mössbauer radiation has been used to obtain information about the depth-selective surface crystallization of thermally annealed Fe58Co25Nb7Cu1B9 and Fe60Co25Nb6Cu1B8 alloys. Crystallization of the specimens starts after annealing at 390°C. An increase of the annealing temperature increases the hyperfine field showing the increase of Co-content in the crystalline phase from 2% to 10%. The relative abundance of Fe in the crystalline phase ranges between 8% and 42%. An increase in the annealing temperature enhances the order in the crystalline phase and randomises the atomic spins, which are preferentially aligned within the ribbon plane in the as-cast state.

The Mössbauer (MB) spectrometer on Opportunity measured the Fe oxidation state, identified Fe‐bearing phases, and measured relative abundances of Fe among those phases at Meridiani Planum, Mars. Eight Fe‐bearing phases were identified: jarosite (K,Na,H3O)(Fe,Al)(OH)6(SO4)2, hematite, olivine, pyroxene, magnetite, nanophase ferric oxides (npOx), an unassigned ferric phase, and metallic Fe (kamacite). Burns Formation outcrop rocks consist of hematite‐rich spherules dispersed throughout S‐rich rock that has nearly constant proportions of Fe3+ from jarosite, hematite, and npOx (29%, 36%, and 20% of total Fe). The high oxidation state of the S‐rich rock (Fe3+/FeT ∼ 0.9) implies that S is present as the sulfate anion. Jarosite is mineralogical evidence for aqueous processes under acid‐sulfate conditions because it has structural hydroxide and sulfate and it forms at low pH. Hematite‐rich spherules, eroded from the outcrop, and their fragments are concentrated as hematite‐rich soils (lag deposits) on ripple crests (up to 68% of total Fe from hematite). Olivine, pyroxene, and magnetite are primarily associated with basaltic soils and are present as thin and locally discontinuous cover over outcrop rocks, commonly forming aeolian bedforms. Basaltic soils are more reduced (Fe3+/FeT ∼ 0.2–0.4), with the fine‐grained and bright aeolian deposits being the most oxidized. Average proportions of total Fe from olivine, pyroxene, npOx, magnetite, and hematite are ∼33%, 38%, 18%, 6%, and 4%, respectively. The MB parameters of outcrop npOx and basaltic‐soil npOx are different, but it is not possible to infer mineralogical information beyond octahedrally coordinated Fe3+. Basaltic soils at Meridiani Planum and Gusev crater have similar Fe‐mineralogical compositions.

The Mössbauer spectrometer on Spirit measured the oxidation state of Fe, identified Fe‐bearing phases, and measured relative abundances of Fe among those phases for surface materials on the plains and in the Columbia Hills of Gusev crater. Eight Fe‐bearing phases were identified: olivine, pyroxene, ilmenite, magnetite, nanophase ferric oxide (npOx), hematite, goethite, and a Fe3+‐sulfate. Adirondack basaltic rocks on the plains are nearly unaltered (Fe3+/FeT < 0.2) with Fe from olivine, pyroxene (Ol > Px), and minor npOx and magnetite. Columbia Hills basaltic rocks are nearly unaltered (Peace and Backstay), moderately altered (WoolyPatch, Wishstone, and Keystone), and pervasively altered (e.g., Clovis, Uchben, Watchtower, Keel, and Paros with Fe3+/FeT ∼ 0.6–0.9). Fe from pyroxene is greater than Fe from olivine (Ol sometimes absent), and Fe2+ from Ol + Px is 40–49% and 9–24% for moderately and pervasively altered materials, respectively. Ilmenite (Fe from Ilm ∼3–6%) is present in Backstay, Wishstone, Keystone, and related rocks along with magnetite (Fe from Mt ∼10–15%). Remaining Fe is present as npOx, hematite, and goethite in variable proportions. Clovis has the highest goethite content (Fe from Gt = 40%). Goethite (α‐FeOOH) is mineralogical evidence for aqueous processes because it has structural hydroxide and is formed under aqueous conditions. Relatively unaltered basaltic soils (Fe3+/FeT ∼ 0.3) occur throughout Gusev crater (∼60–80% Fe from Ol + Px, ∼10–30% from npOx, and ∼10% from Mt). PasoRobles soil in the Columbia Hills has a unique occurrence of high concentrations of Fe3+‐sulfate (∼65% of Fe). Magnetite is identified as a strongly magnetic phase in Martian soil and dust.

A special experimental setup for in-field applications was developed at Mainz. It incorporates hardware for automated positioning of the Mössbauer sensor head, a Plexiglas tube, and a modified version of the space proven Miniaturized Mössbauer Spectrometer MIMOS II (Klingelhöfer et al., Science, 306:1740–1745, 2004; Klingelhöfer et al., J. Geophys. Res., 108(E12):8067, 2003; Klingelhöfer et al., Hyperfine Interact. 144/145:371–379, 2002; Génin et al., Solid State Sci., 7:545–572, 2005). MIMOS operates in backscattering geometry, thus no sample preparation is required. Also dedicated software for running measurement sequences (e.g., different depth positions at different times etc.) was developed. The setup can work autonomously up to several weeks in the field. Preliminary results confirm that fougerite mineral found in hydromorphic soils is FeII–III hydroxycarbonate green rust.