The Sample Analysis Laboratory (SAL) at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Berlin – a cutting edge laboratory for extraterrestrial material analysis

Abstract

Sample return missions provide the ultimate ground truth for interpretation of remote sensing data and enable an unprecedented level of analysis compared to in-situ instruments. In response to the explosion of interest in this field in recent years the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Berlin is constructing a Sample Analysis Laboratory (SAL) for the analysis and curation of returned samples in close cooperation with the Museum für Naturkunde (MfN), and in collaboration with colleagues at NASA and JAXA. Key topics to which SAL will contribute are the geochemical history of hydration, oxidation and alteration of planetary surfaces through analysing natural and artificial samples; detection of organics and possible traces or signs of extinct life; the formation and evolution of planetary bodies. In addition, SAL will extend the capabilities of the existing on-site Planetary Spectroscopy Laboratory facilities with complementary instrumentation for material analysis, supporting preparation for interpretation of NIR and MIR data from instruments on board the VERITAS, EnVision and BepiColombo missions as well as sample curation in the context of the MMX mission. The laboratory will provide a cleanroom environment of approximately 80 m2. The major analytical instruments have already been purchased for SAL: a JEOL iHP200F Field Emission Electron Microprobe Analyzer, a JEOL JSM-IT800 Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope and a Malvern Panalytical Empyrean X-ray Diffraction system. A vis-IR-microscope (Bruker Hyperion 2000) interfaced with a Bruker Vertex 80V FTIR spectrometer is already in operation and has been used for measurements on Ryugu grains from the Hayabusa2 mission, and spectral analysis of the Ribbeck aubrite. The SAL cleanroom construction is planned to be finished in January 2026, with operation and commissioning due to be well under way by Spring of 2026. This contribution will give an overview of the DLR Sample Analysis Laboratory, the time plan and major goals for the coming years.