The effects of water and ice on LIBS signals and the detection of water on Mars

Kurzfassung

ExoMars, ESA’s upcoming mission to Mars will include Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to analyse the elemental composition of Martian surface materials in the temperature range from +20°C to -60°C. It had been inferred that water exists as ice layers, “crystal” water and absorbed pore water in the upper meters of the Martian surface at mid- and low latitudes. Hence, in LIBS analyses of Martian soils and rocks the presence of pore and adsorption water and their transformation into ice phases and vice-versa must be considered. Therefore, we have started systematic LIBS analyses of wet samples at variable surface temperatures. Here we present the results of our new studies on the behaviour of the LIBS signal from major elements and from water related hydrogen as a function of the sample temperature.