P026-0003
In Situ Mineralogical Analysis of the Venus Surface with X-ray Diffraction (XRD)

Wednesday, 9 December 2020
Poster
David Frederick Blake1, Thomas Bristow1, Philippe Sarrazin2, Kris Zacny3, Robert T Downs4, Barbara Lafuente1 and Allan H Treiman5, (1)NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States, (2)SETI Institute Mountain View, Mountain View, CA, United States, (3)Honeybee Robotics, Pasadena, United States, (4)University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States, (5)Lunar & Planetary Inst, Houston, TX, United States
Abstract:
Quantitative and definitive mineralogy is critical for elucidating the early history and evolution of Venus, for comparative planetology, for deducing habitability on early Venus, and for characterizing Venus as a surrogate for Venus-like exoplanets [1].

With regard to mineralogy, XRD - a direct crystallographic technique - is extraordinarily powerful and robust. Using XRD alone, all minerals present at >3 wt% can be identified, quantified, and their elemental compositions determined or constrained. The amounts and valence states of all major elements, H and above can be determined directly from mineral formulae. These capabilities have already been demonstrated by MSL-CheMin during its 8-year deployment on Mars [2-3].

CheMinV, a next-generation XRD instrument that is included in the baseline payload of a proposed Venus Flagship mission [4], is the product of a decade of post MSL-CheMin technology development, yielding a >10X increase in data acquisition speed, a 50% reduction in instrument mass and volume and improved pattern resolution, modified for the particular requirements of a Venus landed mission. The instrument will receive and analyze 3-4 powdered regolith samples (baseline requirement is 3) during the lander’s operational lifetime on the surface.

We are populating a CheMin- and CheMinV-specific XRD database of analog materials suitable for comparison with other techniques and with returned Venus data [5].

[1]. Venus Exploration and Analysis Group (VEXAG) Goals, Objectives and Investigations for Venus Exploration (2019).

[2]. Morrison, S.M., et al. (2018). “Crystal chemistry of Martian minerals from Bradbury Landing through Naukluft Plateau, Gale crater, Mars,” American Mineralogist. DOI: 10.2138/am-2018-6124.

[3]. http://odr.io/CheMin

[4]. Gilmore, M. (2020). “Venus Flagship Mission Study” (NNH18ZDA001N-PMCS); submitted to the Decadal Survey for the 2023-2033 decade.

[5]. https://odr.io/CheMinAnalog https://odr.io/lunar-regolith-xrd

<< Previous Abstract | Next Abstract >>