Transmission Spectroscopy of Packed Simulated Mars Regolith

Casey A Moore1, John E Moores1, Andrew C. Schuerger2 and Liam S Morrissey3, (1)York University, Earth and Space Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada, (2)Univeristy of Florida, Dept. of Plant Pathology, N. Merritt Island, FL, United States, (3)Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John's, NL, Canada

Contact First Author: Casey A Moore; moore.casey@gmail.com

Abstract ID#: 34426

 

English Abstract:
An investigation into how to better understand the phase-function of transmitted UV and VIS irradiation through packed Mars regolith stimulants is ongoing. The transmission spectra of Mars analog soils irradiated with a 300 Watt Xe arc lamp were collected using a mini-goniometer and spectrometer (wavelength range: 151.04 – 598.82 nm).

The regolith catalogue includes several sizes of sieved (45 – 850 µm) and un-sieved JSC Mars-1; other analogs that include acidic, alkaline, high salt, Phoenix, and aeolian martian simulants;, and a terrestrial basalt in fine and medium grain varieties. Samples were prepared to a thickness of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mm using aluminum templates. Thicknesses less than 0.5 mm are in preparation to analyze the finer grain regolith simulants that have proven to be completely opaque at 0.5 mm.

Preliminary results showing the UV-VIS transmission as a function of wavelength and 3-diminsional space will be presented. The goals of this project are to both improve modeling of martian analog regoliths in radiative transfer codes and to assess the evaluation of the habitability of such analogs under martian conditions.

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