Remote Raman detection of Feldspars under daylight condition using a compact remote Raman+LIBS+Fluorescence system

Introduction: The detection of minerals using remote analytical techniques has the advantage of performing rapid chemical analysis of a variety of targets without sample collection. This saves significant time in planetary explorations using rovers and provides a large number of targets accessible to a lander near its landing site. The University of Hawaii (UH), in collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and NASA Langley Research Center, has successfully developed a Compact Remote Raman + LIBS + Fluorescence System (CRRLFS), which is capable of measuring Raman, LIBS and fluorescence spectra of minerals under daytime conditions from standoff distances (shown in Fig.1). For the Mars 2020 mission, UH is collaborating with LANL and French partners (IRAP and CNES), for developing the SuperCam instrument which will be able to perform remote chemical analysis of minerals on Mars using Raman, LIBS and timeresolved fluorescence spectroscopy [1].