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NASA NTRS1986

Mossbauer spectroscopy of extraterrestrial materials

Mossbauer Spectroscopy (MS) has recently been added to the tools used by Dr. Richard Morris of the Experimental Planetology Branch of the Solar System Exploration Division at Johnson Space Flight Center in his research on synthetic and natural analogs of lunar and Martian soils. A least-squares fitting program for MS data written originally for an IBM 360 Mainframe computer was adapted for use on an IBM-PC microcomputer. The adapted program has been applied to the analysis of MS spectra obtained from several samples of Antarctic soil under investigation at JSC as analogs to soil of the Martian regolith. Preliminary conclusions have been drawn from the MS data about the composition of the Antarctic samples. Inferences from optical spectra obtained for these same samples have been compared with the MS results.

Agresti, D. G.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Mossbauer spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction of samples from the Santa Catharina iron meteorite

Conversion electron Mossbauer spectroscopy (CEMS) of samples from the Santa Catharina iron meteorite shows the presence of the ordered iron-nickel phase with 50% Ni, tetrataenite, and of the paramagnetic iron-nickel phase with 25% Ni. The FeNi phase with 50% Ni amounts to 70% of the iron-nickel alloys. Futhermore, the CEM spectra show the presence of small peaks from one or more spinel compounds. These small peaks are more pronounced when regions near the rim of the samples are analyzed. The X-ray diffraction of different areas of the samples, both optically dark and optically light areas, shows the presence of a diffraction pattern from a single f.c.c. lattice with a lattice parameter of a=3.58A This means that the two different Fe-Ni phases seen in the CEMS analysis occupy the same lattice. The X-ray photographs also show the presence of super-structure reflections from the ordered FeNi phase, and that the orientation of the f.c.c. lattice is the same within the whole sample.

Roy-Poulsen, H.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Reflectance and Mossbauer spectroscopy of ferrihydrite-montmorillonite assemblages as Mars soil analog materials

Spectroscopic analyses show that Fe(3+)-doped smectites prepared in the laboratory exhibit important similarities to the soils on Mars. Ferrihydrite has been identified as the interlayer ferric component in Fe(3+)-doped smectites by a low quadrupole splitting and magnetic field strength of approximately 48 tesla in Mossbauer spectra measured at 4.2 K, as well as a crystal field transition at 0.92 micrometer. Ferrihydrite in these smectites explains features in the visible-near infrared region that resemble the energies and band strengths of features in reflectance spectra observed for several bright regions on Mars. Clay silicates have met resistance in the past as Mars soil analogs because terrestrial clay silicates exhibit prominent hydrous spectral features at 1.4, 1.9, and 2.2 micrometers; and these are observed weakly, if at all, in reflectance spectra of Mars. However, several mechanisms can weaken or compress these features, including desiccation under low-humidity conditions. The hydration properties of the interlayer cations also effect band strengths, such that a ferrihydrite-bearing smectite in the Martian environment would exhibit a 1.9 micrometers H2O absorption that is even weaker than the 2.2 micrometers structural OH absorption. Mixing experiments demonstrate that infrared spectral features of clays can be significantly suppressed and that the reflectance can be significantly darkened by mixing with only a few percent of a strongly absorbing opaque material. Therefore, the absolute reflectance of a soil on Mars may be disproportionately sensitive to a minor component. For this reason, the shape and position of spectral features and the chemical composition of potential analogs are of utmost importance in assessing the composition of the soil on Mars. Given the remarkable similarity between visible-infrared reflectance spectra of soils in bright regions on Mars and Fe(3+)-doped montmorillonites, coupled with recent observations of smectites in SNC meteorites and a weak 2.2 micrometers absorption in some Mars soils, ferrihydrite-bearing smectites warrant serious consideration as a Mars soil analog.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗
NASA NTRS1977

Mossbauer spectroscopy of iron in the Luna 20 regolith

Results of the Mossbauer effect measurements on Fe-57 in the average sample of the Luna 20 regolith, and their comparison with similar measurements of the Luna 16 samples are presented. Room temperature measurements of the nonmagnetic as well as magnetic components of the spectra were performed. By careful least-squares analysis, six quadrupole doublets in the inner parts of spectra were resolved. According to their splittings, they were interpreted as four types of iron in silicates (olivine, two inequivalent pyroxene sites, and a glassy fraction) and two types of nonmagnetic iron-titanium oxides (ilmenite and a spinel). Velocity-window measurements, were used to determine the average nickel content of (2.01 plus or minus 0.84) wt. %. These results are discussed in terms of distribution of iron among different phases. In comparison with the Luna 16 sample, the Luna 20 sample contains more olivine and less ilmenite as well as metal with a slightly higher nickel content.

Zemcik, T.↗
NASA NTRS2005

MIMOS II on MER One Year of Mossbauer Spectroscopy on the Surface of Mars: From Jarosite at Meridiani Planum to Goethite at Gusev Crater

The miniaturized Mossbauer (MB) spectrometer MIMOS II [1] is part of the Athena payload of NASA s twin Mars Exploration Rovers "Spirit" (MER-A) and "Opportunity" (MER-B). It determines the Fe-bearing mineralogy of Martian soils and rocks at the Rovers respective landing sites, Gusev crater and Meridiani Planum. Both spectrometers performed successfully during first year of operation. Total integration time is about 49 days for MERA (79 samples) and 34 days for MER-B (85 samples). For curiosity it might be interesting to mention that the total odometry of the oscillating part of the MB drive exceeds 35 km for both rovers.

Klingelhoefer, G.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Pre-terrestrial oxidation products in carbonaceous meteorites identified by Mossbauer spectroscopy

The occurrence of ferric bearing assemblages, comprising phyllosilicates, oxide hydroxides and magnetite, in carbonaceous chondrites (CC) indicates that these meteorites underwent pre-terrestrial, sub-aqueous oxidation reactions. Reported here are results of a Mossbauer spectral study of a suite of CC demonstrating that a variety of ferrous and ferric bearing phases may be distinguished in different classes of this meteorite type.

Burns, Roger G.↗
NASA NTRS1999

A Mossbauer investigation of iron-rich terrestrial hydrothermal vent systems: lessons for Mars exploration

Hydrothermal spring systems may well have been present on early Mars and could have served as a habitat for primitive life. The integrated instrument suite of the Athena Rover has, as a component on the robotic arm, a Mossbauer spectrometer. In the context of future Mars exploration we present results of Mossbauer analysis of a suite of samples from an iron-rich thermal spring in the Chocolate Pots area of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) and from Obsidian Pool (YNP) and Manitou Springs, Colorado. We have found that Mossbauer spectroscopy can discriminate among the iron-bearing minerals in our samples. Those near the vent and on the surface are identified as ferrihydrite, an amorphous ferric mineraloid. Subsurface samples, collected from cores, which are likely to have undergone inorganic and/or biologically mediated alteration (diagenesis), exhibit spectral signatures that include nontronite (a smectite clay), hematite (alpha-Fe2O3), small-particle/nanophase goethite (alpha-FeOOH), and siderite (FeCO3). We find for iron minerals that Mossbauer spectroscopy is at least as efficient in identification as X-ray diffraction. This observation is important from an exploration standpoint. As a planetary surface instrument, Mossbauer spectroscopy can yield high-quality spectral data without sample preparation (backscatter mode). We have also used field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), in conjunction with energy-dispersive X ray (EDX) fluorescence spectroscopy, to characterize the microbiological component of surface sinters and the relation between the microbiological and the mineralogical framework. Evidence is presented that the minerals found in these deposits can have multi-billion-year residence times and thus may have survived their possible production in a putative early Martian hot spring up to the present day. Examples include the nanophase property and the Mossbauer signature for siderite, which has been identified in a 2.09-billion-year old hematite-rich chert stromatolite. Our research demonstrates that in situ Mossbauer spectroscopy can help determine whether hydrothermal mineral deposits exist on Mars, which is significant for exobiology because of the issue of whether that world ever had conditions conductive to the origin of life. As a useful tool for selection of samples suitable for transport to Earth, Mossbauer spectroscopy will not only serve geological interests but will also have potential for exopaleontology.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗
NASA NTRS1993

Reflectance spectra of sulfate-and carbonate-bearing Fe(3+)-doped montmorillonites as Mars soil analogs

Ferric smectites and ferrihydrite may be common alteration products of igneous lithologies on Mars, and experiments involving montmorillonite enriched with Fe(3+) support the likelihood of ferric smectites on Mars. Mossbauer spectroscopy has been used to identify ferrihydrite (Fe4(O,OH,H2O)12) as the primary ferric material in Fe(3+)-doped montmorillonite. Ferrihydrite is especially interesting due to its role as a precursor in the formation of hematite and goethite. Reflectance spectroscopy in the visible and infrared regions are coupled with Mossbauer spectroscopy in this study to characterize the ferric material in montmorillonites containing Fe(3+), as well as carbonates or sulfates, in the interlayer region.

Bishop, Janice L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Backscatter Mossbauer Spectrometer (BaMS) for extraterrestrial applications

Mossbauer spectroscopy is a nuclear gamma resonance technique particularly well suited to the study of materials that contain iron (Fe-57). It can provide information on the oxidation state of iron as well as the type and proportion of iron-containing mineral species in a sample of interest. Iron Mossbauer spectroscopy (FeMS) has been applied to samples believed to have come from Mars (SNC meteorites) and has been helpful in refining the choice among putative Martian surface materials by suggesting a likely nanophase component of the Martian regolity. FeMS spectrum of a Martial analogue material (Hawaiian palagonite) is shown; it is dominated by ferric-bearing phases and shows evidence of a nanophase component. FeMS has also been applied to lunar materials. It can be used to measure the maturity of lunar surface material and has been proposed as a prospector for lunar ilmenite, an oxygen resource mineral. Several years ago we suggested a backscatter Mossbauer spectrometer (BaMS) for a Mars rover mission. Backscatter design was selected as most appropriate for in-situ application because no sample preparation is required. Since that time, we have continued to develop the BaMS instrument in anticipation that it would eventually find a home on a NASA planetary mission. Gooding proposed BaMS as a geochemistry instrument on MESUR. More recently, an LPI workshop has recommended that BaMS be included in a three-instrument payload on the next (1996?) lunar lander.

Agresti, D. G.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Mineralogical and Geochemical Analyses of Antarctic Lake Sediments: A Reflectance and Moessbauer Spectroscopy Study with Applications for Remote Sensing on Mars

Lakebottom sediments from the Dry Valleys region of Antarctica have been analyzed here in order to study the influence of water chemistry on the mineralogy and geochemistry of these sediments, as well as to evaluate techniques for remote spectral identification of potential biomarker minerals on Mars. Lakes from the Dry Valleys region of Antarctica have been investigated as possible analogs for extinct lake environments on early Mars. Sediment cores were collected in the present study from perennially ice-covered Lake Hoare in the Taylor Valley. These sediments were taken from a core in an oxic region of the lake and another core in an anoxic zone. Differences between the two cores were observed in the sediment color, Fe(II)/Fe(III) ratio, the presence of pyrite, the abundance of Fe, S and some trace elements, and the C, N and S isotope fractionation patterns. The results of visible-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (0.3-25 microns) Mossbauer spectroscopy (77 and 4 K) and X-ray diffraction are combined to determine the mineralogy and composition of these samples. The sediments are dominated by plagioclase, K-feldspar, quartz and pyroxene. Algal mats grow on the bottom of the lake and organic material has been found throughout the cores. Calcite is abundant in some layers of the aerobic core (shallow region) and pyrite is abundant in some layers of the anaerobic core (deep region). Analysis of the spectroscopic features due to organics and carbonates with respect to the abundance of organic C and carbonate contents was performed in order to select optimal spectral bands for remote identification of these components in planetary regoliths. Carbonate bands near 4 and 6.8 microns (approx.2500 and 1500/cm) were detected for carbonate abundances as low as 0.1 wt.% CO2. Organic features at 3.38, 3.42 and 3.51 microns (2960, 2925 and 2850/cm) were detected for organic C abundances as low as 0.06 wt.% C. The d13C trends show a more complex organic history for the anaerobic sediments than for the aerobic sediments. The biogenic pyrite found in the anaerobic core is associated with lighter d34S values and high organic C levels and could be used as a biomarker mineral for paleolakes on Mars.

Froeschl, Heinz↗
NASA NTRS1995

Reflectance spectroscopy of ferric sulfate-bearing montmorillonites as Mars soil analog materials

Spectroscopic analyses have shown that smectites enhanced in the laboratory with additional ferric species exhibit important similarities to those of the soils on Mars. Ferrihydrite in these chemically treated smectites has features in the visible to near-infrared region that resemble the energies and band strengths of features in reflectance spectra observed for several bright regions on Mars. New samples have been prepared with sulfate as well, because S was found by Viking to be a major component in the surface material on Mars. A suite of ferrihydrite-bearing and ferric sulfate-bearing montmorillonites, prepared with variable Fe3+ and S concentrations and variable pH conditions, has been analyzed using reflectance spectroscopy in the visible and infrared regions, Mossbauer spectroscopy at room temperature and 4 K, differential thermal analysis, and X-ray diffraction. These analyses support the formation of ferrihydrite of variable crystallinity in the ferrihydrite-bearing montmorillonites and a combination of schwertmannite and ferrihydrite in the ferric sulfate-bearing montmorillonites. Small quantities of poorly crystalline or nanophase forms of other ferric materials may also be present in these samples. The chemical formation conditions of the ferrihydrite-bearing and ferric sulfate-bearing montmorillonites influence the character of the low temperature Mossbauer sextets and the visible reflectance spectra. An absorption minimum is observed at 0.88-0.89 micrometers in spectra of the ferric sulfate-bearing samples, and at 0.89-0.92 micrometers in spectra of the ferrihydrate-bearing montmorillonites. Mossbauer spectra of the ferric sulfate-bearing montmorillonites indicate variable concentrations of ferrihydrite and schwertmannite in the interlaminar spaces and along grain surfaces. Dehydration under reduced atmospheric pressure conditions induces a greater effect on the adsorbed and interlayer water in ferrihydrite-bearing montmorillonite than on the water in ferric sulfate-bearing montmorillonite. Reflectance spectra of ferric sulfate-bearing montmorillonite include a strong 3-micrometers band that is more resistant to dry atmospheric conditions than the 3-micrometers band in spectra of similarly prepared ferrihydrite-bearing montmorillonites.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗
NASA NTRS1993

Moessbauer spectroscopy of the SNC meteorite Zagami

We have performed Mossbauer spectroscopy on two different pieces of the meteorite Zagami belonging to the group of SNC meteorites. In one of the samples we found a substantial amount of olivine inter grown with one kind of pyroxene, and also another kind of pyroxene very similar to the pyroxene in the other sample we examined. Both samples showed less than 1 percent of Fe(3+) in the silicate phase. The group of SNC meteorites called shergottites, to which Zagami belongs, are achondrites whose texture, mineralogy and composition resembles those of terrestrial diabases. The results from the investigation are presented.

Agerkvist, D. P.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Error Analysis of Remotely-Acquired Mossbauer Spectra

On the Mars Exploration Rovers, Mossbauer spectroscopy has recently been called upon to assist in the task of mineral identification, a job for which it is rarely used in terrestrial studies. For example, Mossbauer data were used to support the presence of olivine in Martian soil at Gusev and jarosite in the outcrop at Meridiani. The strength (and uniqueness) of these interpretations lies in the assumption that peak positions can be determined with high degrees of both accuracy and precision. We summarize here what we believe to be the major sources of error associated with peak positions in remotely-acquired spectra, and speculate on their magnitudes. Our discussion here is largely qualitative because necessary background information on MER calibration sources, geometries, etc., have not yet been released to the PDS; we anticipate that a more quantitative discussion can be presented by March 2005.

Schaefer, Martha W.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Moessbauer studies in zinc-manganese ferrites for use in measuring small velocities and accelerations with great precision

Mossbauer spectroscopy was used for a systematic study of the magnetic behavior of manganese and zinc in mixed ferrites. It was observed that Zn2+ has preference to substitute Mn2+ at interstitial sites where the metal ions are tetrahedrally coordinated with four oxygen neighbors. The internal magnetic hyperfine field at the tetrahedral iron site is larger than that at the octahedral site. The relaxation effects were observed to play an important role as the zinc contents were increased, while the spin-correlation time and the magnetic field were observed to decrease in strength. It is concluded that Mossbauer effect data on complex materials, when used in conjunction with other data, can provide useful insight into the origin of the microscopic properties of magnetic materials.

Escue, W. T.↗