Expand this Topic clickable element to expand a topic
Skip to content
Optica Publishing Group

Mineralogical Investigations of Mars

Not Accessible

Your library or personal account may give you access

Abstract

A mineralogical study of Mars will offer a great deal of information on the present state of the planet and on the processes which have operated on it during the past. The degree of planetary development, the amount of igneous activity, the development of a secondary atmosphere, the presence of metamorphic or sedimentary processes, and the effects of impacting meteorites will all be recorded in the mineral assemblages. The identification of the mineral phases in the Martian rocks is the fundamental step in conducting such an investigation. Reliable phase analysis must be backed up with good elemental analyses as well, and with textural analysis of the rocks whenever possible. Many instruments including diffractometers, spectrometers, and petrographic microscopes have been designed to perform the desired analyses on unmanned spaceflights. Proper utilization of complementary techniques and a modest attention to a concerted effort on the problem will yield a quite sophisticated understanding of Mars with only a few space flights.

© 1969 Optical Society of America

Full Article  |  PDF Article
More Like This
Time-resolved Raman spectroscopy for in situ planetary mineralogy

Jordana Blacksberg, George R. Rossman, and Anthony Gleckler
Appl. Opt. 49(26) 4951-4962 (2010)

Polarimetry of Mars

K. L. Coulson
Appl. Opt. 8(7) 1287-1294 (1969)

Gamma Ray Spectroscopic Measurements of Mars

A. E. Metzger and J. R. Arnold
Appl. Opt. 9(6) 1289-1303 (1970)

Cited By

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Tables (1)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article tables are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Select as filters


Select Topics Cancel
© Copyright 2024 | Optica Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved