Inorganic interpretation of luminescent materials encountered by the Perseverance rover on Mars.

ABSTRACT: A major objective of the Mars 2020 mission is to sample rocks in Jezero crater that may preserve organic matter for later return to Earth. Using an ultraviolet Raman and luminescence spectrometer, the Perseverance rover detected luminescence signals with maximal intensities at 330 to 350 nanometers and 270 to 290 nanometers that were initially reported as consistent with organics. Here, we test the alternative hypothesis that the 330- to 350-nanometer and 270- to 290-nanometer luminescence signals trace Ce³⁺ in phosphate and silicate defects, respectively. By comparing the distributions of luminescence signals with the rover detections of x-ray fluorescence from P₂O₅ and Si-bearing materials, we show that, while an organic origin is not excluded, the observ

SUBMITTER: Scheller EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11423895 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature