Why take thermal emission spectra of Martian meteorites?
With most geologic samples, the composition of the minerals in the rock is important information for understanding how the rock formed and what has happened to it in the time since its formation. Many techniques, such as electron microprobe, determine composition on a mineral by mineral basis, requiring several small samples that often have to be specially prepared for the analysis technique. Middle infrared spectroscopy is just another way of analyzing the composition of a sample, with a few distinct advantages: • You can analyze the entire rock sample at once, without preparing it in any way (no cutting, polishing, crushing or powdering) • Because the natural emitted energy of the sample is what is measured, this technique is passive and the sample is not damaged or destroyed by a beam of energy • Thermal emission spectra allow you to obtain compositional information about all of the minerals in the rock in one analysis • You can deconvolve the rock spectrum to determine not only the
