In-situ Mössbauer spectroscopy with MIMOS II

Abstract

The miniaturized Mössbauer spectrometer MIMOS II was developed for the exploration of planetary surfaces. Two MIMOS II instruments were successfully deployed on the martian surface as payload elements of the NASA Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission and have returned data since landing in January 2004. Mössbauer spectroscopy has made significant contributions to the success of the MER mission, in particular identification of iron-bearing minerals formed through aqueous weathering processes. As a field-portable instrument and with backscattering geometry, MIMOS II provides an opportunity for non-destructive insitu investigations for a range of applications. For example, the instrument has been used for analyses of archaeological artifacts, for air pollution studies and for in-field monitoring of green rust formation.AMER-type MIMOS II instrument is part of the payload of the Russian Phobos-Grunt mission, scheduled for launch in November 2011, with the aim of exploring the composition of the martian moon Phobos. An advanced version of the instrument, MIMOS IIA, that incorporates capability for elemental analyses, is currently under development.