SuperCam Identifies Corundum In Jezero Crater, Mars, Using Time-Resolved Luminescence Spectroscopy

The Perseverance rover recently began exploring the Jezero crater rim after traversing the crater floor, fan deposits, and margin unit. In the rim deposits, several plagioclase-rich light-toned float rocks (LTF) were encountered.

SuperCam used timeresolved luminescence (TRL) spectroscopy, which is very sensitive to trace elements in minerals, to further characterize these rocks.

While TRL signatures, including those commonly found in plagioclase (Fe3+), are often broad and non-unique [1,2], there are minerals with very distinct luminescence features [2].

Very unexpectedly, SuperCam’s TRL analysis of three plagioclase-rich float rocks in the crater rim were found to exhibit clear signatures of Cr-bearing corundum (Al2O3).

Image of Coffee_Cove (Sol 1466) with the locations and fields of view for the luminescence analyses (b). Comparison of luminescence lifetimes for Cr3+ peaks identified in Smiths_Harbour (Mars) spectra compared to lab data (c). — LPSC

SuperCam Identifies Corundum In Jezero Crater, Mars, Using Time-Resolved Luminescence Spectroscopy , LPSC

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