Martian Phyllosilicates in the Nakhlite Meteorites

Authors: John Bridges (University of Leicester) , Leon Hicks (University of Leicester) , Graeme Hansford (University of Leicester) , Steve Gurman (University of Leicester)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Conference Paper
Conference: 45th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
Peer Reviewed: Yes

State: Published (Approved)
Published: March 2014
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 9418

Abstract: The identification of saponite and amorphous material in the Sheepbed mudstone of Gale Crater by CheMin XRD on Mars Science Laboratory [1] has highlighted the importance of understanding the nature of martian phyllosilicates and amorphous material, as they have the potential to reveal the fluid history of habitable terrains [2,3]. The nakhlite meteorites are the only martian samples on Earth which contain phyllosilicates and poorly crystalline or amorphous material [4-10], which we can study by new XRD and X-ray Absorption techniques and TEM to provide an accurate Fe3+/ΣFe ratio, composition and structural comparison to the in situ analyses on Mars.

Journal Keywords: Nakhlite Meteorites

Subject Areas: Physics, Chemistry


Instruments: I18-Microfocus Spectroscopy