¹L. Shestakova,¹A. Serebryanskiy,¹G. Aimanova
Icarus (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2023.115595]
¹Fesenkov Astrophysical Institute, Obseravtory, 23, Almaty, 050020, Kazakhstan
Copyright Elsevier

We report on the results of the analysis of spectral observations of the asteroid Didymos at the time of impact of the DART mission probe, obtained a few minutes before, directly at the moment, and within a few minutes after the spacecraft hit the surface of the Dimorphos. We found evidence of alkali metal emissions that appeared at the moment and continued for several minutes after the impact. The observation evidence of the appearance of Na, Li and K atoms as a result of the impact of the DART probe on the Dimorphos in a relative amount close to the abundance of these elements in the Solar System are reliably established. We conclude that the main contribution to alkaline emissions is atoms bound to the dust cloud ejected during the impact. This dust cloud is a steady source of alkaline metal atoms. We did not detect the presence of alkaline mater not bound to the dust cloud and moved independently.

¹Matthew A. Nellessen et al. (>10)
Icarus (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2023.115599]
¹Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Copyright Elsevier

Boron has been detected on Mars in calcium-sulfate veins found within clay mineral rich rocks on Mars by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) analysis. Borates play a vital role in stabilizing ribose on Earth and has been suggested as a key requirement for life. Borate ions readily adsorb to phyllosilicate clay minerals. The discovery of boron on Mars in proximity to phyllosilicate-bearing bedrock may have strong implications for potential past prebiotic conditions on Mars. In this study we generated a suite of clay minerals with adsorbed borate, including both typical terrestrial clay minerals (montmorillonite) and Mars-analog clay minerals (nontronite, saponite, griffithite), to understand controls on borate adsorption and to analyze with LIBS to compare with MSL data. Clay minerals were subjected to mineralogical and chemical analysis before and after adsorption. Adsorption analysis revealed that the Mars analog clay minerals adsorbed less boron than terrestrial counterparts, but within comparable amounts to those detected on Mars and in meteorites. Post-adsorption analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed slight changes in the interlayer spacing of many of the clay minerals. Based on the adsorption analysis of the Mars-analog clay minerals, phyllosilicate-bearing bedrock in Gale crater may contain up to 90-110 ppm B. A series of borate-enriched samples were created for analysis of LIBS spectra from ChemCam on the Curiosity rover and SuperCam on the Perseverance Rover. The results of this study may provide insight into martian groundwater geochemistry processes and the mobility of a key molecule connected with life.