Influence of the experimental geometry on LIBS efficiency for in-situ planetary measurements

Inherent features of Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), such as fast in-situ determination of the rich elemental composition of materials, high lateral resolution and depth profiling, have been considered for the development of miniaturized LIBS instruments for the next planetary missions to Mars, Europa 2 and the Earth’s moon. Due to the strict mass limitations, the laser for plasma excitation will provide not more than a few mJ per a few ns radiation pulses. Remote LIBS analysis implies that preparation of rock materials is not possible and that changing local atmospheric and radiation conditions have to be taken into account. For the interpretation of planetary LIBS data it is therefore mandatory to study in detail the experimental conditions which may occur on a planetary surface.