Analysis of water ice and ice/dust mixtures using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS).

In 1992, LIBS was proposed as a new method for stand-off detection of geological samples for use on landers and rovers to Mars. Recently, there has been increased interest in the technique for this and other space applications and studies have determined some of the characteristics and capabilities of the method under the conditions that these measurements will have to be made. In addition to rocks and soils, there is interest in using LIBS to analyze ices and dusts entrained in ice . This is especially true for missions to the Mars polar regions . Of particular interest is determining the nature of polar layered deposits, the geochemistry of polar surface materials, detection of water ice and the distribution of ice, and the presence of possible organics in these materials (via C/N ratios