SPECTRAL STUDIES OF MATERIALS POSSIBLY PRESENT ON THE MARTIAN SURFACE.

Abstract

Comparing the reflectance spectra of synthetic mixtures with the observed spectrum of Mars has been continued to develop mixtures congruous with the Martian soil so that limits may be set on its composition. Mixtures containing various amounts of the iron oxides goethite and hematite precipitated on finely ground quartz and kaolin show the features of the Martian spectrum after the addition of dark materials such as magnetite or hornblende. The effect of temperature, particle size and iron oxide content on the spectra of the mixture components was examined. At low temperatures (-190C) spectral features are detectable. A synthetic material of particle size less than 37 microns is required to give a proper match to the Martian spectrum. The spectra of mixtures containing in the vicinity of 10% iron oxides do not seem to be highly sensitive to the total iron oxide content. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1967
Accession Number
AD0655257

Entities

People

  • Arthur L. Draper
  • Joe A. Adamcik

Organizations

  • Texas Tech University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Iron
  • Iron Oxides
  • Low Temperature
  • Materials
  • Oxides
  • Particle Size
  • Particles
  • Spectra
  • Synthetic Materials

Readers

  • Geotechnical Engineering.
  • Image Processing and Computer Vision.
  • Materials Science and Engineering.