XTRA: An eXTraterrestrial Regolith Analyzer for Lunar Soil

The mineralogical composition of lunar soil or regolith can be used to elucidate its petrogenesis and that of its parental lithologies (e.g., igneous rocks, impact breccias), as well as subsequent diagenetic or metamorphic events. In addition to its value to landed lunar science and as ground truth for orbital missions, in-situ mineralogical analysis of the lunar regolith can be used to evaluate potential ISRU processes such as the production of water or oxygen, production of metallic Fe or Al, ceramic building materials, or ore deposits useful for Rare Earth Element extraction. The eXtraTerrestrial Regolith Analyzer (XTRA) is an XRD/XRF instrument capable of quantitative analysis of as-received lunar regolith when deployed from a small lander or rover. XRD is the only in-situ technique able to definitively identify, quantify and determine the elemental composition of minerals present in lunar regolith. XRD can also determine the quantity of amorphous material present in a regolith sample, and when combined with XRF, the elemental composition of the amorphous component(s). Taken together, XRD/XRF provides a comprehensive analysis of lunar regolith mineralogy that can only be improved upon by sample return. XTRA is a CheMin-inspired XRD/XRF instrument with enhanced XRF capabilities (11More »