Raman in a Combined Instrument Package: Co-Registered and "Smart Raman" Techniques

Raman spectroscopy is a powerful tool for rapid mineralogical examination of samples that requires little or no sample preparation. Raman is a very mature technique that is commonly used in laboratory and field investigations across a broad spectrum of targets and applications. As with any technique, however, adapting Raman spectroscopy to spaceflight instrumentation requires thorough examination of all aspects of the technique and technology to pare the technology back to the best science return for limited resources. Landed space exploration instrumentation must operate under stringent power, space and mass requirements and must operate with minimal or no user intervention. To optimize Raman techniques for space exploration, it is necessary to examine the most basic aspects of the technique and technology and devise schemes to optimize scientific return. This paper will discuss methods to get the most science out of the least hardware by coupling Raman spectroscopy with other techniques, examining samples by co-registered imaging or “smart” Raman featuring sample examination by multiple, mutually interactive techniques.