Guillermo Lopez-Reyes

• PhD in Physics
• University of Valladolid

Raman spectroscopy can be used for analysing both mineral and organic phases, thus allowing characterisation of the microbial-scale geological context as well as the search for possible traces of life. This method is therefore very useful for in situ planetary exploration missions. Compared with the myriad of sample preparation techniques available...

Here the authors present both a set of algorithms and a Raman spectra database that are being developed in the framework of the development of the Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) instrument for the 2018 ExoMars mission. These algorithms will be integrated in the ground segment tool for scientific data exploitation but also adapted for implementation...

The Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) is part of the payload of the 2018 ExoMars rover. The Sample Preparation and Distribution System (SPDS) of the rover will crush samples acquired from down to two meters depth under the Martian surface, and provide them to the RLS instrument in the form of flattened powdered samples. The RLS instrument will acquire...

Planetary exploration relies considerably on mineral characterization to advance our understanding of the solar system, the planets and their evolution. Thus, we must understand past and present processes that can alter materials exposed on the surface, affecting space mission data. Here, we analyze the first dataset monitoring the evolution of a k...

The combined analysis of geological targets by complementary spectroscopic techniques could enhance the characterization of the mineral phases found on Mars. This is indeed the case with the SuperCam instrument onboard the Perseverance rover. In this framework, the present study seeks to evaluate and compare multiple machine learning techniques for...

JAXA's upcoming MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission will deliver a small rover to Phobos, to explore its surface complementary to the MMX orbiter and the sample return lander. On board this rover is a Raman spectrometer, the RAX Instrument (RAman Spectrometer for MMX), a payload to science. RAX has been designed for being capable to analyze the...

Séítah is the stratigraphically lowest formation visited by Perseverance in the Jezero crater floor. We present the data obtained by SuperCam: texture by imagery, chemistry by Laser‐Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, and mineralogy by Supercam Visible and Infrared reflectance and Raman spectroscopy. The Séítah formation consists of igneous, weakly alt...

The SuperCam instrument onboard the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover investigates Martian geological targets by a combination of multiple spectroscopic techniques. As Raman, Visible‐Infrared Spectroscopy, and Laser‐Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) spectra deliver complementary information about the interrogated sample, the multivariate analysis of...

In this work, a geological sample of great astrobiological interest was studied through analytical techniques that are currently operating in situ on Mars and others that will operate in the near future. The sample analyzed consisted of an oncoid, which is a type of microbialite, collected in the Salar Carachi Pampa, Argentina. The main peculiarity...

A fragment of the NWA 2975 Martian meteorite, an enriched basaltic shergottite, was analysed to complete its geochemical characterisation performed 10 years ago. By this means, the feasibility of the employed techniques in a combined way for present and future space exploration missions can be tested. For this aim, Raman spectroscopy was used suppo...

Perseverance explored two geological units on the floor of Jezero Crater over the first 420 Martian days of the Mars2020 mission. These units, the Máaz and Séítah formations, are interpreted to be igneous in origin, with traces of alteration. We report the detection of carbonate phases along the rover traverse based on laser‐induced breakdown spect...

Here we describe the first campaign launched by the Perseverance rover to detect frost during the first Martian year of operations (669 sols as of Jan 5, 2023). This campaign was conceived, developed and executed following lessons learnt from the Mars Science Laboratory Mission, where frost was likely detected [1]. Between sols 546 and 548 during n...

Within Jezero crater, the Perseverance rover currently explores the lowermost-exposed scarp of the delta (Fig. 1) [1,2]. Here we: (1) present the distribution of light-toned veins currently observed via the rover along its route in Jezero crater; (2) introduce compositional results of veins as analyzed via Perseverance’s SuperCam instrument, and pl...

Identifying unequivocal signs of life on Mars is one of the most important objectives for sending missions to the red planet. Here we report Red Stone, a 163-100 My alluvial fan-fan delta that formed under arid conditions in the Atacama Desert, rich in hematite and mudstones containing clays such as vermiculite and smectites, and therefore geologic...

The Europa lander is a concept for a potential future planetary exploration mission which purpose is to characterize the icy shell of Europa and to search for organics. To achieve this objective, the current concept of the lander includes a Raman spectrometer, such as RLS instrument, that could be able to analyse (sub) surface targets in their soli...

Before Perseverance, Jezero crater's floor was variably hypothesized to have a lacustrine, lava, volcanic airfall, or aeolian origin. SuperCam observations in the first 286 Mars days on Mars revealed a volcanic and intrusive terrain with compositional and density stratification. The dominant lithology along the traverse is basaltic, with plagioclas...

The SuperCam and SHERLOC instruments onboard the NASA/Perseverance rover are returning the first Raman spectra to be ever collected from another planet. Similarly, the RLS instrument onboard the ESA/Rosalind Franklin rover will collect Raman spectra from powdered rocks sampled from the subsurface of Mars. To optimize the scientific exploitation of...

Prior to the Perseverance rover landing, the acoustic environment of Mars was unknown. Models predicted that: (i) atmospheric turbulence changes at centimeter scales or smaller at the point where molecular viscosity converts kinetic energy into heat1, (ii) the speed of sound varies at the surface with frequency2,3, and (iii) high frequency waves ar...

The SuperCam instrument, onboard the Perseverance rover (Mars 2020 mission) is designed to perform remote analysis on the Martian surface employing several spectroscopic techniques such as Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), Time-Resolved Raman (TRR), Time-Resolved Fluorescence (TRF) and Visible and Infrared (VISIR) reflectance. In additio...

NASA/Mars 2020 and ESA/ExoMars rover are equipped with the first Raman spectrometers to be ever used for space exploration missions (namely, SuperCam, Sherloc and RLS). Looking ahead, further Raman prototypes are being developed for future rover missions to Europa (Jupiter’s moon) and other icy planetary bodies. The main scientific objectives of th...

The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landed on February 18, 2021, and has started ground operations. The ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover will touch down on June 10, 2023. Perseverance will be the first-ever Mars sample caching mission-a first step in sample return to Earth. SuperCam and Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Orga...

The Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) is one of three key analytical instruments incorporated within the body of the ExoMars 2022 rover. The rover will collect samples from different sites on the Oxia Planum plain, using a drill capable of penetrating the near subsurface and rocky outcrops to a depth of 2 m. Samples are passed to the Analytical Labora...

Mineralogy is the key to understanding the origin of Phobos and its position in the evolution of the Solar System. In situ Raman spectroscopy on Phobos is an important tool to achieve the scientifc objectives of the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, and maximize the scientifc merit of the sample return by characterizing the mineral compositi...

The Perseverance rover is exploring Jezero crater on Mars since February 2021. SuperCam instrument is part of the scientific payload, combining five different techniques in order to characterize the targets to sample: LIBS (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy), Raman and Visible and Infrared (VISIR) spectroscopies, Sound Recording and a colored Im...

Mineralogy is the key to understanding the origin of Phobos and its position in the evolution of the Solar System. In situ Raman spectroscopy on Phobos is an important tool to achieve the scientific objectives of the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, and maximize the scientific merit of the sample return by characterizing the mineral composi...

The SuperCam instrument on the Perseverance Mars 2020 rover uses a pulsed 1064 nm laser to ablate targets at a distance and conduct laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) by analyzing the light from the resulting plasma. SuperCam LIBS spectra are preprocessed to remove ambient light, noise, and the continuum signal present in LIBS observations...

The Raman laser spectrometer (RLS) instrument onboard the Rosalind Franklin rover of the ExoMars 2022 mission will analyze powdered samples on Mars to search for traces of life. To prepare for the mission, the RLS scientific team has developed the RLS ExoMars Simulator (RLS Sim), a flexible model of RLS that operates similarly to the actual instrum...

The scientific aims of the ExoMars Raman laser spectrometer (RLS) include identifying biological signatures and evidence of mineralogical processes associated with life. The RLS instrument was optimised to identify carbonaceous material, including reduced carbon. Previous studies suggest that reduced carbon on the Martian surface (perhaps originati...

The 2020s could be called, with little doubt, the "Mars decade". No other period in space exploration history has experienced such interest in placing orbiters, rovers and landers on the Red Planet. In 2021 alone, the Emirates' first Mars Mission (the Hope orbiter), the Chinese Tianwen-1 mission (orbiter, lander and rover), and NASA's Mars 2020 Per...

The Mars2020/Perseverance and ExoMars/Rosalind Franklin rovers are both slated to return the first Raman spectra ever collected from another planetary surface, Mars. In order to optimize the rovers scientific outcome, the scientific community needs to be provided with tailored tools for data treatment and interpretation. Responding to this need, th...

ExoFit trials are field campaigns financed by ESA to test the Rosalind Franklin rover and to enhance collaboration practices between ExoMars working groups. During the first trial, a replicate of the ExoMars rover was remotely operated from Oxfordshire (United Kingdom) to perform a complex sequence of scientific operation at the Tabernas Desert (Sp...

This work presents the latest chemometric tools developed by the RLS science team to optimize the scientific outcome of the Raman system onboard the ExoMars 2022 rover. Feldspar, pyroxene and olivine samples were first analyzed through the RLS ExoMars Simulator to determine the spectroscopic indicators to be used for a proper discrimination of mine...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-021-00828-5

On the NASA 2020 rover mission to Jezero crater, the remote determination of the texture, mineralogy and chemistry of rocks is essential to quickly and thoroughly characterize an area and to optimize the selection of samples for return to Earth. As part of the Perseverance payload, SuperCam is a suite of five techniques that provide critical and co...

The active development of optical materials and their corresponding applications requires an in-depth understanding of their optical properties for which Judd-Ofelt (JO) theory is often used. However, calculating the JO parameters (Ω2, Ω4, Ω6) require extensive experimental and theoretical work, making conventional calculation often inaccessible. I...

ExoFit trials are field campaigns financed by ESA to test the Rosalind Franklin rover and to enhance collaboration practices between ExoMars working groups. During the first trial, a replicate of the ExoMars rover was remotely operated from Oxfordshire (United Kingdom) to perform a complex sequence of scientific operation at the Tabernas Desert (Sp...

The SuperCam instrument suite provides the Mars 2020 rover, Perseverance, with a number of versatile remote-sensing techniques that can be used at long distance as well as within the robotic-arm workspace. These include laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), remote time-resolved Raman and luminescence spectroscopies, and visible and infrared...

In the present work, NIR, LIBS, Raman and XRD techniques have been complementarily used to carry out a comprehensive characterization of a terrestrial analogue selected from the Chesapeake Bay Impact Structure (CBIS). The obtained data clearly highlight the key role of Raman spectroscopy in the detection of minor and trace compounds, through which...

We evaluate what will be the effectiveness of the ExoMars Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) to determine the degree of serpentinization of olivine-rich units on Mars. We selected terrestrial analogues of martian ultramafic rocks from the Leka Ophiolite Complex (LOC) and analyzed them with both laboratory and flight-like analytical instruments. We firs...

We present the compositional analysis of three terrestrial analogues of Martian olivine-bearing rocks derived from both laboratory and flight-derived analytical instruments. In the first step, state-of-the-art spectroscopic (XRF, NIR and Raman) and diffractometric (XRD) laboratory systems were complementary used. Besides providing a detailed minera...

The multi analytical study of terrestrial analogues is a useful strategy to deepen the knowledge about the geological and environmental evolution of Mars and other extraterrestrial bodies. In spite of the increasing importance that LIBS, NIR and Raman techniques are acquiring in the field of space exploration, there is a lack web-based platform pro...

Mineralogy is a key to understanding the origin of Phobos and its place in the context of the Solar System evolution. In-situ Raman spectroscopy on Phobos would be an important tool to achieve the science objectives of the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission and maximize the science merit of sample return by characterizing the mineral compositi...

In this work, the analytical research performed by the Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) team during the ExoFiT trial is presented. During this test, an emulator of the Rosalind Franklin rover was remotely operated at the Atacama Desert in a Mars-like sequence of scientific operations that ended with the collection and the analysis of two drilled core...

We evaluated the effectiveness of the ExoMars Raman laser spectrometer (RLS) to determine the degree of serpentinization of olivine-rich units on Mars. We selected terrestrial analogs of martian ultramafic rocks from the Leka Ophiolite Complex (LOC) and analyzed them with both laboratory and flight-like analytical instruments. We first studied the...

SuperCam is a highly integrated remote-sensing instrumental suite for NASA’s Mars 2020 mission. It consists of a co-aligned combination of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), Time-Resolved Raman and Luminescence (TRR/L), Visible and Infrared Spectroscopy (VISIR), together with sound recording (MIC) and high-magnification imaging techniques...

The Mastcam-Z Camera is a stereoscopic, multispectral camera with zoom capability on NASA’s Mars-2020 Perseverance rover. The Mastcam-Z relies on a set of two deck-mounted radiometric calibration targets to validate camera performance and to provide an instantaneous estimate of local irradiance and allow conversion of image data to units of reflect...

Between February 1 and February 28, 2018, the Austrian Space Forum, in cooperation with research teams from 25 nations, conducted the AMADEE-18 mission-a human-robotic Mars expedition simulation in the Dhofar region in the Sultanate of Oman. As a part of the AMADEE-18 simulated Mars human exploration mission, the Remote Science Support team investi...

Abstract This work aims to evaluate whether the multi-point analysis the ExoMars Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) will perform on powdered samples could serve to classify ultramafic rocks on Mars. To do so, the RLS ExoMars Simulator was used to study terrestrial analogues of Martian peridotites and pyroxenites by applying the operational constraints...

As space agencies plan for the continuous deployment of rovers and landers to planetary bodies such as the Moon and Mars, an in-depth, quantitative, and qualitative understanding of the observations is essential. One objective of planetary exploration focuses on planetary geochemistry and biochemistry with an emphasis on the search for possible bio...

In the present work, the mineralogy of the Chamorga outcrop (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain) has been studied by means of combining Raman-infrared spectroscopy (through laboratory instrumentation and the ExoMars Raman Laser spectrometer simulator (RLS)), X ray diffraction (XRD) and X ray fluorescence (XRF) (through portable systems). The research...

In the present work, near-infrared, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, Raman, and X-ray diffractometer techniques have been complementarily used to carry out a comprehensive characterization of a terrestrial analogue selected from the Chesapeake Bay impact structure (CBIS). The obtained data clearly highlight the key role of Raman spectroscopy i...

The ExoMars rover, scheduled to be launched in 2020, will be equipped with a novel and diverse payload. It will also include a drill to collect subsurface samples (from 0‐ to 2‐m depth) and deliver them to the rover analytical laboratory, where it will be possible to perform combined science between instruments. For the first time, the exact same s...

Raman and laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) spectroscopies will play an important role in planetary exploration missions in the following years, not only with Raman instruments like Raman laser spectrometer on board of Rosalid Franklin Rover or scanning habitable environments with Raman and luminescence for organics and chemicals on board...

A structural analysis of Rare-Earth (RE3+) doped fluoro-tellurite glasses (85TeO2-10PbF2-2.5AlF3-2.5REF3 – in mol%) has been carried out by Raman spectroscopy, at 633, 785 and 1064 nm laser power excitation (RE3+= Pr3+, Nd3+, Sm3+, Eu3+, Gd3+, Tb3+, Dy3+, Ho3+, Er3+, Tm3+ and Yb3+). ATR-FTIR, MGM, SEM-EDX, and XRD have been used as secondary techni...

In the last decades, together with the technological advances, the exploration of closer celestial bodies has experimented a high increasing, with a special relevance of the missions whose objective is the scientific search of life precursors. Since the birth of COSPAR (Committee on space research) in 1964, many advances have been achieved in terms...

Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) is the Pasteur Payload instrument of the ExoMars mission that will perform Raman spectroscopy for the first time in a planetary space mission. RLS main units are: SPU (SPectrometer Unit), iOH (internal Optical Head), and ICEU (Instrument Control and Excitation Unit), that includes the laser for samples excitation purp...

The Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) is one of the three Pasteur Payload instruments located within the rover analytical laboratory drawer (ALD), for ESA's Aurora exploration programme, ExoMars 2020 mission. The instrument will analyse the crushed surface and subsurface samples that are positioned below the Raman optical head by the ALD carousel. The...

The multianalytical study of terrestrial analogues is a useful strategy to deepen the knowledge about the geological and environmental evolution of Mars and other extraterrestrial bodies. In spite of the increasing importance that laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIR), and Raman techniques are acquiring in th...

We present the compositional analysis of three terrestrial analogues of Martian olivine-bearing rocks derived from both laboratory and flight-derived analytical instruments. In the first step, state-of-the-art spectroscopic (XRF, NIR and Raman) and diffractometric (XRD) laboratory systems were complementary used. Besides providing a detailed minera...

The Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) is one of the three instruments located within the Rover ALD (Analytical Laboratory Drawer) of the ExoMars 2020 mission. One of the main ExoMars mission scientific objectives, is to find traces of past life on Mars. So, protect Mars environment from terrestrial biological contamination and protect Mars sample prop...

The pumice vol­canic sam­ples could have pos­si­ble con­nec­tions to the evo­lu­tion of life and give us in­sight about their bio-geo­chem­i­cal processes re­lated. In this re­gard, the sam­ples from the vol­canic erup­tion from La Restinga (El Hi­erro, Spain) in 2011 have been mainly stud­ied by means of Ra­man spec­troscopy. The re­search also in...

The outcrop of “Las Arenas” volcano in Tenerife, Canary Islands (Spain) has been presented as Terrestrial volcanic analog for ancient Mars, showing a great variety of alteration processes and interesting mineralogy. The current analysis has been done by means of measurement techniques used or proposed on Martian studies. The new analysis of the zeo...

The Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) is one of the Pasteur Payload instruments, within the ESA's Aurora Exploration Programme, ExoMars mission. Raman spectroscopy is based on the analysis of spectral fingerprints due to the inelastic scattering of light when interacting with matter. RLS is composed by Units: SPU (Spectrometer Unit), iOH (Internal Opt...