In situ Lu–Hf phosphate geochronology:Progress towards a new tool for space exploration

Geochronology is fundamental to understanding planetary evolution.However,as space exploration continues to expand,traditional dating methods,involving complex laboratory processes,are generally not realistic for unmanned space applications.Campaign-style planetary exploration missions require dating methods that can(1)rapidly resolve age information on small samples,(2)be applied to minerals common in mafic rocks,and(3)be based on technologies that could be installed on future rover systems.We demonstrate the application of rapid in situ microanalytical Lu–Hf phosphate geochronology using samples of pallasite meteorites,which are representative examples of the deep interiors of differentiated planetoids that are generally difficult to date.Individual pallasites were dated by laser ablation tandem mass-spectrometry(LA-ICP-MS/MS),demonstrating a rapid novel method for exploring planetary evolution.Derived formation ages for individual pallasites agree with traditional methods and have<2%uncertainty,opening an avenue of opportunity for remote micro-analytical space exploration.

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我做了30多年的电气工程师和数字逻辑设计师。在过去的25年中，我在进行各种专业应用的设计时，几乎只使用现场可编程门阵列（FPGA）。对非专业人员而言，FPGA本质上是可重构的硬件芯片。我的工作令人愉快和满意，但是最近我想探索与日常工作完全不同的有趣项目。我也想把自己的FPGA技能带到创客运动中：创客很少使用FPGA，一大原因是FPGA不像Arduino那样相对简单易用。