Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy as a geological tool for field planetary analogue research

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a spectroscopic technique for analysis of the elemental composition of condensed and gaseous media. LIBS has demonstrated high potential in many areas, including space exploration. The main technology challenge remains retrieval of quantitative information from measured spectra. In this work, we consider analysis of LIBS spectra based on an artificial neural network (ANN) analytical method recently developed at the Canadian Space Agency. The ANN method has demonstrated in the laboratory a capability to retrieve real-time concentrations of chemical elements with acceptable precision in mineral samples. Future research should include testing and validation of the ANN-LIBS technique with field measurements on Earth analogues of planetary sites.