Optical Photothermal Infrared Spectroscopy Archives - Astrobiology

The original, untreated sample Heinz picked up on his Sedona hike, with spots similar to spots on the Mars Sapphire Canyon rock. Credit Nicholas Heinz

Analog Studies, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return

Studying Terrestrial Rocks To Prepare Techniques For Mars

by Keith CowingAugust 17, 2025August 17, 2025

In 2024, NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance collected an unusual rock sample. The rock, named Sapphire Canyon, features white, leopardlike spots with black borders within a red mudstone and might hold […]

Figure 10: Mid-IR O-PTIR measurements of hydrated silica (left) and the average spectrum from an O-PTIR hyperspectral map of hydrated silica (right). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Photothermal Spectroscopy for Planetary Sciences: A Characterization of Planetary Materials in the Mid-IR

by Keith CowingNovember 22, 2024November 22, 2024

Understanding of the formation and evolution of the Solar System requires understanding key and common materials found on and in planetary bodies.

Example image of a single heat map in the stack that makes up the hyperspectral map used in this paper. This map (78 x 78 µm, 2 µm spacing) is of bronzite and has a total of 1600 total hyperspectral points. The map took approximately 7 hours and 21 minutes to complete. The intensity of the signal is set to reflect the intensity of the various points in the map at 1017 cm−1 . The red areas are areas of most intense signal ranging down to purple being the least intense or no signal at the given wavenumber.-- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Photothermal Spectroscopy for Planetary Sciences: Mid-IR Absorption Made Easy

by Keith CowingSeptember 19, 2024

The understanding of the formation and evolution of the solar system still has many unanswered questions. Formation of solids in the solar system, mineral and organic mixing, and planetary body […]

Optical Photothermal Infrared Spectroscopy (O-PTIR)

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: Optical Photothermal Infrared Spectroscopy (O-PTIR): A Promising New Tool For Bench-top Analytical Palaeontology At The Sub-micron Scale

by Keith CowingFebruary 14, 2024February 14, 2024

The identification of preserved organic material within fossils is challenging. Well-established vibrational spectroscopy techniques, such as micro-FTIR (Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy), have been widely used to investigate organic fossils molecular […]