The Compact Microimaging Spectrometer (CMIS): A New Tool for In-Situ Planetary Science

In-situ identification of trace minerals, ices, or organics in planetary samples may be difficult with panchromatic microscopic imagery and spot spectroscopy. The panchromatic imagery acquired by a microscopic imager provides morphological information and albedo, but these are generally insufficient for unambiguous identification. The spatially-averaged spectra acquired by a nonimaging ( point- or spot- ) spectrometer may enable identification of the major components but identification of unknown trace components is difficult at best. With our Compact Micro-Imaging Spectrometer (CMIS), however, we acquire spectroscopic data in an imaging format at microscopic scales. The distinct spectra of individual grains, provided by our approach, make detection and identification possible even for trace components in regolith or heterogeneous samples.