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LIBS-SCReeN goes to Iceland
19 May 2022

With the goal to test our LIBS setup in its portable version to be used on the field, the Geological Survey of Belgium joined long-term collaborators of Impossible Sensing (USA) on a field mission to Iceland. This field work was carried out within the European EUROPLANET research infrastructure that promotes the testing of instrumentation for space exploration.

We were welcomed in Reykjavík by colleagues from the Matís research institute (Iceland), who are currently investigating the best spots for the development of life in freshly formed volcanic rocks in places in Iceland that are analogues for extra-terrestrial habitats such as the Moon or Mars. The LIBS was used to provide fast, on-site comprehensive geochemical characterisation of the rocks in the Fagradalsfjall lava field in southwest Iceland, in which the last eruptions finished in December 2021. Further analyses of the spectral data obtained throughout the lava field will determine variations in intensities of life-supporting elements such as C and P. These results will then be compared with microbiological analyses of different areas of the lava field being carried out by Matís. Results could tell if our equipment succeeds to identify geochemical hints of the sweet spots for life.

This was an excellent opportunity to test and perfect our setup, and we thank our colleagues from Impossible Sensing and Matís for this collaboration!

Photos: courtesy of Pablo Sobron (Impossible Sensing)