LAMIS allows isotopic spectroscopy "in-cosmo"

Researchers with the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Environmental Energy Technologies Division), in collaboration with Applied Spectra, Inc., have developed a new method of spectroscopic analysis known as Laser Ablation Molecular Isotopic Spectrometry (LAMIS). The new approach uses a high-energy laser beam to ablate (vaporize) a small amount of sample and can then analyze not only the target’s constituent elements, but also its isotopes. This technology will enable future NASA rovers to precisely date the geological age of Martian samples for the first time. Rick Russo, the pioneer who led the development of LAMIS says it, “is not yet as sensitive or precise as mass spectrometry but unlike mass spectrometry it does not require chemical dissolution sample preparation, vacuum chambers and a laboratory infrastructure. All we need is a laser beam and an optical spectrometer and we can perform real-time isotopic analyses of samples at ambient pressures and temperatures.” The new technique is also faster, less expensive and can be carried out from across vast distances. In response to criticism about the sensitivity of the system Russo responded, “50 years ago, the parts-per-billion sensitivity of today’s mass spectrometry technologies would have been thought impossible.”