Samples in the DLR Planetary Spectroscopy Laboratory
Samples in the DLR Planetary Spectroscopy Laboratory
On Venus, there is a constant planet-wide surface temperature of approximately 470 degrees Celsius. At these temperatures, lead and tin melt, but not the rocks. However, at such high temperatures the material properties, and thus the values for reflectivity and emissivity, change depending on the wavelength in the visible light and the near to mid-infrared portions of the spectrum. To ensure that measurements with spectrometers on board spacecraft are calibrated and can be interpreted correctly, scientists working in the Planetary Spectroscopy Laboratory (PSL) at DLR’s Institute of Planetary Research carry out investigations of these properties at the same high temperatures as are found on Venus and Mercury. The image shows a powder sample of the mineral fayalite, an iron-bearing variant of the silicate mineral olivine, which is widely distributed in volcanic rocks and in the Earth’s mantle, before (left) and after (right) having been heated in a sample chamber.
