A consortium has recently been initiated to study the macroscopic and microscopic properties of basaltic and andesitic rocks as analogue materials for Mars. The goal of this project is the integration of diverse spectroscopic approaches to
evaluate the composition and texture of Mars materials using both in situ and remote sensing techniques. Initial emphasis is placed on assessment of the mineral composition for low albedo areas (basalt vs andesite vs weathering) of the Martian surface through spectral analysis of a suite of samples that have been exceptionally well characterized in the laboratory. The initial results indicate that the visible/NIR reflectance spectra, mid-IR reflectance and emission spectra, and Mössbauer spectra contain consistent diagnostic features associated with the measured modal mineralogy and provide baseline data for the first group of well characterized basalts. The consortium study involves integrating multiple remote sensing techniques for recent and upcoming missions to Mars in order to compare the results obtained by these instruments and thereby strengthen interpretive results.
The molecular mobility of a MOF-5 metal–organic framework was investigated by broadband dielectric spectroscopy. Three relaxation processes were revealed. The temperature dependence of their relaxation rates follows an Arrhenius law. The process observed at lower temperatures is attributed to bending fluctuations of the edges of the cages involving the Zn–O clusters. The processes ('region II') at higher temperatures were assigned to fluctuations of phenyl rings in agreement with the NMR data found by Gould et al. (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 3246). The carboxylate groups might also be involved. The rotational fluctuations of the phenyl rings leading to the low frequency part of relaxation region II might be hindered either by some solvent molecules entrapped in the cages or by an interpenetrated structure and have a broad distribution of activation energies. The high frequency part of region II corresponds nearly to a Debye-like process: This is explained by a well-defined structure of empty pores.