DEVELOPMENT OF THE

POTASSIUM-ARGON LASER
EXPERIMENT (KArLE)
INSTRUMENT FOR IN SITU
GEOCHRONOLOGY.
Cohen, B. A., Li, Z. H., Miller, J. S., Brinckerhoff, W. B., Clegg, S. M., Mahaffy, P.
R., ... & Wiens, R. C. (2012, October).
In International Workshop on Instrumentation for Planetary Missions (IPM-2-12) (No. M12-1943).
K – Ar Decay

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Nuclear/KAr.html
 K – Ar Dating

(Human Origins Program, NMNH, Smithsonian Institution)

https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/dating
 KArLE Potassium (K) – Argon (Ar)
Laser Experiment. LIBS
(Laser-induced breakdown
spectroscopy)
Determine the K in the plasma state

QMS
(Quadrupole mass
spectrometry)
Measure the liberated Ar

Cohen, B. A., Li, Z. H., Miller, J. S., Brinckerhoff, W. B., Clegg, S. M., Mahaffy, P. R., ... & Wiens, R. C. VSI – Optical method
(2012, October).
(Vertical scanning
interferometer)
Relate the two by the volume of the ablated pit
APPLICATIONS
LUNAR VOLCANISM
The relationship between basalt
composition, location and age.
Obtaining the age and
composition of a young basalt
flow and tying this information
to the crater count and
composition is therefore a
desirable measurement.
LUNAR IMPACT HISTORY MARS TERRAINS
While the lunar crater curve is
well-bounded between ~1 and ~4
Ga, the curve on the older and
younger ends is poorly
constrained. The most important
candidate on the Moon for
absolute dating is the South Pole-
Aitken (SPA) basin
Absolute ages of Martian surface
units are uncertain by as much as
a factor of two on older surfaces
and disagreements can be an
order of magnitude or more on
younger, lightly-cratered
surfaces. In situ age dating with
an uncertainty of ±100 Ma would
be a significant improvement
 EVOLUTION OF THE PROJECT

2012 2013 2014 ???

Development of the Update on Development In Situ Geochronology … what do you
Potassium-Argon Laser of the Potassium-Argon on the Mars 2020 Rover
Experiment (KArLE) Laser Experiment with KArLE (Potassium- think awaits next?
Instrument for In Situ (KArLE) Instrument for Argon Laser
Geochronology In Situ Geochronology Experiment)