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Updated: Jun 29, 2026

Quantifying X-Ray Fluorescence Data Using MAPS
Published on: February 17, 2018
Measuring and interpreting X-ray fluorescence from planetary surfaces
Alan Owens1, Burkhard Beckhoff, George Fraser
1Science Payload and Advanced Concepts Office, ESA/ESTEC, 2200AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands. aowens@rssd.esa.int
Abstract:
As part of a comprehensive study of X-ray emission from planetary surfaces and in particular the planet Mercury, we have measured fluorescent radiation from a number of planetary analog rock samples using monochromatized synchrotron radiation provided by the BESSY II electron storage ring. The experiments were carried out using a purpose built X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer chamber developed by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Germany's national metrology institute. The XRF instrumentation is absolutely calibrated and allows for reference-free quantitation of rock sample composition, taking into account secondary photon- and electron-induced enhancement effects. The fluorescence data, in turn, have been used to validate a planetary fluorescence simulation tool based on the GEANT4 transport code. This simulation can be used as a mission analysis tool to predict the time-dependent orbital XRF spectral distributions from planetary surfaces throughout the mapping phase.
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