How Good is "Good Enough?" Major Element Chemical Analyses of Planetary Basalts by Spacecraft Instruments

Abstract

Bulk chemical composition is a fundamental property of a planetary material, rock or regolith, and can be used to constrain the properties and history of a material, and by extension its parent body, including its potential for habitability. Here, we investigate how uncertainties in bulk major element analyses can affect inferences derived from those analyses, including rock classification by total-alkalis–silica (TAS); Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA); a tectonic discriminant for magma genesis; and the inferred mantle pressure and temperature of a basaltic magma's origin.