Stand-off Raman spectroscopy is emerging as a critical new tool for planetary exploration. Mounted on a rover, a stand-off Raman system can be used to rapidly identify areas of interest for subsequent, synergistic investigations with other stand-off or close-up (arm-mounted) instruments; survey broad areas and perform reconnaissance tasks from a fixed location; and increase the efficiency of mission operations where targets of interest are in areas that are too hard to access for a rover. Not surprisingly, NASA’s next Mars mission will fly a stand-off Raman system as part of the SuperCam instrument package. This chapter reviews two stand-off Raman systems that paved the way for the development of new technologies and instrument architectures for robotic stand-off planetary exploration using Raman spectroscopy, including the SuperCam instrument suite.

The first Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument for extraterrestrial applications is part of the ChemCam instrument suite onboard the Curiosity Mars rover. ChemCam may be used in a number of operational modes depending on the science questions of interest, including active (with laser) and passive (spectrometers only) modes, and there is important synergy between ChemCam and other payload instruments. Notable discoveries made with ChemCam LIBS data include the characterization of hydrogen in rocks and soils, discovery of boron on Mars, and characterization of other trace elements (Li, F, Rb, Sr, Ba) that were previously never or rarely quantified on Mars, depth-dependent chemical trends on rock surfaces, and a much broader range of bulk-rock chemical compositions than was previously recognized, including highly evolved igneous rocks. In addition to ChemCam, another LIBS instrument is slated to fly to Mars on the Mars 2020 rover mission as part of the combined Raman-LIBS SuperCam instrument.