Separation and Quantitative Analysis of Carbon and Carbonates in Surface Material of Asteroids

Carbon, as a constituent of matter, is broadly classified into organic carbon and inorganic carbon. Organic carbon refers to carbon contained in organic materials, while inorganic carbon refers to elemental carbon and carbonate carbon. The presence of carbonate in a sample taken from an unknown planet indicates the possibility of the presence of water on that planet. Therefore, the determination of carbonate is very important in space science.