| 1. |
- Newsom, Horton E., et al.
(författare)
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Gale crater and impact processes – Curiosity’s first 364 Sols on Mars
- 2015
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Ingår i: Icarus. - : Elsevier BV. - 0019-1035 .- 1090-2643. ; 249, s. 108-128
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Impact processes at all scales have been involved in the formation and subsequent evolution of Gale crater. Small impact craters in the vicinity of the Curiosity MSL landing site and rover traverse during the 364 Sols after landing have been studied both from orbit and the surface. Evidence for the effect of impacts on basement outcrops may include loose blocks of sandstone and conglomerate, and disrupted (fractured) sedimentary layers, which are not obviously displaced by erosion. Impact ejecta blankets are likely to be present, but in the absence of distinct glass or impact melt phases are difficult to distinguish from sedimentary/volcaniclastic breccia and conglomerate deposits. The occurrence of individual blocks with diverse petrological characteristics, including igneous textures, have been identified across the surface of Bradbury Rise, and some of these blocks may represent distal ejecta from larger craters in the vicinity of Gale. Distal ejecta may also occur in the form of impact spherules identified in the sediments and drift material. Possible examples of impactites in the form of shatter cones, shocked rocks, and ropy textured fragments of materials that may have been molten have been observed, but cannot be uniquely confirmed. Modification by aeolian processes of craters smaller than 40 m in diameter observed in this study, are indicated by erosion of crater rims, and infill of craters with aeolian and airfall dust deposits. Estimates for resurfacing suggest that craters less than 15 m in diameter may represent steady state between production and destruction. The smallest candidate impact crater observed is ∼0.6 m in diameter. The observed crater record and other data are consistent with a resurfacing rate of the order of 10 mm/Myr; considerably greater than the rate from impact cratering alone, but remarkably lower than terrestrial erosion rates.
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| 2. |
- Schwenzer, Susanne P., et al.
(författare)
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Fluids during diagenesis and sulfate vein formation in sediments at Gale crater, Mars
- 2016
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Ingår i: Meteoritics and Planetary Science. - : Wiley. - 1086-9379 .- 1945-5100. ; 51:11, s. 2175-2202
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We model the fluids involved in the alteration processes recorded in the Sheepbed Member mudstones of Yellowknife Bay (YKB), Gale crater, Mars, as revealed by the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover investigations. We compare the Gale crater waters with fluids modeled for shergottites, nakhlites, and the ancient meteorite ALH 84001, as well as rocks analyzed by the Mars Exploration rovers, and with terrestrial ground and surface waters. The aqueous solution present during sediment alteration associated with phyllosilicate formation at Gale was high in Na, K, and Si; had low Mg, Fe, and Al concentrations—relative to terrestrial groundwaters such as the Deccan Traps and other modeled Mars fluids; and had near neutral to alkaline pH. Ca and S species were present in the 10−3 to 10−2 concentration range. A fluid local to Gale crater strata produced the alteration products observed by Curiosity and subsequent evaporation of this groundwater-type fluid formed impure sulfate- and silica-rich deposits—veins or horizons. In a second, separate stage of alteration, partial dissolution of this sulfate-rich layer in Yellowknife Bay, or beyond, led to the pure sulfate veins observed in YKB. This scenario is analogous to similar processes identified at a terrestrial site in Triassic sediments with gypsum veins of the Mercia Mudstone Group in Watchet Bay, UK.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Lanza, Nina L., et al.
(författare)
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Oxidation of manganese in an ancient aquifer, Kimberley formation, Gale crater, Mars
- 2016
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 43:14, s. 7398-7407
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Curiosity rover observed high Mn abundances (>25wt % MnO) in fracture-filling materials that crosscut sandstones in the Kimberley region of Gale crater, Mars. The correlation between Mn and trace metal abundances plus the lack of correlation between Mn and elements such as S, Cl, and C, reveals that these deposits are Mn oxides rather than evaporites or other salts. On Earth, environments that concentrate Mn and deposit Mn minerals require water and highly oxidizing conditions; hence, these findings suggest that similar processes occurred on Mars. Based on the strong association between Mn-oxide deposition and evolving atmospheric dioxygen levels on Earth, the presence of these Mn phases on Mars suggests that there was more abundant molecular oxygen within the atmosphere and some groundwaters of ancient Mars than in the present day
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| 5. |
- Horgan, Briony, et al.
(författare)
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Mineralogy, Morphology, and Emplacement History of the Maaz Formation on the Jezero Crater Floor From Orbital and Rover Observations
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. - 2169-9097. ; 128:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The first samples collected by the Perseverance rover on the Mars 2020 mission were from the Maaz formation, a lava plain that covers most of the floor of Jezero crater. Laboratory analysis of these samples back on Earth would provide important constraints on the petrologic history, aqueous processes, and timing of key events in Jezero crater. However, interpreting these samples requires a detailed understanding of the emplacement and modification history of the Maaz formation. Here we synthesize rover and orbital remote sensing data to link outcrop-scale interpretations to the broader history of the crater, including Mastcam-Z mosaics and multispectral images, SuperCam chemistry and reflectance point spectra, Radar Imager for Mars' subsurface eXperiment ground penetrating radar, and orbital hyperspectral reflectance and high-resolution images. We show that the Maaz formation is composed of a series of distinct members corresponding to basaltic to basaltic-andesite lava flows. The members exhibit variable spectral signatures dominated by high-Ca pyroxene, Fe-bearing feldspar, and hematite, which can be tied directly to igneous grains and altered matrix in abrasion patches. Spectral variations correlate with morphological variations, from recessive layers that produce a regolith lag in lower Maaz, to weathered polygonally fractured paleosurfaces and crater-retaining massive blocky hummocks in upper Maaz. The Maaz members were likely separated by one or more extended periods of time, and were subjected to variable erosion, burial, exhumation, weathering, and tectonic modification. The two unique samples from the Maaz formation are representative of this diversity, and together will provide an important geochronological framework for the history of Jezero crater.
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| 6. |
- Sun, Vivian Z., et al.
(författare)
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Overview and Results From the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover's First Science Campaign on the Jezero Crater Floor
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. - : John Wiley and Sons Inc. - 2169-9097 .- 2169-9100. ; 128:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater on 18 February 2021. After a 100-sol period of commissioning and the Ingenuity Helicopter technology demonstration, Perseverance began its first science campaign to explore the enigmatic Jezero crater floor, whose igneous or sedimentary origins have been much debated in the scientific community. This paper describes the campaign plan developed to explore the crater floor's Máaz and Séítah formations and summarizes the results of the campaign between sols 100–379. By the end of the campaign, Perseverance had traversed more than 5 km, created seven abrasion patches, and sealed nine samples and a witness tube. Analysis of remote and proximity science observations show that the Máaz and Séítah formations are igneous in origin and composed of five and two geologic members, respectively. The Séítah formation represents the olivine-rich cumulate formed from differentiation of a slowly cooling melt or magma body, and the Máaz formation likely represents a separate series of lava flows emplaced after Séítah. The Máaz and Séítah rocks also preserve evidence of multiple episodes of aqueous alteration in secondary minerals like carbonate, Fe/Mg phyllosilicates, sulfates, and perchlorate, and surficial coatings. Post-emplacement processes tilted the rocks near the Máaz-Séítah contact and substantial erosion modified the crater floor rocks to their present-day expressions. Results from this crater floor campaign, including those obtained upon return of the collected samples, will help to build the geologic history of events that occurred in Jezero crater and provide time constraints on the formation of the Jezero delta.
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| 7. |
- Wiens, Roger C., et al.
(författare)
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ChemCam: Chemostratigraphy by the First Mars Microprobe
- 2015
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Ingår i: Elements. - : Mineralogical Society of America. - 1811-5209 .- 1811-5217. ; 11:1, s. 33-38
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ChemCam laser-induced breakdown spectrometer on the rover Curiosity has provided more than 200,000 spectra from over 5000 different locations on Mars. This instrument is the first chemical microprobe on Mars and has an analytical footprint 0.3–0.6 mm in diameter. ChemCam has observed a measure of hydration in all the sedimentary materials encountered along the rover traverse in Gale Crater, indicating the ubiquity of phyllosilicates as a constituent of the analyzed sandstones, mudstones, and conglomerates. Diagenetic features, including calcium sulfate veins, millimeter-thick magnesium-rich diagenetic ridges, and manganese-rich rock surfaces, provide clues to water–rock interactions. Float clasts of coarse-grained igneous rocks are rich in alkali feldspars and some are enriched in fluorine, indicating greater magmatic evolution than expected on Mars. The identification of individual soil components has contributed to our understanding of the evolution of Martian soil. These observations have broadened our understanding of Mars as an active and once habitable planet.
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