Collection and In Situ Analyses of Regolith Samples by the Mars 2020 Rover: Implications for Their Formation and Alteration History
Name
JGR Planets - 2025 - Hausrath - Collection and In Situ Analyses of Regolith Samples by the Mars 2020 Rover Implications.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
20.76 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
e61a4c75e8d1676a66cba16ac6337603
Date Issued
February 6, 2025
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Citation
2025. "Collection and In Situ Analyses of Regolith Samples by the Mars 2020 Rover: Implications for Their Formation and Alteration History." Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 130 (2).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The Perseverance rover has sampled mm-size lithic fragments containing olivine likely from at least two source regions from the surface of an inactive megaripple surface, and fine-grained material from the surface and to a depth of ∼4–6 cm. Some of the mm-size grains lack a coherent diffraction pattern measured by PIXL, consistent with the presence of poorly ordered secondary phases that have been altered. Analysis of these materials on Earth will allow examination of materials that have experienced aqueous, potentially habitable environments that could contain biosignatures. Fluorescence of three different patterns was detected, consistent with inorganic emissions from silica defects or rare earth elements in certain mineral phases, although organic origin cannot be excluded. Analysis of Autofocus Context Imager and Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering images of the subsurface material and MEDA thermal inertia measurements indicate average grain sizes of ∼125 and ∼150 μm, respectively, for the bulk material within the megaripple. The fine-grained material in the sampling location indicates chemical compositions similar to previously proposed global components as well as airfall dust. In situ and associated atmospheric measurements provide evidence of recent processes likely including water vapor in soil crust formation. The sampled material will therefore help elucidate the formation of Martian soils; current surface-atmosphere interactions; the composition, shape, and size distribution of dust grains valuable for studies of past and present Martian climate and for assessing potential health and other risks to human missions; and ancient, aqueously altered environments that could have been habitable, and, if Mars contained life, possibly contain biosignatures.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
10.1029/2023je008046
