Open AccessMINERALOGICAL CHANGES IN A PREDOMINANTLY FLUVIOLACUSTRINE SUCCESSION AT GALE CRATER, MARS
Author(s) -
E. B. Rampe,
D. W. Ming,
J. P. Grotzinger,
T. F. Bristow,
D. F. Blake,
D. T. Vaniman,
S. J. Chipera,
R. Gellert,
R. V. Morris,
Shaunna M. Morrison
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
abstracts with programs - geological society of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Conference proceedings
ISSN - 0016-7592
DOI - 10.1130/abs/2017cd-292715
Subject(s) - impact crater , geology , mars exploration program , ecological succession , astrobiology , geochemistry , physics , ecology , biology
The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover landed in Gale crater in August 2012 to investigate the strata of lower Aeolis Mons (i.e., Mount Sharp) and characterize their depositional and diagenetic environments. Visible/short-wave infrared spectra from orbit of these strata show variations in phyllosilicate, sulfate, and Fe-oxide minerals, suggesting these units record environmental changes that occurred during the early Hesperian. Curiosity has traversed over 15 km and has climbed through ~200 m of stratigraphic section, made up of predominantly fluviolacustrine (i.e., the Bradbury group and the Murray formation) and aeolian (i.e., the Stimson formation) units. Multiple geochemical and mineralogical instruments are onboard Curiosity to study these ancient rocks, including the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument, which is an X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, and the Alpha Particle Xray Spectrometer (APXS).
Accelerating Research
Robert Robinson Avenue,
Oxford Science Park, Oxford
OX4 4GP, United Kingdom
Address
John Eccles HouseRobert Robinson Avenue,
Oxford Science Park, Oxford
OX4 4GP, United Kingdom