Open AccessRocky 7 prototype Mars rover field geology experiments: 1. Lavic Lake and Sunshine Volcanic Field, California
Author(s) -
Arvidson R. E.,
Acton C.,
Blaney D.,
Bowman J.,
Kim S.,
Klingelhöfer G.,
Marshall J.,
Niebur C.,
Plescia J.,
Saunders R. S.,
Ulmer C. T.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: planets
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/98je01768
Subject(s) - geology , mars exploration program , basalt , volcano , mars rover , context (archaeology) , remote sensing , aeolian processes , geophysics , earth science , geomorphology , geochemistry , astrobiology , paleontology , physics
Experiments with the Rocky 7 rover were performed in the Mojave Desert to better understand how to conduct rover‐based, long‐distance (kilometers) geological traverses on Mars. The rover was equipped with stereo imaging systems for remote sensing science and hazard avoidance and 57 Fe Mössbauer and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers for in situ determination of mineralogy of unprepared rock and soil surfaces. Laboratory data were also obtained using the spectrometers and an X ray diffraction (XRD)/XRF instrument for unprepared samples collected from the rover sites. Simulated orbital and descent image data assembled for the test sites were found to be critical for assessing the geologic setting, formulating hypotheses to be tested with rover observations, planning traverses, locating the rover, and providing a regional context for interpretation of rover‐based observations. Analyses of remote sensing and in situ observations acquired by the rover confirmed inferences made from orbital and simulated descent images that the Sunshine Volcanic Field is composed of basalt flows. Rover data confirmed the idea that Lavic Lake is a recharge playa and that an alluvial fan composed of sediments with felsic compositions has prograded onto the playa. Rover‐based discoveries include the inference that the basalt flows are mantled with aeolian sediment and covered with a dense pavement of varnished basalt cobbles. Results demonstrate that the combination of rover remote sensing and in situ analytical observations will significantly increase our understanding of Mars and provide key connecting links between orbital and descent data and analyses of returned samples.