1. Overview and Results From the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover's First Science Campaign on the Jezero Crater Floor.
- Author
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Sun, Vivian Z., Hand, Kevin P., Stack, Kathryn M., Farley, Ken A., Simon, Justin I., Newman, Claire, Sharma, Sunanda, Liu, Yang, Wiens, Roger C., Williams, Amy J., Tosca, Nicholas, Alwmark, Sanna, Beyssac, Olivier, Brown, Adrian, Calef, Fred, Cardarelli, Emily L., Clavé, Elise, Cohen, Barbara, Corpolongo, Andrea, and Czaja, Andrew D.
- Subjects
MARS (Planet) ,GEOLOGICAL formations ,LAVA flows ,ROCK analysis ,IMPACT craters ,CARBONATE minerals ,MARTIAN exploration ,CARBONACEOUS chondrites (Meteorites) - 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. Plain Language Summary: The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, along with the Ingenuity Helicopter technology demonstration, landed in Jezero crater, Mars on 18 February 2021. Here, we detail results from the first science campaign of the mission, the purpose of which was to explore the enigmatic Jezero crater floor. By the end of the campaign, Perseverance traversed more than 5 km, created seven abrasion patches, and sealed a total of nine samples and a witness tube for return to Earth. Analysis of the rocks in the crater floor revealed two distinct geologic formations, named the Máaz and Séítah formations. Both formations were determined to be igneous in origin, the former likely from a series of lava flows and the latter formed from a slowly cooling melt or magma body. The composition of the Máaz and Séítah formation rocks also indicate that they experienced significant alteration from water in the past, consistent with Jezero crater having once been filled with water. Results from Perseverance's Jezero crater floor campaign, including those obtained upon return of the collected samples to Earth, will help build the geologic history of Jezero crater and reveal its past habitability. Key Points: The Máaz and Séítah formations are igneous, with Séítah representing olivine‐rich cumulates and Máaz representing separate lava flowsCrater floor rocks have been variably altered to produce carbonates and other alteration minerals during multiple aqueous episodesPost‐emplacement processes tilted these rocks near the Máaz‐Séítah contact, and erosion produced varied textures and olivine‐rich regolith [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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