ALBERT

Description: Stable isotope ratios of H, C, and O are powerful indicators of a wide variety of planetary geophysical processes, and for Mars they reveal the record of loss of its atmosphere and subsequent interactions with its surface such as carbonate formation. We report in situ measurements of the isotopic ratios of D/H and (18)O/(16)O in water and (13)C/(12)C, (18)O/(16)O, (17)O/(16)O, and (13)C(18)O/(12)C(16)O in carbon dioxide, made in the martian atmosphere at Gale Crater from the Curiosity rover using the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM)'s tunable laser spectrometer (TLS). Comparison between our measurements in the modern atmosphere and those of martian meteorites such as ALH 84001 implies that the martian reservoirs of CO2 and H2O were largely established ~4 billion years ago, but that atmospheric loss or surface interaction may be still ongoing.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Webster, Chris R -- Mahaffy, Paul R -- Flesch, Gregory J -- Niles, Paul B -- Jones, John H -- Leshin, Laurie A -- Atreya, Sushil K -- Stern, Jennifer C -- Christensen, Lance E -- Owen, Tobias -- Franz, Heather -- Pepin, Robert O -- Steele, Andrew -- MSL Science Team -- Achilles, Cherie -- Agard, Christophe -- Alves Verdasca, Jose Alexandre -- Anderson, Robert -- Anderson, Ryan -- Archer, Doug -- Armiens-Aparicio, Carlos -- Arvidson, Ray -- Atlaskin, Evgeny -- Aubrey, Andrew -- Baker, Burt -- Baker, Michael -- Balic-Zunic, Tonci -- Baratoux, David -- Baroukh, Julien -- Barraclough, Bruce -- Bean, Keri -- Beegle, Luther -- Behar, Alberto -- Bell, James -- Bender, Steve -- Benna, Mehdi -- Bentz, Jennifer -- Berger, Gilles -- Berger, Jeff -- Berman, Daniel -- Bish, David -- Blake, David F -- Blanco Avalos, Juan J -- Blaney, Diana -- Blank, Jen -- Blau, Hannah -- Bleacher, Lora -- Boehm, Eckart -- Botta, Oliver -- Bottcher, Stephan -- Boucher, Thomas -- Bower, Hannah -- Boyd, Nick -- Boynton, Bill -- Breves, Elly -- Bridges, John -- Bridges, Nathan -- Brinckerhoff, William -- Brinza, David -- Bristow, Thomas -- Brunet, Claude -- Brunner, Anna -- Brunner, Will -- Buch, Arnaud -- Bullock, Mark -- Burmeister, Sonke -- Cabane, Michel -- Calef, Fred -- Cameron, James -- Campbell, John -- Cantor, Bruce -- Caplinger, Michael -- Caride Rodriguez, Javier -- Carmosino, Marco -- Carrasco Blazquez, Isaias -- Charpentier, Antoine -- Chipera, Steve -- Choi, David -- Clark, Benton -- Clegg, Sam -- Cleghorn, Timothy -- Cloutis, Ed -- Cody, George -- Coll, Patrice -- Conrad, Pamela -- Coscia, David -- Cousin, Agnes -- Cremers, David -- Crisp, Joy -- Cros, Alain -- Cucinotta, Frank -- d'Uston, Claude -- Davis, Scott -- Day, Mackenzie -- de la Torre Juarez, Manuel -- DeFlores, Lauren -- DeLapp, Dorothea -- DeMarines, Julia -- DesMarais, David -- Dietrich, William -- Dingler, Robert -- Donny, Christophe -- Downs, Bob -- Drake, Darrell -- Dromart, Gilles -- Dupont, Audrey -- Duston, Brian -- Dworkin, Jason -- Dyar, M Darby -- Edgar, Lauren -- Edgett, Kenneth -- Edwards, Christopher -- Edwards, Laurence -- Ehlmann, Bethany -- Ehresmann, Bent -- Eigenbrode, Jen -- Elliott, Beverley -- Elliott, Harvey -- Ewing, Ryan -- Fabre, Cecile -- Fairen, Alberto -- Farley, Ken -- Farmer, Jack -- Fassett, Caleb -- Favot, Laurent -- Fay, Donald -- Fedosov, Fedor -- Feldman, Jason -- Feldman, Sabrina -- Fisk, Marty -- Fitzgibbon, Mike -- Floyd, Melissa -- Fluckiger, Lorenzo -- Forni, Olivier -- Fraeman, Abby -- Francis, Raymond -- Francois, Pascaline -- Freissinet, Caroline -- French, Katherine Louise -- Frydenvang, Jens -- Gaboriaud, Alain -- Gailhanou, Marc -- Garvin, James -- Gasnault, Olivier -- Geffroy, Claude -- Gellert, Ralf -- Genzer, Maria -- Glavin, Daniel -- Godber, Austin -- Goesmann, Fred -- Goetz, Walter -- Golovin, Dmitry -- Gomez Gomez, Felipe -- Gomez-Elvira, Javier -- Gondet, Brigitte -- Gordon, Suzanne -- Gorevan, Stephen -- Grant, John -- Griffes, Jennifer -- Grinspoon, David -- Grotzinger, John -- Guillemot, Philippe -- Guo, Jingnan -- Gupta, Sanjeev -- Guzewich, Scott -- Haberle, Robert -- Halleaux, Douglas -- Hallet, Bernard -- Hamilton, Vicky -- Hardgrove, Craig -- Harker, David -- Harpold, Daniel -- Harri, Ari-Matti -- Harshman, Karl -- Hassler, Donald -- Haukka, Harri -- Hayes, Alex -- Herkenhoff, Ken -- Herrera, Paul -- Hettrich, Sebastian -- Heydari, Ezat -- Hipkin, Victoria -- Hoehler, Tori -- Hollingsworth, Jeff -- Hudgins, Judy -- Huntress, Wesley -- Hurowitz, Joel -- Hviid, Stubbe -- Iagnemma, Karl -- Indyk, Steve -- Israel, Guy -- Jackson, Ryan -- Jacob, Samantha -- Jakosky, Bruce -- Jensen, Elsa -- Jensen, Jaqueline Klovgaard -- Johnson, Jeffrey -- Johnson, Micah -- Johnstone, Steve -- Jones, Andrea -- Joseph, Jonathan -- Jun, Insoo -- Kah, Linda -- Kahanpaa, Henrik -- Kahre, Melinda -- Karpushkina, Natalya -- Kasprzak, Wayne -- Kauhanen, Janne -- Keely, Leslie -- Kemppinen, Osku -- Keymeulen, Didier -- Kim, Myung-Hee -- Kinch, Kjartan -- King, Penny -- Kirkland, Laurel -- Kocurek, Gary -- Koefoed, Asmus -- Kohler, Jan -- Kortmann, Onno -- Kozyrev, Alexander -- Krezoski, Jill -- Krysak, Daniel -- Kuzmin, Ruslan -- Lacour, Jean Luc -- Lafaille, Vivian -- Langevin, Yves -- Lanza, Nina -- Lasue, Jeremie -- Le Mouelic, Stephane -- Lee, Ella Mae -- Lee, Qiu-Mei -- Lees, David -- Lefavor, Matthew -- Lemmon, Mark -- Lepinette Malvitte, Alain -- Leveille, Richard -- Lewin-Carpintier, Eric -- Lewis, Kevin -- Li, Shuai -- Lipkaman, Leslie -- Little, Cynthia -- Litvak, Maxim -- Lorigny, Eric -- Lugmair, Guenter -- Lundberg, Angela -- Lyness, Eric -- Madsen, Morten -- Maki, Justin -- Malakhov, Alexey -- Malespin, Charles -- Malin, Michael -- Mangold, Nicolas -- Manhes, Gerard -- Manning, Heidi -- Marchand, Genevieve -- Marin Jimenez, Mercedes -- Martin Garcia, Cesar -- Martin, Dave -- Martin, Mildred -- Martinez-Frias, Jesus -- Martin-Soler, Javier -- Martin-Torres, F Javier -- Mauchien, Patrick -- Maurice, Sylvestre -- McAdam, Amy -- McCartney, Elaina -- McConnochie, Timothy -- McCullough, Emily -- McEwan, Ian -- McKay, Christopher -- McLennan, Scott -- McNair, Sean -- Melikechi, Noureddine -- Meslin, Pierre-Yves -- Meyer, Michael -- Mezzacappa, Alissa -- Miller, Hayden -- Miller, Kristen -- Milliken, Ralph -- Ming, Douglas -- Minitti, Michelle -- Mischna, Michael -- Mitrofanov, Igor -- Moersch, Jeff -- Mokrousov, Maxim -- Molina Jurado, Antonio -- Moores, John -- Mora-Sotomayor, Luis -- Morookian, John Michael -- Morris, Richard -- Morrison, Shaunna -- Mueller-Mellin, Reinhold -- Muller, Jan-Peter -- Munoz Caro, Guillermo -- Nachon, Marion -- Navarro Lopez, Sara -- Navarro-Gonzalez, Rafael -- Nealson, Kenneth -- Nefian, Ara -- Nelson, Tony -- Newcombe, Megan -- Newman, Claire -- Newsom, Horton -- Nikiforov, Sergey -- Nixon, Brian -- Noe Dobrea, Eldar -- Nolan, Thomas -- Oehler, Dorothy -- Ollila, Ann -- Olson, Timothy -- de Pablo Hernandez, Miguel Angel -- Paillet, Alexis -- Pallier, Etienne -- Palucis, Marisa -- Parker, Timothy -- Parot, Yann -- Patel, Kiran -- Paton, Mark -- Paulsen, Gale -- Pavlov, Alex -- Pavri, Betina -- Peinado-Gonzalez, Veronica -- Peret, Laurent -- Perez, Rene -- Perrett, Glynis -- Peterson, Joe -- Pilorget, Cedric -- Pinet, Patrick -- Pla-Garcia, Jorge -- Plante, Ianik -- Poitrasson, Franck -- Polkko, Jouni -- Popa, Radu -- Posiolova, Liliya -- Posner, Arik -- Pradler, Irina -- Prats, Benito -- Prokhorov, Vasily -- Purdy, Sharon Wilson -- Raaen, Eric -- Radziemski, Leon -- Rafkin, Scot -- Ramos, Miguel -- Rampe, Elizabeth -- Raulin, Francois -- Ravine, Michael -- Reitz, Gunther -- Renno, Nilton -- Rice, Melissa -- Richardson, Mark -- Robert, Francois -- Robertson, Kevin -- Rodriguez Manfredi, Jose Antonio -- Romeral-Planello, Julio J -- Rowland, Scott -- Rubin, David -- Saccoccio, Muriel -- Salamon, Andrew -- Sandoval, Jennifer -- Sanin, Anton -- Sans Fuentes, Sara Alejandra -- Saper, Lee -- Sarrazin, Philippe -- Sautter, Violaine -- Savijarvi, Hannu -- Schieber, Juergen -- Schmidt, Mariek -- Schmidt, Walter -- Scholes, Daniel -- Schoppers, Marcel -- Schroder, Susanne -- Schwenzer, Susanne -- Sebastian Martinez, Eduardo -- Sengstacken, Aaron -- Shterts, Ruslan -- Siebach, Kirsten -- Siili, Tero -- Simmonds, Jeff -- Sirven, Jean-Baptiste -- Slavney, Susie -- Sletten, Ronald -- Smith, Michael -- Sobron Sanchez, Pablo -- Spanovich, Nicole -- Spray, John -- Squyres, Steven -- Stack, Katie -- Stalport, Fabien -- Stein, Thomas -- Stewart, Noel -- Stipp, Susan Louise Svane -- Stoiber, Kevin -- Stolper, Ed -- Sucharski, Bob -- Sullivan, Rob -- Summons, Roger -- Sumner, Dawn -- Sun, Vivian -- Supulver, Kimberley -- Sutter, Brad -- Szopa, Cyril -- Tan, Florence -- Tate, Christopher -- Teinturier, Samuel -- ten Kate, Inge -- Thomas, Peter -- Thompson, Lucy -- Tokar, Robert -- Toplis, Mike -- Torres Redondo, Josefina -- Trainer, Melissa -- Treiman, Allan -- Tretyakov, Vladislav -- Urqui-O'Callaghan, Roser -- Van Beek, Jason -- Van Beek, Tessa -- VanBommel, Scott -- Vaniman, David -- Varenikov, Alexey -- Vasavada, Ashwin -- Vasconcelos, Paulo -- Vicenzi, Edward -- Vostrukhin, Andrey -- Voytek, Mary -- Wadhwa, Meenakshi -- Ward, Jennifer -- Weigle, Eddie -- Wellington, Danika -- Westall, Frances -- Wiens, Roger Craig -- Wilhelm, Mary Beth -- Williams, Amy -- Williams, Joshua -- Williams, Rebecca -- Williams, Richard B -- Wilson, Mike -- Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert -- Wolff, Mike -- Wong, Mike -- Wray, James -- Wu, Megan -- Yana, Charles -- Yen, Albert -- Yingst, Aileen -- Zeitlin, Cary -- Zimdar, Robert -- Zorzano Mier, Maria-Paz -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2013 Jul 19;341(6143):260-3. doi: 10.1126/science.1237961.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA. chris.r.webster@jpl.nasa.gov〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23869013" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The Curiosity rover discovered fine-grained sedimentary rocks, which are inferred to represent an ancient lake and preserve evidence of an environment that would have been suited to support a martian biosphere founded on chemolithoautotrophy. This aqueous environment was characterized by neutral pH, low salinity, and variable redox states of both iron and sulfur species. Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, and phosphorus were measured directly as key biogenic elements; by inference, phosphorus is assumed to have been available. The environment probably had a minimum duration of hundreds to tens of thousands of years. These results highlight the biological viability of fluvial-lacustrine environments in the post-Noachian history of Mars.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Grotzinger, J P -- Sumner, D Y -- Kah, L C -- Stack, K -- Gupta, S -- Edgar, L -- Rubin, D -- Lewis, K -- Schieber, J -- Mangold, N -- Milliken, R -- Conrad, P G -- DesMarais, D -- Farmer, J -- Siebach, K -- Calef, F 3rd -- Hurowitz, J -- McLennan, S M -- Ming, D -- Vaniman, D -- Crisp, J -- Vasavada, A -- Edgett, K S -- Malin, M -- Blake, D -- Gellert, R -- Mahaffy, P -- Wiens, R C -- Maurice, S -- Grant, J A -- Wilson, S -- Anderson, R C -- Beegle, L -- Arvidson, R -- Hallet, B -- Sletten, R S -- Rice, M -- Bell, J 3rd -- Griffes, J -- Ehlmann, B -- Anderson, R B -- Bristow, T F -- Dietrich, W E -- Dromart, G -- Eigenbrode, J -- Fraeman, A -- Hardgrove, C -- Herkenhoff, K -- Jandura, L -- Kocurek, G -- Lee, S -- Leshin, L A -- Leveille, R -- Limonadi, D -- Maki, J -- McCloskey, S -- Meyer, M -- Minitti, M -- Newsom, H -- Oehler, D -- Okon, A -- Palucis, M -- Parker, T -- Rowland, S -- Schmidt, M -- Squyres, S -- Steele, A -- Stolper, E -- Summons, R -- Treiman, A -- Williams, R -- Yingst, A -- MSL Science Team -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2014 Jan 24;343(6169):1242777. doi: 10.1126/science.1242777. Epub 2013 Dec 9.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Division of Geologic and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24324272" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has traversed a fairly flat, rock-strewn terrain whose surface is shaped primarily by impact events, although some of the landscape has been altered by eolian processes. Impacts ejected basaltic rocks that probably were part of locally formed lava flows from at least 10 meters depth. Some rocks have been textured and/or partially buried by windblown sediments less than 2 millimeters in diameter that concentrate within shallow, partially filled, circular impact depressions referred to as hollows. The terrain traversed during the 90-sol (martian solar day) nominal mission shows no evidence for an ancient lake in Gusev crater.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Grant, J A -- Arvidson, R -- Bell, J F 3rd -- Cabrol, N A -- Carr, M H -- Christensen, P -- Crumpler, L -- Des Marais, D J -- Ehlmann, B L -- Farmer, J -- Golombek, M -- Grant, F D -- Greeley, R -- Herkenhoff, K -- Li, R -- McSween, H Y -- Ming, D W -- Moersch, J -- Rice, J W Jr -- Ruff, S -- Richter, L -- Squyres, S -- Sullivan, R -- Weitz, C -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2004 Aug 6;305(5685):807-10.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA. grantj@nasm.si.edu〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15297659" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The Microscopic Imager on the Spirit rover analyzed the textures of the soil and rocks at Gusev crater on Mars at a resolution of 100 micrometers. Weakly bound agglomerates of dust are present in the soil near the Columbia Memorial Station. Some of the brushed or abraded rock surfaces show igneous textures and evidence for alteration rinds, coatings, and veins consistent with secondary mineralization. The rock textures are consistent with a volcanic origin and subsequent alteration and/or weathering by impact events, wind, and possibly water.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Herkenhoff, K E -- Squyres, S W -- Arvidson, R -- Bass, D S -- Bell, J F 3rd -- Bertelsen, P -- Cabrol, N A -- Gaddis, L -- Hayes, A G -- Hviid, S F -- Johnson, J R -- Kinch, K M -- Madsen, M B -- Maki, J N -- McLennan, S M -- McSween, H Y -- Rice, J W Jr -- Sims, M -- Smith, P H -- Soderblom, L A -- Spanovich, N -- Sullivan, R -- Wang, A -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2004 Aug 6;305(5685):824-6.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Team, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA. kherkenhoff@usgs.gov〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15297663" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The Microscopic Imager on the Opportunity rover analyzed textures of soils and rocks at Meridiani Planum at a scale of 31 micrometers per pixel. The uppermost millimeter of some soils is weakly cemented, whereas other soils show little evidence of cohesion. Rock outcrops are laminated on a millimeter scale; image mosaics of cross-stratification suggest that some sediments were deposited by flowing water. Vugs in some outcrop faces are probably molds formed by dissolution of relatively soluble minerals during diagenesis. Microscopic images support the hypothesis that hematite-rich spherules observed in outcrops and soils also formed diagenetically as concretions.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Herkenhoff, K E -- Squyres, S W -- Arvidson, R -- Bass, D S -- Bell, J F 3rd -- Bertelsen, P -- Ehlmann, B L -- Farrand, W -- Gaddis, L -- Greeley, R -- Grotzinger, J -- Hayes, A G -- Hviid, S F -- Johnson, J R -- Jolliff, B -- Kinch, K M -- Knoll, A H -- Madsen, M B -- Maki, J N -- McLennan, S M -- McSween, H Y -- Ming, D W -- Rice, J W Jr -- Richter, L -- Sims, M -- Smith, P H -- Soderblom, L A -- Spanovich, N -- Sullivan, R -- Thompson, S -- Wdowiak, T -- Weitz, C -- Whelley, P -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2004 Dec 3;306(5702):1727-30.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Team, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA. kherkenhoff@usgs.gov〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15576607" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The Observatoire pour la Mineralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces, et l'Activite (OMEGA) investigation, on board the European Space Agency Mars Express mission, is mapping the surface composition of Mars at a 0.3- to 5-kilometer resolution by means of visible-near-infrared hyperspectral reflectance imagery. The data acquired during the first 9 months of the mission already reveal a diverse and complex surface mineralogy, offering key insights into the evolution of Mars. OMEGA has identified and mapped mafic iron-bearing silicates of both the northern and southern crust, localized concentrations of hydrated phyllosilicates and sulfates but no carbonates, and ices and frosts with a water-ice composition of the north polar perennial cap, as for the south cap, covered by a thin carbon dioxide-ice veneer.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Bibring, Jean-Pierre -- Langevin, Yves -- Gendrin, Aline -- Gondet, Brigitte -- Poulet, Francois -- Berthe, Michel -- Soufflot, Alain -- Arvidson, Ray -- Mangold, Nicolas -- Mustard, John -- Drossart, P -- OMEGA team -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2005 Mar 11;307(5715):1576-81. Epub 2005 Feb 17.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), Batiment 121, 91405 Orsay Campus, France. bibring@ias.u-psud.fr〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15718430" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The OMEGA/Mars Express hyperspectral imager identified hydrated sulfates on light-toned layered terrains on Mars. Outcrops in Valles Marineris, Margaritifer Sinus, and Terra Meridiani show evidence for kieserite, gypsum, and polyhydrated sulfates. This identification has its basis in vibrational absorptions between 1.3 and 2.5 micrometers. These minerals constitute direct records of the past aqueous activity on Mars.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Gendrin, Aline -- Mangold, Nicolas -- Bibring, Jean-Pierre -- Langevin, Yves -- Gondet, Brigitte -- Poulet, Francois -- Bonello, Guillaume -- Quantin, Cathy -- Mustard, John -- Arvidson, Ray -- LeMouelic, Stephane -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2005 Mar 11;307(5715):1587-91. Epub 2005 Feb 17.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), Batiment 121, 91405 Orsay Campus, France. Aline_Gendrin@brown.edu〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15718429" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: We determined radiogenic and cosmogenic noble gases in a mudstone on the floor of Gale Crater. A K-Ar age of 4.21 +/- 0.35 billion years represents a mixture of detrital and authigenic components and confirms the expected antiquity of rocks comprising the crater rim. Cosmic-ray-produced (3)He, (21)Ne, and (36)Ar yield concordant surface exposure ages of 78 +/- 30 million years. Surface exposure occurred mainly in the present geomorphic setting rather than during primary erosion and transport. Our observations are consistent with mudstone deposition shortly after the Gale impact or possibly in a later event of rapid erosion and deposition. The mudstone remained buried until recent exposure by wind-driven scarp retreat. Sedimentary rocks exposed by this mechanism may thus offer the best potential for organic biomarker preservation against destruction by cosmic radiation.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Farley, K A -- Malespin, C -- Mahaffy, P -- Grotzinger, J P -- Vasconcelos, P M -- Milliken, R E -- Malin, M -- Edgett, K S -- Pavlov, A A -- Hurowitz, J A -- Grant, J A -- Miller, H B -- Arvidson, R -- Beegle, L -- Calef, F -- Conrad, P G -- Dietrich, W E -- Eigenbrode, J -- Gellert, R -- Gupta, S -- Hamilton, V -- Hassler, D M -- Lewis, K W -- McLennan, S M -- Ming, D -- Navarro-Gonzalez, R -- Schwenzer, S P -- Steele, A -- Stolper, E M -- Sumner, D Y -- Vaniman, D -- Vasavada, A -- Williford, K -- Wimmer-Schweingruber, R F -- MSL Science Team -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2014 Jan 24;343(6169):1247166. doi: 10.1126/science.1247166. Epub 2013 Dec 9.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24324273" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Global mineralogical mapping of Mars by the Observatoire pour la Mineralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activite (OMEGA) instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft provides new information on Mars' geological and climatic history. Phyllosilicates formed by aqueous alteration very early in the planet's history (the "phyllocian" era) are found in the oldest terrains; sulfates were formed in a second era (the "theiikian" era) in an acidic environment. Beginning about 3.5 billion years ago, the last era (the "siderikian") is dominated by the formation of anhydrous ferric oxides in a slow superficial weathering, without liquid water playing a major role across the planet.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Bibring, Jean-Pierre -- Langevin, Yves -- Mustard, John F -- Poulet, Francois -- Arvidson, Raymond -- Gendrin, Aline -- Gondet, Brigitte -- Mangold, Nicolas -- Pinet, P -- Forget, F -- Berthe, Michel -- Gomez, Cecile -- Jouglet, Denis -- Soufflot, Alain -- Vincendon, Mathieu -- Combes, Michel -- Drossart, Pierre -- Encrenaz, Therese -- Fouchet, Thierry -- Merchiorri, Riccardo -- Belluci, Giancarlo -- Altieri, Francesca -- Formisano, Vittorio -- Capaccioni, Fabricio -- Cerroni, Pricilla -- Coradini, Angioletta -- Fonti, Sergio -- Korablev, Oleg -- Kottsov, Volodia -- Ignatiev, Nikolai -- Moroz, Vassili -- Titov, Dimitri -- Zasova, Ludmilla -- Loiseau, Damien -- Pinet, Patrick -- Doute, Sylvain -- Schmitt, Bernard -- Sotin, Christophe -- Hauber, Ernst -- Hoffmann, Harald -- Jaumann, Ralf -- Keller, Uwe -- Arvidson, Ray -- Duxbury, Tom -- Forget, Francois -- Neukum, G -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2006 Apr 21;312(5772):400-4.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), Batiment 121, 91405 Orsay Campus, France.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16627738" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉