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Mineralogy of the Pahrump Hills Region, Gale Crater, MarsThe Pahrump Hills region of Gale crater is a approximately 12 millimeter thick section of sedimentary rocks in the Murray formation, interpreted as the basal geological unit of Mount Sharp. The Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity, arrived at the Pahrump Hills in September, 2014, and performed a detailed six-month investigation of the sedimentary structures, geochemistry, and mineralogy of the area. During the campaign, Curiosity drilled and delivered three rock samples to its internal instruments, including the CheMin XRD/XRF. The three targets, Confidence Hills, Mojave 2, and Telegraph Peak, contain variable amounts of plagioclase, pyroxene, iron oxides, jarosite, phyllosilicates, and X-ray amorphous material. Hematite was predicted at the base of Mount Sharp from orbital visible/near-IR spectroscopy, and CheMin confirmed this detection. The presence of jarosite throughout Pahrump Hills suggests the sediments experienced acid-sulfate alteration, either in-situ or within the source region of the sediments. This acidic leaching environment is in stark contrast to the environment preserved within the Sheepbed mudstone on the plains of Gale crater. The minerals within Sheepbed, including Fe-saponite, indicate these sediments were deposited in a shallow lake with circumneutral pH that may have been habitable.
Document ID
20150006016
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Other
Authors
Rampe, E. B. (Jacobs Technology, Inc. Houston, TX, United States)
Ming, D. W. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Vaniman, D. T. (Planetary Science Inst. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Blake, D. F. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Chipera, S. J. (Chesapeake Energy Corp. Oklahoma City, OK, United States)
Morris, R. V. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Bish, D. L. (Indiana Univ. Bloomington, IN, United States)
Cavanagh, P. D. (Indiana Univ. Bloomington, IN, United States)
Achilles, C. N. (Indiana Univ. Bloomington, IN, United States)
Bristow, T. F. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Morrison, S. M. (Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Treiman, A. H. (Lunar and Planetary Inst. Houston, TX, United States)
Downs, R. T. (Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Farmer, J. D. (Arizona State Univ. Tempe, AZ, United States)
Crisp, J. A. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Fendrich, K. (Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Morookian, J. M. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
April 21, 2015
Publication Date
August 16, 2015
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Report/Patent Number
JSC-CN-33260
Meeting Information
Meeting: 2015 Goldschmidt Conference
Location: Prague
Country: Czechoslovakia
Start Date: August 16, 2015
End Date: August 21, 2015
Sponsors: Geochemical Society, European Association of Geochemistry
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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