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The Mineralogical Record of Ancient Fluvio-Lacustrine Environments in Gale Crater as Measured by the MSL CheMin InstrumentThe Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover landed in Gale crater in August 2012 to investigate early Hesperian-aged sedimentary rocks on the lower slopes of Aeolis Mons (i.e., Mount Sharp) that show variations in phyllosilicates, hematite, and sulfates from orbital reflectance spectroscopy, suggesting changes in ancient aqueous environments. During the Eighth International Conference on Mars in July 2014, Curiosity was still traversing the Bradbury group on the plains of Gale crater (Aeolis Palus) and had only analyzed four samples in its internal laboratories. Soon after Mars 8, Curiosity began its investigation of Mount Sharp and has since driven through ~350 m of vertical stratigraphy, the majority of which is part of the Murray formation. The Murray fm is comprised primarily of laminated mudstone with occasional sandstone and heterolithic facies and represents a long-lived fluvio-lacustrine environment. Curiosity has analyzed 13 drilled rock samples from the Murray formation and 4 from the ancient eolian Stimson fm with the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument. Here, we discuss the mineralogy of all fluvio-lacustrine samples analyzed to date and what these results tell us about sources of the sediments, aqueous environments, and habitability of ancient Gale crater.
Document ID
20190029095
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Rampe, E. B. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Bristow, T. F. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Blake, D. F. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Morris, R. V. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Ming, D. W. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Achilles, C. N.
Chipera, S. J. (Chesapeake Energy Corp. Oklahoma City, OK, United States)
Morrison, S. M. (Carnegie Institution for Science Washington, DC, United States)
Yen, A. S. (Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology (CalTech) Pasadena, CA, United States)
Treiman, A. H. (Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) Houston, TX, United States)
Downs, R. T. (Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Hazen, R. M. (Carnegie Institution for Science Washington, DC, United States)
Grotzinger, J. P. (California Institute of Technology (CalTech) Pasadena, CA, United States)
Marais, D. J. Des (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Sarrazin, P. (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute Mountain View, CA, United States)
Tu, V. M. (Jacobs Engineering Group (World Headquarters) Dallas, TX, United States)
Castle, N. (Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) Houston, TX, United States)
Craig, P. I. (PSI)
Downs, G. (Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Peretyazhko, T. S. (Jacobs Engineering Group (World Headquarters) Dallas, TX, United States)
Thorpe, M. T.
Walroth, R.
Date Acquired
August 15, 2019
Publication Date
July 22, 2019
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Report/Patent Number
JSC-E-DAA-TN72364
Meeting Information
Meeting: International Conference on Mars
Location: Pasadena, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: July 22, 2019
End Date: July 25, 2019
Sponsors: Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), Universities Space Research Association (USRA), California Institute of Technology (CalTech), NASA Headquarters
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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