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Mineralogy of Eolian Sands at Gale CraterThe Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity has been exploring outcrop and regolith in Gale crater since August 6, 2012. During this exploration, the mission has collected 10 samples for mineralogical analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD), using the CheMin instrument. The CheMin (Chemistry and Mineralogy) instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity uses a CCD detector and a Co-anode tube source to acquire both mineralogy (from the pat-tern of Co diffraction) and chemical information (from energies of fluoresced X-rays). A detailed description of CheMin is provided in [1]. As part of the rover checkout after landing, the first sample selected for analysis was an eolian sand deposit (the Rocknest "sand shadow"). This sample was selected in part to characterize unconsolidated eolian regolith, but primarily to prove performance of the scoop collection system on the rover. The focus of the mission after Rocknest was on the consolidated sediments of Gale crater, so all of the nine subsequent samples were collected by drilling into bedrock com-posed of lithified sedimentary materials, including mudstone and sandstone. No scoop samples have been collected since Rocknest, but at the time this abstract was written the mission stands poised to use the scoop again, to collect active dune sands from the Bagnold dune field. Several abstracts at this conference outline the Bagnold dune campaign and summarize preliminary results from analyses on approach to the Namib dune sampling site. In this abstract we review the mineralogy of Rocknest, contrast that with the mineralogy of local sediments, and anticipate what will be learned by XRD analysis of Bagnold dune sands.
Document ID
20160002646
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Achilles, C. N. (Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Vaniman, D. T. (Planetary Science Inst. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Blake, D. F. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Bristow, T. F. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Rampe, E. B. (Aerodyne Industries, LLC Houston, TX, United States)
Ming, D. W. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Chipera, S. J. (Chesapeake Energy Corp. Oklahoma City, OK, United States)
Morris, R. V. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Morrison, S. M. (Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Downs, R. T. (Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Fendrich, K. V. (Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Ehlmann, B. L. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Yen, A. S. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Sarrazin, P. C. (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Inst. Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Treiman, A. H. (Lunar and Planetary Inst. Houston, TX, United States)
Craig, P. I. (Lunar and Planetary Inst. Houston, TX, United States)
Lapotre, M. G. A. (California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Edgett, K. S. (Malin Space Science Systems San Diego, CA, United States)
Gellert, R. (Guelph Univ. Ontario, Canada)
Crisp, J. A. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Morookian, J. M. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Grotzinger, J. P. (California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Des Marais, D. J. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Farmer, J. D. (Arizona State Univ. Phoenix, AZ, United States)
Date Acquired
March 1, 2016
Publication Date
March 21, 2016
Subject Category
Geophysics
Report/Patent Number
JSC-CN-35258
Meeting Information
Meeting: Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
Location: The Woodlands, TX
Country: United States
Start Date: March 21, 2016
End Date: March 25, 2016
Sponsors: Lunar and Planetary Inst.
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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