Collection and In Situ Analyses of Regolith Samples by the Mars 2020 Rover: Implications for Their Formation and Alteration History

Abstract The Perseverance rover has sampled mm‐size lithic fragments containing olivine likely from at least two source regions from the surface of an inactive megaripple surface, and fine‐grained material from the surface and to a depth of ∼4–6 cm. Some of the mm‐size grains lack a coherent diffraction pattern measured by PIXL, consistent with the presence of poorly ordered secondary phases that have been altered. Analysis of these materials on Earth will allow examination of materials that have experienced aqueous, potentially habitable environments that could contain biosignatures. Fluorescence of three different patterns was detected, consistent with inorganic emissions from silica defects or rare earth elements in certain mineral phases, although organic origin cannot be excluded. Analysis of Autofocus Context Imager and Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering images of the subsurface material and MEDA thermal inertia measurements indicate average grain sizes of ∼125 and ∼150 μm, respectively, for the bulk material within the megaripple. The fine‐grained material in the sampling location indicates chemical compositions similar to previously proposed global components as well as airfall dust. In situ and associated atmospheric measurements provide evidence of recent processes likely including water vapor in soil crust formation. The sampled material will therefore help elucidate the formation of Martian soils; current surface‐atmosphere interactions; the composition, shape, and size distribution of dust grains valuable for studies of past and present Martian climate and for assessing potential health and other risks to human missions; and ancient, aqueously altered environments that could have been habitable, and, if Mars contained life, possibly contain biosignatures.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research Planets
Published
2025-02-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2023je008046
Citations
4
Primary Topic
Planetary Science and Exploration
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.62

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article

Collection and In Situ Analyses of Regolith Samples by the Mars 2020 Rover: Implications for Their Formation and Alteration History

E. A. Cloutis, J. Lasue, F. J. Calef, Gerhard Paar et al.
4 citations
Journal of Geophysical Research Planets
Planetary Science and Exploration
4.62
article

Collection and In Situ Analyses of Regolith Samples by the Mars 2020 Rover: Implications for Their Formation and Alteration History

E. A. Cloutis, J. Lasue, F. J. Calef, Gerhard Paar, C. T. Adcock, Jorge I. Núñez, Emily Cardarelli, Z. U. Wolf, David L. Shuster, A. J. Brown, Lucia Mandon, B. C. Clark, Andrew D. Czaja, S. J. VanBommel, Clément Royer, L. E. Mayhew, Tanja Bosak, Louise Jandura, Claire Newman, Juan Manuel Madariaga, C. C. Bedford, Abigail L. Knight, F. Poulet, Sandra Siljeström, Andreas Bechtold, Felipe Gómez, Kathleen C. Benison, Shiv K. Sharma, Kenneth H. Williford, Á. Vicente‐Retortillo, R. E. Kronyak, Mark A. Sephton, Elisabeth M. Hausrath, Thierry Fouchet, Adrian Broz, K. E. Herkenhoff, Arya Udry, Teresa Fornaro, Andrew O. Shumway, Y. S. Goreva, Ryan S. Jakubek, J. R. Johnson, C. D. K. Herd, Pierre‐Yves Meslin, Iratxe Población, María‐Paz Zorzano, J. F. Bell, Nancy Carman, Nicolas Randazzo, T. V. Kizovski, R. C. Wiens, Amy J. Williams, Alicia Vaughan, O. Forni, Justin I. Simon, M. P. Golombek, Patrick Russell, Michael M. Tice, A. Cousin, Jesús Martínez‐Frías, R. Sullivan, Iona Tirona, Olivier Gasnault, Germán Martínez, Sunanda Sharma, B. P. Weiss
article en
4 citations

Abstract

Abstract The Perseverance rover has sampled mm‐size lithic fragments containing olivine likely from at least two source regions from the surface of an inactive megaripple surface, and fine‐grained material from the surface and to a depth of ∼4–6 cm. Some of the mm‐size grains lack a coherent diffraction pattern measured by PIXL, consistent with the presence of poorly ordered secondary phases that have been altered. Analysis of these materials on Earth will allow examination of materials that have experienced aqueous, potentially habitable environments that could contain biosignatures. Fluorescence of three different patterns was detected, consistent with inorganic emissions from silica defects or rare earth elements in certain mineral phases, although organic origin cannot be excluded. Analysis of Autofocus Context Imager and Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering images of the subsurface material and MEDA thermal inertia measurements indicate average grain sizes of ∼125 and ∼150 μm, respectively, for the bulk material within the megaripple. The fine‐grained material in the sampling location indicates chemical compositions similar to previously proposed global components as well as airfall dust. In situ and associated atmospheric measurements provide evidence of recent processes likely including water vapor in soil crust formation. The sampled material will therefore help elucidate the formation of Martian soils; current surface‐atmosphere interactions; the composition, shape, and size distribution of dust grains valuable for studies of past and present Martian climate and for assessing potential health and other risks to human missions; and ancient, aqueously altered environments that could have been habitable, and, if Mars contained life, possibly contain biosignatures.

Journal of Geophysical Research PlanetsVol. 130(2)
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US), West Virginia University (US), California Institute of Technology (US), United States Geological Survey (US), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Vienna (AT), Space Science Institute (US), Planetary Science Institute (US), University of Hawaii System (US), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US), University of Nevada, Las Vegas (US), Joanneum Research (AT), Los Alamos National Laboratory (US), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (FR), University of Alberta (CA), University of California, Los Angeles (US), University of the Basque Country (ES), Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées (FR), Brock University (CA), University of Colorado Boulder (US), University of Washington (US), Washington University in St. Louis (US), Université Paris Cité (FR), Cornell University (US), Purdue University West Lafayette (US), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR), Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory (IT), RISE Research Institutes of Sweden (SE), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (US), University of Florida (US), Sorbonne Université (FR), Honolulu University (US), Sorbonne Paris Cité (FR), Aeolis Research (United States) (US), Apogee Technology (United States) (US), Astrogeology Science Center (US), Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique (FR), Centro de Astrobiología (ES), Blue Marble Space (US), Johnson Space Center (US), Jacobs (United States) (US), Instituto de Geociencias (ES), Blue Marble Space Institute of Science (US), Earth and Space Research (US), Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (FR), Imperial College London (GB), Arizona State University (US), Lunar and Planetary Institute (US), University of Cincinnati (US), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US), The University of Winnipeg (CA), Texas A&M University (US), University of California, Berkeley (US)
Swedish National Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Planetary Science and Exploration
4.62
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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