Soil diversity at Jezero crater and Comparison to Gale crater, Mars
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The martian soil is of particular interest as it can help us understand the different processes that have occurred on Mars by studying the chemistry and mineralogy of its constituents as a function of grain size. The fine-grained martian soil is thought to be homogeneous across the planet and thus to represent a global component. In this study we report on the soil targets analysed by the SuperCam instrument aboard the Perseverance rover, which is currently exploring Jezero crater. A total of 343 targets were analysed. Their grain size distribution confirms the sparsity of 250–900 Â μ m particles in the martian soil, although both smaller and larger grains are present. We found that the local components, due to erosion of the local bedrock, are present not only in the very coarse grains or larger gravels of the soil, but also in the very fine ones (¡250 Â μ m ). We detected some very coarse grains enriched in olivine, pyroxene and carbonate in both the crater floor and the delta front locations, whereas phyllosilicate-rich grains have been encountered only in the delta front. We have compared the Jezero fine-grained soil targets with those of Gale crater using ChemCam data. We found that those at Jezero show no evidence of Mg sulfates, in contrast to the observation at Gale. In addition, the fine-grained soil at Jezero is more hydrated than that at Gale, probably due to its higher specific surface area .
Source: Icarus
Authors: A. Cousin, P.-Y. Meslin, O. Forni, O. Beyssac, E. Clavé, E. Hausrath, P. Beck, E. Dehouck, S. Schröder, T. Fouchet, C. Bedford, J. Johnson, P. Pilleri, J. Lasue, O. Gasnault, N. Martin, B. Chide, A. Udry, R. Sullivan, A. Vaughan, I. Poblacion, G. Arana, J.M. Madariaga, S. Clegg, S. Maurice, R.C. Wiens
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Université de Toulouse, Sorbonne Université, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Institut de minéralogie, de physique des matériaux et de cosmochimie, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR), University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, Université Grenoble Alpes, Lyon 1 Université, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon : Terre, Planètes et Environnement, Université Jean Monnet, Université Jean Monnet, Université Paris Cité, Observatoire de Paris, Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique, Purdue University West Lafayette, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Cornell University
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,980
Award: G83368629
OpenAlex ID: W4402533161