sign in sign up
<<
Home , Columbia Hills (Mars), Gusev (Martian crater), Holden (Martian crater), Jezero (crater), Mawrth Vallis, Thira (crater)

Crater HLS2 Hangout: Exploration Zone Briefing

Kennda Lynch1,2, Angela Dapremont2, Lauren Kimbrough2, Alex Sessa2, and James Wray2 1Lunar and Planetary Institute/Universities Space Research Association 2Georgia Institute of Technology Columbus Crater: An Overview • Groundwater-fed paleolake located in northwest region of Terra Sirenum • ~110 km in diameter • Diversity of & aged deposits and outcrops • High diversity of aqueous deposits • Estimated 1.5 km depth of sedimentary and/or volcanic infill • High Habitability and Biosignature Preservation Potential

LZ & Field Station : 194.0194 E : 29.2058 S Altitude: +910 m

SROI #1 RROI #1 LZ/HZ

SROI #4

SROI #2

SROI #5

22 KM HiRISE Digital Terrain Model (DTM) • HiRISE DTMs are made from two images of the same area on the ground, taken from different look angles (known as a stereo-pair) • DTM’s are powerful research tools that allow researchers to take terrain measurements and model geological processes • For our traversability analysis of Columbus: • The HiRISE DTM was processed and completed by the University of Arizona HiRISE Operations Center. • DTM data were imported into ArcMap 10.5 software and traverses were acquired and analyzed using the 3D analyst tool. • A slope map was created in ArcMap to assess slope values along traverses as a supplement to topography observations. Slope should be ≤30°to meet human mission requirements.

Conclusions Traversability • 9 out of the 17 traverses analyzed met the slope criteria for human missions. • This region of Columbus Crater is traversable and allows access to regions of astrobiological interest. It is also a possible access point to other regions of Terra Sirenum. Science • CRISM analyses resulted in observations of putative Cl-oxyanion salts in the scientific regions of interest. • These analyses coupled with previous observations of sulfate-bearing suggest that physiochemical conditions could have been habitable for S-driven and Cl-oxyanion driven microbial ecosystems Future Data Analysis Continued Work • We continue to analyze current available data from CRISM to learn more about the mineralogy, aqueous history, resource availability and habitability of Columbus Crater Future Data Needed • More high-resolution Images of the crater floor to determine suitable Landing and Habitation Zone • More stereo pairs of the northeastern shore so that we can fully determine the ability to exit Columbus Crater and explore other terrain. Acknowledgements

• University of Arizona HiRISE Operations Center • Jen Hanley, Observatory • Briony Horgan, Purdue University

Funding Sources • NASA Institute • Ford Foundation Fellowship Program • Georgia Institute of Technology Abstract Exploration Zone Briefing: #1008 Crater

A. Z. Longo

With gratitude to: R. M. Davis, B. Collom, E. Bogat, S. W. Ruff, J. W. Rice, M. Van Kranendonk, K. Campbell, B. Damer, T. Djokic, D. W. Deamer Why Gusev?

Ground Truth Diverse geology Abundant Subsurface Ice Biopreservation potential

EZ Briefing: /Gusev Crater Gusev Crater EZ Overview

st nd 17 1 HLS2 Workshop 2 HLS2 Workshop 16 18 Primary science targets: Primary science targets: 14 13 - Hot spring with potential - 1st Workshop, plus: 9 biosignatures - Globally-distributed - 8 - Delta with 400m layered unit 6 sediments - Medussae Fossae Formation 11 7 - Mineralogical diversity: clays, (MFF) stratified ash 1 4 2 12 , sulfates, 15 3

5 10 Primary resources: Primary resources: - Etched (glacial?) terrain - Subsurface ice? - Pingos - Pedestal craters 19 - Hydrated phyllosilicates - Pingos

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Executive Summary

• All requested HiRISE data has been acquired • Galdakao Crater (ROI 18) contains stratified ash, and the entering it was likely carved by wind • Castril Crater (ROI 2) contains exposed bedrock, but no apparent layering • Abundant water ice may be present on the floor of the well-preserved crater in ROI 15

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Galdakao Crater: Overview

• ESP_045740_1665 • Located on the northeast edge of this EZ; shared ROI with proposals 1043 (Kerber et al.) and 1046 (Rice et al.) • Left side of the crater is filled with layered material; right side is filled with Hesperian flood • Crater rim is incised by a dendritic valley Parker et al., 2010

Hypothesis: Galdakao is a Noachian paleolake with slowly-eroding sediments

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Galdakao Crater: Sediments

• Sediments in Galdakao Crater are finely-layered • Miniature yardangs alternating with smooth plains • Eastern edge of the deposit is actively eroding

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Galdakao Crater: Valley

• Valley floor is largely obscured by ripples of dust • No layering is apparent in the walls of the valley • Channels branching off of the valley are surrounded by undulating, grooved terrain

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Galdakao Crater: Analogs

• Lakebed sediments, such as those in Crater and Crater, are typically light-toned and finely-layered • A large deposit of Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF) stratified ash is to the north of Galdakao itself • MFF deposits typically contain the small, angular mesas seen within the sediment on the floor of Galdakao Crater

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Galdakao Crater: Conclusions

• The layered deposit within Galdakao Crater is composed of stratified ash, similar to the rest of the Medusae Fossae Formation • As the MFF is easily eroded, the dendritic valley which intersects the crater rim was most likely carved by wind • Crews could go to the eastern edge of the MFF layers to collect recently-exposed samples • The MFF is likely ; therefore, Gusev has ancient and modern volcanic deposits co- located in one EZ

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Castril Crater and Etched Terrain: Overview

• ESP_060720_1650 • Large swaths of Gusev Crater’s floor are covered by etched terrain: knobby, easily- erodible material • The Etched Terrain could be a lacustrine or volcanic deposit • Castril Crater is a 2.2 km diameter that penetrates one exposure of etched terrain

Hypothesis: Castril Crater could expose a cross-section of the etched terrain, and/or impact glass preserving biosignatures

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Etched Terrain: Background

• Two types of etched terrain are observed in the vicinity of the Columbia Hills • Small, friable olivine knobs sporadically altered to carbonate: Could have been altered by acid rain (Ruff et al., 2018) • Large knobs oriented in one direction: Could be deglaciated terrain (Gregg et al., 2007) • Are the two morphologies part of the same geologic unit?

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Etched Terrain: Results

• Castril sits within a deposit of large knobs of etched terrain • Located of landing site, nicknamed “Italy” • Separated from the Gusev plains by a steep scarp • Small knobs of etched terrain are observed to the northeast of Castril adjacent to the scarp

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Castril Crater: Results

• CRISM cryocooler had failed by the time of this image request, so the search for impact glass could not be completed • Large blocks of ejecta could still potentially contain glass • Crater is filled with dust – no sedimentary layers are exposed • Bedrock is visible in sections of the crater rim

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Castril Crater and Etched Terrain: Conclusions

• Castril Crater penetrates the etched terrain, but it does not offer any insight as to their structure • Small and large knobs of etched terrain are located in close proximity. This suggests that they are most likely part of the same unit. • As it is most likely not a glacial feature, the etched terrain is not the best water-ice resource within this EZ • At one point, the floor of Gusev Crater was covered by a regional (global?) unit of olivine

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Concentric Craters: Overview

• ESP_045239_1650 AND ESP_053045_1650 • Located on the western rim of Gusev Crater • Small, well-preserved crater contained within a large, degraded crater

Hypothesis: The craters within this ROI could expose a cross-section of the Noachian crust surrounding Gusev crater, penetrating deeper than any one crater alone.

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Concentric Craters: Morphology

• No layering apparent in the walls of the older crater • Younger crater has well-preserved bedrock exposures around its rim • Layers not visible in younger crater

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Concentric Craters: Ice?

• Younger crater has a flat floor • Broken into multiple large blocks, with smooth areas between them • Morphologically similar to ice rafting in Antarctica

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Concentric Craters: Pedestal Craters

• Additional indicators for ice are numerous small pedestal craters • Form when a meteor impacts ice-rich ground; ice melts and is protected by impact material (Schon and Head, 2012) • Frequently seen in areas such as with large subsurface ice deposits • Upon further investigation, multiple pedestal craters are present on the floor of Gusev itself

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Concentric Craters: Pedestal Craters

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Concentric Craters: Conclusions

• A well-preserved crater within the EZ may contain large amounts of subsurface water ice • Multiple markers, including morphology, pedestal craters, and hydrogen maps, support this assertion • Although it is located a significant distance from the center of the Gusev EZ, it increases the likelihood that other resources could be present in favorable locations • The EZ can always be moved if ice is necessary early in the sequence of human missions! • Human explorers in Gusev Crater could have access to water ice resources

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Takeaways: 1/2

• Gusev Crater has most of the desired 17 qualities for a human Exploration Zone: 16 18 • Wide diversity of Noachian, Hesperian, and 14 Amazonian rocks 13 • Environments likely to harbor ancient life 9 • Ground truth 8 • Safe, flat areas for human landers 6 • Water ice resources 11 7 1 4 2 12 15 3

5 10

19

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Takeaways: 2/2

• Some equatorial sites do have water-ice resources • Gusev may be one example, as these images show • Other possibilities: Meridiani, • Equatorial sites in general have a greater geologic diversity than high-latitude sites, as well as more benign operational environments • Before the equator is ruled out, other sites with water-ice resources should be identified and studied

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Thank You!

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Backup List of Gusev Crater EZ ROIs

ROI Science Targets/Resources

17 1 Columbia Hills: Hot springs, carbonate, phyllosilicate, sulfate, Hesperian lavas, MER Spirit traverse 16 18 2 Etched Terrain: Olivine altered to carbonate, regional distribution, Castril Crater 3 Etched Terrain: Olivine altered to carbonate, regional distribution 14 13 4 Crater Rim: Age dating, impact-generated hydrothermal events 9 5 Delta: 400 meters of sediment from Ma’adim Vallis and the Eridania Basin 8 6 Wrinkled Terrain: Could be pingos; other origins possible 7 Crivitz Crater: Low-albedo surface, dust devils 6 8 Amazonian Debris Flow: Potential flood deposit from Ma’adim Vallis 11 9 Hesperian Plains: Two datable surfaces, wrinkle ridge 7 1 4 10 Phyllosilicates: Fe-rich and Al-rich mineralogies present, potential lacustrine sediments 2 12 15 3 11 -like features: Potential volcanic/hydrothermal environments 12 Amazonian Landslide 10 5 13 Zutphen Crater Rim: Age dating, impact-generated hydrothermal events

14 Gusev Crater Rim: Heavily dissected by aqueous/aeolian activity, impact-generated hydrothermal events

15 Concentric Craters: Possible subsurface ice

16 Inlet: Carved by release of water from to the north 19 17 Northern Impact: Well-preserved central peak with atypical morphology

18 Galdakao Crater: Medussae Fossae Formation ash deposits

19 Ma’adim Vallis: Typical Hesperian flood channel

EZ Briefing: Columbia Hills/Gusev Crater Astrobiology and Abundant Resources in the Mawrth/Oyama Exploration Zone

Presented by Briony Horgan, Purdue University

Original proposers: Briony Horgan1, Damien Loizeau2, Francois Poulet3, Janice Bishop4, Eldar Noe Dobrea5, Bill Farrand6, Joe Michalski5, Christoph Gross7, Julie Kleinhenz8, Diane Linne8, Rachel Maxwell1 1Purdue University, 2Université de Lyon, 3IAS, CNRS/Univ. Paris Sud, 4SETI Institute, 5Planetary Science Institute, 6Space Science Institute, 7Freie Univeristät Berlin, 8NASA/Glenn Research Center. Mawrth/Oyama Exploration Zone

• Contains the largest, thickest, most abundant, and o o most diverse deposit of hydrated minerals on Mars 24.5 N, 340.5 E • Records the history of water during the most habitable period on Mars: 4.0-3.8 billion years ago Northern • Chemical weathering in soils and wetlands by rain Plains produced clays, evaporation formed sulfates, and runoff flowed into a within Oyama crater • Science objectives: characterize diverse habitable environments, search for biosignatures, investigate volcanic and tectonic processes that formed the layers and dichotomy boundary Oyama • Exploration advantages: Abundant, accessible, Crater and widespread phyllosilicate/sulfate water feedstocks; diversity of surface types for flexible landing site/resource locations 2 The highlands in this area are composed of hundreds of meters of -rich deposits, with horizons of sulfates and other minerals

Mawrth/Oyama EZ 3 The Mawrth/Oyama sequence is an excellent site for probing the ancient astrobiology of Mars • These ancient surface and subsurface environments likely persisted for a million years or more, were extremely habitable, and have a high likelihood of preserving organics and other biosignatures • Top contender for MSL, , and ExoMars rover landing site

Oyama Clays – River/lake deposits Mineralized fractures Sulfate deposits (yellow)

Mawrth/Oyama EZ 4 Northern 24.5oN, 340.5oE Plains -4 to -2 km

• Location of EZ, resource ROIs, and landing site are all Landing extremely flexible Site #1 • LS1 is on volcanic plains (provides Oyama Crater Landing regolith for Site #2 -2000 construction) • LS2 is directly on clay strata Elevation (m) Elevation -5000 5 MAWRTH VALLIS Northern SROI #6 24.5oN, 340.5oE Plains -4 to -2 km Diverse Science ROI’s SROI RROI #3 • Mineral stratigraphy RROI #2 #5 • Oyama lake deposits RROI #4 • Filled fractures SROI #4 SROI #9 • Lava, pyroclastic RROI #1 deposits, and impact SROI #1 Oyama Crater ejecta • Northern plains and SROI #3 SROI #2 SROI dichotomy boundary #7 • Outflow channel flood deposits

6 Mawrth/Oyama has excellent data coverage, so the exploration strategy is mature

• All HiRISE coverage

Mawrth/Oyama EZ 7 Mawrth/Oyama has excellent data coverage, so the exploration strategy is mature

• New HIRISE coverage since Oct 2015 • New images within EZ fill in gaps in extended science targets • Cluster of new images to south is the proposed ExoMars rover landing site

Mawrth/Oyama EZ 8 Mawrth/Oyama has excellent data coverage, so the exploration strategy is mature

• All (Blue) and new (Yellow outlines) HiRISE DTM coverage • A few new DTM’s in the area

Mawrth/Oyama EZ 9 Highest Priority EZ Data Needs from 2015

• Science potential of Mawrth is well characterized • Some ROI’s could use additional coverage: • HiRISE/CRISM over Landing Site 1 to verify slopes, roughness, proximity to clays • HiRISE/CRISM over SROI #6, N plains near MV mouth HIRISE acquired • CRISM over Oyama clays to ID clay diversity • CRISM over MV floor megablocks to look for hydrothermal alteration • Logistical concerns that may require additional data: Partially addressed by • Traversability of MV/Oyama walls 2017 MOLA/HRSC • Resources are also well characterized, but additional work is merged slope map needed to characterize nature of clay surface • How much regolith is present? General issue for all hydrated mineral resource sites globally.

Mawrth/Oyama EZ 10 New HiRISE data at mouth of Mawrth Vallis shows relationship between northern plains and clays

Mawrth/Oyama EZ 11 New data within Oyama highlights spectacular outcrops of possible river/lake sediments

Mawrth/Oyama EZ 12 New science results in and around the Mawrth EZ • Even more diversity of alteration minerals • Poorly crystalline minerals at the top of the sequence formed in a cooling climate (Bishop & Rampe, 2016) • Carbonate horizons indicating neutral conditions during weathering, and trapping a record of the ancient atmosphere (Bultel et al., 2019) • Hydrated sulfates in the middle of the sequence formed during evaporative periods (Bishop et al., 2020) • Implications for resources: • Poorly crystalline minerals can have low water-release temperatures compared to phyllosilicates, and are good at trapping adsorbed water • Hydrated sulfates also dehydrate at lower temperatures • Overall a wide diversity of abundant mineral resources in widespread, coherent, and easily mappable rock strata

Mawrth/Oyama EZ 13 New science results in and around the Mawrth EZ • Even more diversity of habitable environments • Diverse types of mineral-filled fractures that formed in the surface and subsurface, potentially trapping biosignatures in both environments (Kinzelman et al., 2019) • Possible recurring slope lineae in some areas (Bhardwaj et al., 2019) • Summary of astrobiological potential of Mawrth Vallis (Poulet et al., 2020) • Implications for exploration: • A rich and diverse site for science and exploration!

Mawrth/Oyama EZ 14 Summary: Mawrth/Oyama is an exciting and well developed EZ with excellent resource potential • Likely the biggest and most abundant hydrated mineral resource on the • Diversity and abundance mean significant flexibility in locations and strategies for landing site/EZ location and resource extraction • Remaining data needs are primarily just to serve detailed engineering studies, potential of site is well characterized • Excellent astrobiological potential – what did the climate and surface of Mars look like 4 billion years ago and what organisms lived there? • Diverse science objectives addressing solar system level questions about the geological and astrobiological evolution of Mars

Mawrth/Oyama EZ 15