Regolith of the Crater Floor Units, Jezero Crater, Mars: Textures, Composition, and Implications for ProvenanceShow others and affiliations
Number of Authors: 262023 (English)In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets, ISSN 2169-9097, E-ISSN 2169-9100, Vol. 128, no 3, article id e2022JE007437Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
A multi-instrument study of the regolith of Jezero crater floor units by the Perseverance rover has identified three types of regolith: fine-grained, coarse-grained, and mixed-type. Mastcam-Z, Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering, and SuperCam Remote Micro Imager were used to characterize the regolith texture, particle size, and roundedness where possible. Mastcam-Z multispectral and SuperCam laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy data were used to constrain the composition of the regolith types. Fine-grained regolith is found surrounding bedrock and boulders, comprising bedforms, and accumulating on top of rocks in erosional depressions. Spectral and chemical data show it is compositionally consistent with pyroxene and a ferric-oxide phase. Coarse-grained regolith consists of 1–2 mm well-sorted gray grains that are found concentrated around the base of boulders and bedrock, and armoring bedforms. Its chemistry and spectra indicate it is olivine-bearing, and its spatial distribution and roundedness indicate it has been transported, likely by saltation-induced creep. Coarse grains share similarities with the olivine grains observed in the Séítah formation bedrock, making that unit a possible source for these grains. Mixed-type regolith contains fine- and coarse-grained regolith components and larger rock fragments. The rock fragments are texturally and spectrally similar to bedrock within the Máaz and Séítah formations, indicating origins by erosion from those units, although they could also be a lag deposit from erosion of an overlying unit. The fine- and coarse-grained types are compared to their counterparts at other landing sites to inform global, regional, and local inputs to regolith formation within Jezero crater. The regolith characterization presented here informs the regolith sampling efforts underway by Perseverance. © 2023. The Authors.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
John Wiley and Sons Inc , 2023. Vol. 128, no 3, article id e2022JE007437
National Category
Natural Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-64325DOI: 10.1029/2022JE007437Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85151268354OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-64325DiVA, id: diva2:1755058
Note
Funding details: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, 1668585, 80HQTR20T0096, 80NM0018D0004; Funding details: Arizona State University, ASU; Funding details: H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, MSCA, 801199; Funding details: Carlsbergfondet, CF19‐0023; Funding text 1: The authors would like to thank the Mars 2020 science and engineering teams for their work in the daily operations of the rover ensuring its safety and enabling the exploration of Jezero crater that has led to the collection of data presented here. The authors thank the regolith working group for helpful discussions and support of our work. Thanks to Alex Hayes, Kjartan Kinch, and Marco Merusi for their work in calibrating the Mastcam-Z image and multispectral data. The authors gratefully acknowledge all the instrument PULs and PDLs whose work to acquire, calibrate, process, and provide the highest quality instrument data enables scientific research. The authors would also like to thank the Arizona State University for funding a portion of this work. This research was supported by the NASA with contracts through the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to Ken Herkenhoff (80HQTR20T0096) and MEM (#1668585), and a portion of the research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under NASA contract 80NM0018D0004. Kjartan Kinch was supported by the Carlsberg Foundation Grant CF19-0023. M. Merusi received funding from the E.U.’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant 801199. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.; Funding text 2: The authors would like to thank the Mars 2020 science and engineering teams for their work in the daily operations of the rover ensuring its safety and enabling the exploration of Jezero crater that has led to the collection of data presented here. The authors thank the regolith working group for helpful discussions and support of our work. Thanks to Alex Hayes, Kjartan Kinch, and Marco Merusi for their work in calibrating the Mastcam‐Z image and multispectral data. The authors gratefully acknowledge all the instrument PULs and PDLs whose work to acquire, calibrate, process, and provide the highest quality instrument data enables scientific research. The authors would also like to thank the Arizona State University for funding a portion of this work. This research was supported by the NASA with contracts through the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to Ken Herkenhoff (80HQTR20T0096) and MEM (#1668585), and a portion of the research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under NASA contract 80NM0018D0004. Kjartan Kinch was supported by the Carlsberg Foundation Grant CF19‐0023. M. Merusi received funding from the E.U.’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska‐Curie Grant 801199. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
2023-05-052023-05-052023-06-07Bibliographically approved