Ancient Aqueous Environments at Endeavour Crater, Mars
- Creators
-
Arvidson, R. E.
- Squyres, S. W.
-
Bell, J. F., III
-
Catalano, J. G.
-
Clark, B. C.
-
Crumpler, L. S.
- de Souza, P. A., Jr
-
Fairén, Alberto G.
- Farrand, William H.
-
Fox, V. K.
-
Gellert, R.
- Ghosh, A.
-
Golombek, M. P.
-
Grotzinger, J. P.
-
Guinness, E. A.
-
Herkenhoff, K. E.
- Jolliff, B. L.
-
Knoll, A. H.
- Li, R.
-
McLennan, S. M.
-
Ming, D. W.
-
Mittlefehldt, D. W.
- Moore, J. M.
-
Morris, R. V.
-
Murchie, S. L.
- Parker, T. J.
- Paulsen, G.
- Rice, J. W.
- Ruff, S. W.
- Smith, M. D.
-
Wolff, M. J.
Abstract
Opportunity has investigated in detail rocks on the rim of the Noachian age Endeavour Crater, where orbital spectral reflectance signatures indicate the presence of Fe⁺³-rich smectites. The signatures are associated with fine-grained, layered rocks containing spherules of diagenetic or impact origin. The layered rocks are overlain by breccias and both units are cut by calcium sulfate veins precipitated from fluids that circulated after the Endeavour impact. Compositional data for fractures in the layered rocks suggest formation of Al-rich smectites by aqueous leaching. Evidence is thus preserved for water-rock interactions before and after the impact, with aqueous environments of slightly acidic to circum-neutral pH that would have been more favorable for prebiotic chemistry and microorganisms than those recorded by younger sulfate-rich rocks at Meridiani Planum.
Additional Information
© 2014 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Submitted: 11/04/13; Revised: 12/8/13. This work was supported by NASA. The CRISM operations team at the Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, and the Opportunity operations team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology were responsible for planning and acquiring the relevant data. The NASA Planetary Data System through the Geosciences Node (http://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/) provides access to the CRISM and Opportunity data used in this paper.Attached Files
Accepted Version - matijevic_paper_final.pdf
Files
| Name | Size | Download all |
|---|---|---|
|
md5:04d1696b8e9cbda746c2c68a4876317f
|
4.0 MB | Preview Download |
Additional details
- Alternative title
- Exploring Martian Habitability
- Eprint ID
- 43468
- DOI
- 10.1126/science.1248097
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20140122-094239070
- NASA
- Created
-
2014-01-27Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2022-11-30Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS)