AGU Advances (Aug 2024)
Astrobiological Potential of Rocks Acquired by the Perseverance Rover at a Sedimentary Fan Front in Jezero Crater, Mars
- T. Bosak,
- D. L. Shuster,
- E. L. Scheller,
- S. Siljeström,
- M. J. Zawaski,
- L. Mandon,
- J. I. Simon,
- B. P. Weiss,
- K. M. Stack,
- E. N. Mansbach,
- A. H. Treiman,
- K. C. Benison,
- A. J. Brown,
- A. D. Czaja,
- K. A. Farley,
- E. M. Hausrath,
- K. Hickman‐Lewis,
- C. D. K. Herd,
- J. R. Johnson,
- L. E. Mayhew,
- M. E. Minitti,
- K. H. Williford,
- B. V. Wogsland,
- M.‐P. Zorzano,
- A. C. Allwood,
- H. E. F. Amundsen,
- J. F. Bell III,
- K. Benzerara,
- S. Bernard,
- O. Beyssac,
- D. K. Buckner,
- M. Cable,
- F. Calef III,
- G. Caravaca,
- D. C. Catling,
- E. Clavé,
- E. Cloutis,
- B. A. Cohen,
- A. Cousin,
- E. Dehouck,
- A. G. Fairén,
- D. T. Flannery,
- T. Fornaro,
- O. Forni,
- T. Fouchet,
- E. Gibbons,
- F. Gomez Gomez,
- S. Gupta,
- K. P. Hand,
- J. A. Hurowitz,
- H. Kalucha,
- D. A. K. Pedersen,
- G. Lopes‐Reyes,
- J. N. Maki,
- S. Maurice,
- J. I. Nuñez,
- N. Randazzo,
- J. W. Rice Jr.,
- C. Royer,
- M. A. Sephton,
- S. Sharma,
- A. Steele,
- C. D. Tate,
- K. Uckert,
- A. Udry,
- R. C. Wiens,
- A. Williams
Affiliations
- T. Bosak
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge MA USA
- D. L. Shuster
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science University of California Berkeley CA USA
- E. L. Scheller
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge MA USA
- S. Siljeström
- RISE Research Institutes of Sweden Stockholm Sweden
- M. J. Zawaski
- Department of Geology & Geophysics Texas A&M University College Station TX USA
- L. Mandon
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA
- J. I. Simon
- Center for Isotope Cosmochemistry and Geochronology NASA Johnson Space Center Houston TX USA
- B. P. Weiss
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge MA USA
- K. M. Stack
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA
- E. N. Mansbach
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge MA USA
- A. H. Treiman
- Lunar and Planetary Institute (USRA) Houston TX USA
- K. C. Benison
- Department of Geology and Geography West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA
- A. J. Brown
- Plancius Research Severna Park MD USA
- A. D. Czaja
- Department of Geosciences University of Cincinnati Cincinnati OH USA
- K. A. Farley
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA
- E. M. Hausrath
- Department of Geosciences University of Nevada Las Vegas NV USA
- K. Hickman‐Lewis
- The Natural History Museum London UK
- C. D. K. Herd
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences University of Alberta Edmonton AB Canada
- J. R. Johnson
- Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory Laurel MD USA
- L. E. Mayhew
- Department of Geological Sciences University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USA
- M. E. Minitti
- Framework Silver Spring MD USA
- K. H. Williford
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science Seattle WA USA
- B. V. Wogsland
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences University of Tennessee Knoxville TN USA
- M.‐P. Zorzano
- Centro de Astrobiologia (CAB) CSIC‐INTA Madrid Spain
- A. C. Allwood
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA
- H. E. F. Amundsen
- Center for Space Sensors and Systems University of Oslo Kjeller Norway
- J. F. Bell III
- Arizona State University Tempe AZ USA
- K. Benzerara
- Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, CNRS UMR 7590, Sorbonne Université, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle Paris France
- S. Bernard
- Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, CNRS UMR 7590, Sorbonne Université, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle Paris France
- O. Beyssac
- Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, CNRS UMR 7590, Sorbonne Université, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle Paris France
- D. K. Buckner
- Department of Geological Sciences University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
- M. Cable
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA
- F. Calef III
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA
- G. Caravaca
- Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, CNES Tolouse France
- D. C. Catling
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences University of Washington Seattle WA USA
- E. Clavé
- DLR ‐ Institute of Optical Sensor Systems Berlin Germany
- E. Cloutis
- University of Winnipeg Winnipeg MB Canada
- B. A. Cohen
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt MD USA
- A. Cousin
- Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, CNES Tolouse France
- E. Dehouck
- Universite Claude Bernard Lyon1, LGL‐TPE, UMR 5276, CNRS, ENSL, UJM Villeurbanne France
- A. G. Fairén
- Centro de Astrobiologia (CAB) CSIC‐INTA Madrid Spain
- D. T. Flannery
- Queensland University of Technology Brisbane QLD Australia
- T. Fornaro
- INAF‐Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri Florence Italy
- O. Forni
- Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, CNES Tolouse France
- T. Fouchet
- LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris Meudon France
- E. Gibbons
- McGill University Montreal QC Canada
- F. Gomez Gomez
- Centro de Astrobiologia (CAB) CSIC‐INTA Madrid Spain
- S. Gupta
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering Imperial College London London UK
- K. P. Hand
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA
- J. A. Hurowitz
- Department of Geosciences Stony Brook University Stony Brook NY USA
- H. Kalucha
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA
- D. A. K. Pedersen
- Department of Measurement and Instrumentation Technical University of Denmark, DTU Space Kongens Lyngby Denmark
- G. Lopes‐Reyes
- Research Group ERICA Universidad de Valladolid Valladolid Spain
- J. N. Maki
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA
- S. Maurice
- Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, CNES Tolouse France
- J. I. Nuñez
- Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory Laurel MD USA
- N. Randazzo
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences University of Alberta Edmonton AB Canada
- J. W. Rice Jr.
- Arizona State University Tempe AZ USA
- C. Royer
- Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University West Lafayette IN USA
- M. A. Sephton
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering Imperial College London London UK
- S. Sharma
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA
- A. Steele
- Earth and Planetary Laboratory Carnegie Institution for Science Washington DC USA
- C. D. Tate
- Department of Astronomy Cornell University Ithaca NY USA
- K. Uckert
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA
- A. Udry
- Department of Geosciences University of Nevada Las Vegas NV USA
- R. C. Wiens
- Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University West Lafayette IN USA
- A. Williams
- Department of Geological Sciences University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2024AV001241
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 5,
no. 4
pp. n/a – n/a
Abstract
Abstract The Perseverance rover has collected seven oriented samples of sedimentary rocks, all likely older than the oldest signs of widespread life on Earth, at the exposed base of the western fan in Jezero crater, Mars. The samples include a sulfate‐ and clay‐bearing mudstone and sandstone, a fluvial sandstone from a stratigraphically low position at the fan front, and a carbonate‐bearing sandstone deposited above the sulfate‐bearing strata. All samples contain aqueously precipitated materials and most or all were aqueously deposited. Although the rover instruments have not confidently detected organic matter in the rocks from the fan front, the much more sensitive terrestrial instruments will still be able to search for remnants of prebiotic chemistries and past life, and study Mars's past habitability in the samples returned to Earth. The hydrated, sulfate‐bearing mudstone has the highest potential to preserve organic matter and biosignatures, whereas the carbonate‐bearing sandstones can be used to constrain when and for how long Jezero crater contained liquid water. Returned sample science analyses of sulfate, carbonate, clay, phosphate and igneous minerals as well as trace metals and volatiles that are present in the samples acquired at the fan front would provide transformative insights into past habitable environments on Mars, the evolution of its magnetic field, atmosphere and climate and the past and present cycling of atmospheric and crustal water, sulfur and carbon.
Keywords
- Mars
- sedimentary geochemistry
- planetary geochemistry
- origin of life
- hydrothermal systems and weathering on other planets
- hydrology and fluvial processes
