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196 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2022

The Dynamic Atmospheric and Aeolian Environment of Jezero Crater, Mars

Despite the importance of sand and dust to Mars geomorphology, weather, and exploration, the processes that move sand and that raise dust to maintain Mars’s ubiquitous dust haze have not been well quantified in situ, with missions lacking either thenecessary sensors and/or a sufficiently active aeolian environment. Perseverance rover’s novel environmental sensors and Jezero crater’s dusty environment remedy this. In Perseverance’s first 216 sols, four convective vortices raised dust locally, while on average four passed the rover daily, over 25% of which were significantly dusty (‘dust devils’). More rarely, dust lifting by non-vortex wind gusts was produced by daytime convection cells advected over the crater by strong upslope winds, which also control aeolian surface features. One such event covered ten times more area than the largest dust devil, suggesting dust devils and wind gusts could raise equal dust.

Claire E Newman↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Mapping Organic-Mineral Associations in Jezero crater

The search for potential signs of life on Mars, a primary aim of the Mars 2020 mission, is greatly informed by the detection of organic matter1. The presence of organic matter also provides key information about the habitability and biological potential of the planet throughout its history. The Perseverance rover was designed for in situ science with the ability to collect a suite of promising samples for eventual return to Earth. One of its instruments, Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC), is a deep ultraviolet (DUV) Raman and fluorescence spectrometer designed to map the distribution of organic molecules and minerals on rock surfaces at a resolution of 100 μm2. With its unique spectral mapping capabilities, SHERLOC enables a novel understanding of organic-mineral relationships on Mars to better determine their formation, deposition, and preservation mechanisms. The rover’s landing site within Jezero crater combines a high potential for past habitability as the site of an ancient lake basin with a diverse set of minerals, including carbonates and clays, that may preserve organic materials and potential biosignatures. The Jezero crater floor includes three formations (fm); two of these, Máaz and Séítah, were explored as part of the mission’s first campaign. Here, we report the detection of multiple species of aromatic organic molecules using Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy across ten targets in the two formations. This is the first evidence of organic molecules in Martian materials obtained using Raman spectroscopy, and among the first using fluorescence spectroscopy, beyond Earth3. We report specific spatial patterns and classes of organic molecules in these compositionally distinct formations, potentially indicating different fates of carbon in these environments. Our findings indicate that there is a diversity of aromatic molecules prevalent on the Martian surface and these materials persist despite exposure to surface conditions. These organic molecules are largely found within minerals linked to aqueous processes, suggesting that these processes may have had a key role in organic synthesis, transport from their point of origin, or preservation.

Sunanda Sharma↗
NASA NTRS2022

The Scientific Importance of Returning Airfall Dust as a Part of Mars Sample Return (MSR)

Dust transported in the martian atmosphere is of intrinsic scientific interest and has relevance for the planning of human missions in the future. The MSR Campaign, as currently designed, presents an important opportunity to return serendipitous, airfall dust. The tubes containing samples collected by the Perseverance rover would be placed in cache depots on the martian surface perhaps as early as 2023–24 for recovery by a subsequent mission no earlier than 2028–29, and possibly as late as 2030–31. Thus, the sample tube surfaces could passively collect dust for multiple years. This dust is deemed to be exceptionally valuable as it would inform our knowledge and understanding of Mars' global mineralogy, surface processes, surface-atmosphere interactions, and atmospheric circulation. Preliminary calculations suggest that the total mass of such dust on a full set of tubes could be as much as 100 mg and, therefore, sufficient for many types of laboratory analyses. Two planning steps would optimize our ability to take advantage of this opportunity: (1) the dust-covered sample tubes should be loaded into the Orbiting Sample container (OS) with minimal cleaning and (2) the capability to recover this dust early in the workflow within an MSR Sample Receiving Facility (SRF) would need to be established. A further opportunity to advance dust/atmospheric science using MSR, depending upon the design of the MSR Campaign elements, may lie with direct sampling and the return of airborne dust.

Monica M. Grady↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Effects of Mars Analogue Dust Deposition on DUV Raman Spectra: Implications for the Mars2020 Perserverance Rover SHERLOC Instrument

The Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument suite includes a deep ultraviolet (DUV) Raman and fluorescence instrument on the robotic arm of the Mars2020 (M2020) Perseverance rover [1]. When sufficiently thick dust coatings are present, substrate surfaces are not detected, and mineralogical information not obtained. For example, the effect of palagonitic dust coatings as a function of depth to various substrates on thermal emission, VNIR, and Mössbauer spectra are reported by [2, 3]. In this study, we use the same palagonitic dust to study the effect of dust coating thickness on DUV Raman spectra.

N. C. Haney↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Overview and Initial Results of DIGMARS: Digging Iceland Geology for Mars Analog Research Science

Preserved in the sedimentary rocks of Mars is a rich record of ancient surface environments and burial diagenesis. Sequences of sandstones and mudstones that indicate sedimentation in deltaic and lacustrine environments have been encountered by the Curiosity rover in Gale crater and likely will be by the Perseverance rover in Jezero crater [1-3]. The compositional variability in these sedimentary rocks points to a complex diagenetic story that bears significantly on the basin history and early martian environment. Because interaction of percolating groundwaters and with unconsolidated sediments is a process commonly observed in lacustrine environments on Earth [4], groundwater has been invoked to develop a sedimentary history for Gale crater [e.g., 5-9]. Unique conceptual models, each with their own implications for the paleoenvironment and hydrologic conditions have been put forward. However, we currently lack a terrestrial reference frame for groundwater-driven diagenesis in a basalt dominated watersheds on Earth. The Digging Iceland Geology for Mars Analog Research Science (DIGMARS) project aims to close this research gap, with the goal of exploring groundwater-sediment interaction from lakes around Iceland. Here, we present the initial results for the 2021 field campaign and the laboratory analysis of aqueous and sediment samples.

M T Thorpe↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Preliminary Design of Robotic Control Software for Mars Sample Return - Capture, Containment, and Return System

The Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign aims to acquire and return to Earth a set of Mars samples for investigation in terrestrial laboratories. Mars 2020 has collected an adequate number of samples and deposited them in sealed sample tubes at a designated Martian depot. Sample tubes will be placed in cylindrical containers called Orbiting Samples (OS) by the Perseverance Rover, and later brought to Earth by the Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) and the MSR - Capture, Containment, and Return System (CCRS). Robot Software (RSW) is a set of software processes for commanding and monitoring the avionics that controls robotic mechanisms designed to sterilize and install OS into Earth Entry System (EES) for return to Earth. This paper describes a preliminary design of RSW including motion modes, architecture, and finite state machine. Additionally, software engineering procedures and testing of RSW is provided. A preliminary performance analysis is presented and the paper concludes with future work and a discussion of design decisions.

MSR↗
NASA NTRS2021

Perseverance’s Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) Investigation

The Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) is a robotic arm-mounted instrument on NASA’s Perseverance rover. SHERLOC has two primary boresights. The Spectroscopy boresight generates spatially resolved chemical maps using fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy coupled to microscopic images (10.1 μm/pixel). The second boresight is a Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering (WATSON); a copy of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) that obtains color images from microscopic scales (∼13 μm/pixel) to infinity. SHERLOC Spectroscopy focuses a 40 μs pulsed deep UV neon-copper laser (248.6 nm), to a ∼100 μm spot on a target at a working distance of ∼48 mm. Fluorescence emissions from organics, and Raman scattered photons from organics and minerals, are spectrally resolved with a single diffractive grating spectrograph with a spectral range of 250 to ∼370 nm. Because the fluorescence and Raman regions are naturally separated with deep UV excitation (<250 nm), the Raman region ∼ 800 – 4000 cm−1 (250 to 273 nm) and the fluorescence region (274 to ∼370 nm) are acquired simultaneously without time gating or additional mechanisms. SHERLOC science begins by using an Autofocus Context Imager (ACI) to obtain target focus and acquire 10.1 μm/pixel greyscale images. Chemical maps of organic and mineral signatures are acquired by the orchestration of an internal scanning mirror that moves the focused laser spot across discrete points on the target surface where spectra are captured on the spectrometer detector. ACI images and chemical maps (< 100 μm/mapping pixel) will enable the first Mars in situ view of the spatial distribution and interaction between organics, minerals, and chemicals important to the assessment of potential biogenicity (containing CHNOPS). Single robotic arm placement chemical maps can cover areas up to 7x7 mm in area and, with the < 10 min acquisition time per map, larger mosaics are possible with arm movements. This microscopic view of the organic geochemistry of a target at the Perseverance field site, when combined with the other instruments, such as Mastcam-Z, PIXL, and SuperCam, will enable unprecedented analysis of geological materials for both scientific research and determination of which samples to collect and cache for Mars sample return.

Rohit Bhartia↗
NASA NTRS2022

An olivine cumulate outcrop on the floor of Jezero crater, Mars

The geological units on the floor of Jezero crater, Mars, are part of a wider regional stratigraphy of olivine-rich rocks, which extends well beyond the crater. We investigate the petrology of olivine and carbonate-bearing rocks of the Séítah formation in the floor of Jezero. Using multispectral images and x-ray fluorescence data, acquired by the Perseverance rover, we performed a petrographic analysis of the Bastide and Brac outcrops within this unit. We find that these outcrops are composed of igneous rock, moderately altered by aqueous fluid. The igneous rocks are mainly made of coarse-grained olivine, similar to some Martian meteorites. We interpret them as an olivine cumulate, formed by settling and enrichment of olivine through multi-stage cooling of a thick magma body.

Mars↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Mars 2020's First Sample: The Fractured Rough Rock Unit on the Floor of Jezero Crater

A central goal of the Mars 2020 mission is to select and cache samples for future return to Earth. The first samples targeted for collection are from the crater-retaining, Crater Floor Fractured Rough (CF-Fr) unit of Stack et al., 2020.The CF-Fr unit is a topographically low unit in the current Jezero setting, likely overlain by morphologically discrete units, including possible Jezero delta deposits and eolian features. CF-Fr is an aerially extensive unit with lobate margins. Two distinct morphologies are observed: a locally-exposed lower expression, with flat relatively horizontal light-toned surfaces and polygonal fracturing, and an upper expression consisting of up to ~5vertical meters of massive, sometimes boulder-producing, material. The locally-exposed lower expression appears to represent a local ground level in which the upper material has been removed. Near the Octavia E. Butler landing site, the lower morphology is exposed as polygonally-fractured, light-toned bedrock that appears to grade continuously into higher-standing massive outcrops, often with no clearly exposed contact. Further south, a darker upper expression of the CF-Fr unit is more distinct and the unit exhibits some horizontal layering. The Perseverance rover will initially sample the flat-lying expression of this unit. Hypotheses for the origin of CF-Fr include fluvial, aeolian, or lacustrine sediment likely derived from the Jezero watershed, and/or pyroclastic material resulting from regional volcanism. Geochronology of the returned sample could be used to help constrain the timing of geological events in Jezero. It may also help constrain stratigraphic relationships with crater-retaining units outside of Jezero within the Nili Planum, which could be used to calibrate the cratering chronology of Mars. Paleomagnetic analyses of an oriented sample could establish the history of the martian dynamo and whether it persisted into the Hesperian. Finally, if present, secondary phases within the primary deposit would help constrain diagenetic conditions and inform post-depositional aqueous and potentially habitable environmental conditions.

Justin I Simon↗
NASA NTRS2022

First 210 solar days of Mars 2020 Perseverance Robotic Operations – Mobility, Robotic Arm, Sampling, and Helicopter

This paper includes the summary, lessonslearned, and upcoming plans for the first 210 Mars solar days(sols) of the mission. The focus of the paper is on roboticoperations which has the primary responsibility for strategicplanning, uplink commanding and downlink analysis forrover mobility and navigation, robotic arm operation, thesampling and caching capability including coring, theadaptive caching assembly and the 2nd sample handlingrobotic arm, and interface to the Mars helicopter Ingenuity.As of Sol 210 the rover has driven 2663.65 meters, executed20764 robotic arm and sampling commands, and hassuccessfully completed 13 helicopter flights covering 2382meters horizontal distance. It includes the OperationsReadiness Tests in preparation for landing, landing and initialcheckouts, strategic route planning to the science destinationand waypoints, surface checkout of all of the roboticscapability of the rover. It also discusses the strategic planningand tactical agility needed for interleaving scienceinvestigation and technology demonstration of the Marshelicopter flights where a minimum distance had to bemaintained between the rover and helicopter during flights. Itdiscusses the challenges with planning robotic operations andaddressing anomalies with the larger uncertainty presentduring early mission operations. It also discusses the impacton robotic operations from lessons incorporated fromprevious missions.

Ono, Hiro↗
NASA NTRS2022

New Rover Conops with High-Performance Onboard Computing: Give Up Raw Data to Reduce Ops Cost and Do More Science

A major portion of time during the tactical operation of Mars rovers is spent for selecting, prioritizing, and coordinating sciences and engineering activities such that they fit within resource constraints, including the downlink data volume, energy, and time. In particular, the downlink data volume constraint is getting particularly tighter in recent missions because modern instruments produce increasingly high data volume while the communication bandwidth is essentially bounded by the law of physics. Tactical operation would be substantially simplified, hence the operation cost could be reduced, if the data volume constraint is relaxed or even removed. In this abstract, we propose a new operation paradigm for achieving this goal. The key observation is that, both in science and engineering applications, the bit size of raw data is typically much greater than the volume of processed information that is needed for scientific or engineering analysis. For example, a full-resolution image from Mastcam-Z, the main science camera on Perseverance, is about 700 kB in volume and we downlinked 29,685 images up to Sol 243, totaling ~20 GB of data. But of course, scientists do not use every pixel of these images; what they really look for in the images are geological features, typically represented by specific geometric configurations or textures. An end product after processing hundreds of Mascam-Z images could be a single geological map summarizing the spatial distribution of the features. For another example, a 100-meter drive of Perseverance produces 7-12 MB of drive telemetry, which records every detail of the rover's motion at 8 Hz, including position, attitude, steering angles, encoder readings, motor currents and many other information. But what the ground engineers eventually pay attention to is the signs of anomaly, such as excessive motor currents or high slip; if a drive is nominal, the vast majority of this data is unused. What if, then, we process the raw data onboard and only downlink the processed data that is relevant to scientific or engineering analyses, such as a list of detected science features (with cropped images) or a list of potential signs of anomaly while driving? A major roadblock for such onboard, high-level information processing has been the onboard computational resource. RAD750, the main onboard computer of Perseverance, is obviously not sufficient for performing complex image or signal processing such as object detection, semantic segmentation, or anomaly detection. Interestingly, RAD750 is not the best processor that Perseverance has; Qualcomm's Snapdragon 801, a modern mobile processor, is on her Heli Base Station, a device for communicating with Mars Helicopter Ingenuity; also, Intel's Atom E3845 processors are on engineering cameras. In the reminder of this paper, we will introduce two particular uses cases of these high-performance co-processors (meaning auxiliary CPU, GPU, or other types of processors that are separate from the main processor that runs the main flight software) for lowering operation cost and accommodating more science activities for a given communication constraint.

Didier, A.↗
NASA NTRS2024

The Scientific Value of Collecting Samples From the Jezero Crater Rim

The Mars 2020 mission has been conducting ground-based investigation of the geology, habitability, and biosignature preservation potential and collecting samples for return to Earth in Jezero crater, Mars for nearly 3 years. Analysis of these samples will address outstanding questions in Mars science including potential habitability and how and why the climate the interior of the planet evolved through time. As of December 2023, samples of 4 igneous rocks of the Jezero crater floor and 9 sedimentary rocks of the Jezero fan and inner margin, remain on the rover. 15 tubes remain to be filled to enhance the diversity of the cache and broaden the scope of the science questions that can be addressed with returned sample studies. The next step in the mission is to explore the Jezero crater rim. It will be imperative to investigate and sample the diversity of crater rim rocks because they represent materials from Mars’ most ancient crust older than those sampled in Jezero crater, a diversity of geologic processes, and potential ancient habitable environments that have not yet been investigated or sampled. Ongoing mapping efforts are using orbiter data and long-distance images from Perseverance to identify and interpret the geologic context of the crater rim. Building on this effort and the broader geologic context for the crater rim put forward by previous studies, we identify diverse targets for in situ investigation and potential sampling by Mars 2020.

Mars sample return↗
NASA NTRS2024

Past Variations of Water Level of Jezero Paleolake

The western fan of Jezero crater displays features interpreted as fluvial and deltaic sedimentary rocks from orbital data. Images obtained using the SuperCam Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) and the Mastcam-Z camera provide in-situ observations of Jezero crater’s western fan in various locations along the Perseverance traverse. In the last two years, the rover analyzed the fan front from a distance using these imaging tools and at close range using its entire payload. Then, in 2023, the Perseverance rover explored the top of the western Jezero sedimentary fan. Here we show that fluvial topsets and deltaic foresets dominate sedimentary rocks. Determining the boundary between fluvial and prodelta deposits enables us to draw the evolution of the lake level through time.

Mars 2020↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Field Geologic Mapping of Sample Sites From the Ground and the Air With Perseverance Rover and Ingenuity Helicopter

One of the primary mission goals for Perseverance is to determine the geologic context of sample sites. Rover-based (in situ) or field geologic context mapping (GXM) based on Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter observations provides a nearly continuous record of geologic context and exposed surface structure over a 120 m-wide corridor along the traverse of Perseverance and the flight path of Ingenuity. Field geologic mapping along the traverse and flight path and outcrop-scale mapping at sample sites provides a spatial dimension to ground truth geologic, stratigraphic, and modern environmental context for samples at scales relevant to sample interpretation. Here we provide an abbreviated overview of field mapping as it relates to documenting the architecture of the Jezero fan and geologic context of several examples of sample locations.

Mars 2020↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Viscosity and Flow Properties of the Seitah Olivine-Rich Lithology

One of the most surprising findings of the Perseverance rover was the discovery of olivine cumulate in the Séítah region [1]. The rover landed and traversed to the Séítah region and collected measurements at three workspaces: Bastide, Brac and Issole (Fig 1). Here we use the SuperCam VISIR and LIBS to investigate the properties of the lithology insitu and determine two things: 1) the olivine-clay-carbonate regional lithology is low in Al3+, which allows us to eliminate the possibility of clays which are high in Al3+, 2) the viscosity of the Séítah formation is extremely low, which is a reasonable explanation for the Séítah unit to both cumulate and thin-layered (Fig 1b).

Mars 2020↗