1 / 19

MSL landing sites in ancient layered terrain: Becquerel Crater

Discover how Becquerel Crater in Arabia Terra offers a unique opportunity to assess past habitability on Mars through its Noachian Interior Layered Deposits (ILD) with two proposed landing ellipse options. The terrain allows rover traverse over ILD to unveil millions of years of depositional history and evaluate hypotheses like impact, lacustrine, and fluvial processes.

riveraana
Download Presentation

MSL landing sites in ancient layered terrain: Becquerel Crater

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. MSL landing sites in ancient layered terrain: Becquerel Crater John Bridges1 and Matt Balme2 1Planetary & Space Sciences Research Institute, Open University, UK 2Dept. of Earth Sciences, Open University, UK and Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, Az.

  2. Bridges & Balme Becquerel Assess Past Habitability through Rover Traverse over Interior Layered Deposits (ILD) • Traverse over ILD would allow sedimentary log over millions years of depositional history • Best way of achieving MSL aims? • Impact, lacustrine, fluvial hypotheses assessed with extensive outcrop 0.2 km M1201064 352.25oE, 21.35oN (east side of ILD)

  3. Aim: Land beside ILD and traverse to their margin and onto them ILD ILD MOLA shaded terrain map 20 km landing ellipses for consideration Bridges & Bridges & Balme Balme Becquerel Becquerel

  4. Bridges & Balme Becquerel Becquerel Crater • 167 km diameter crater in Arabia Terra 22oN, 352oE • Contains 900 km2 exposure of Noachian Interior Layered Deposits (ILD) • -2.6 to -3.8 km elevation • >300 TI units (dust conditions not prohibitive), rock abundance 4-12% • No substantial current ground-ice detected by Gamma-Ray spectrometer so satisfies planetary protection constraint ILD 20 km

  5. Becquerel Crater • 167 km diameter crater in Arabia o o Terra 22 N, 352 E 2 • Contains 900 km exposure of Noachian Interior Layered Deposits (ILD) • - 2.6 to - 3.8 km elevation • >300 TI units (dust conditions not prohibitive), rock abundance 4 - 12% • No substantial current ground - ice ILD detected by Gamma - Ray spectrometer so satisfies planetary protection constraint MOLA 128 ppd gridded data Bridges & Bridges & Balme Balme Becquerel Becquerel

  6. Bridges & Balme Becquerel Becquerel Crater • 167 km diameter crater in Arabia o o Terra 22 N, 352 E 2 • Contains 900 km exposure of Noachian Interior Layered Deposits (ILD) • - 2.6 to - 3.8 km elevation • >300 TI units (dust conditions not prohibitive), rock abundance 4 - 12% ILD ILD • No substantial ground - ice detected by Gamma - Ray spectrometer so satisfies planetary protection constraint 20 km THEMIS night

  7. 0.2 km M1201064 352.25oE, 21.35oN (east side of ILD) Bridges & Balme Becquerel Are These Deposits Accessible?

  8. Bridges & Balme Becquerel • Two proposed 20 km landing ellipses to east A and west B of ILD • 351.386E, 21.478N (centre A) • 352.522E, 21.320N (centre B) A B ILD THEMIS daylight 20 km

  9. Bridges & Balme Becquerel • Two proposed 20 km landing ellipses to east A and west B of ILD • 351.386E, 21.478N (centre A) • 352.522E, 21.320N (centre B) A B ILD MOC na mosaic 10 km

  10. Bridges & Balme Becquerel Roughness and Aeolian Deposits • Green is dark dunes/sheets • Around margins of ILD, dark sand • is in sheets rather than barchans ILD 10 km

  11. Bridges & Balme Becquerel Ellipse A Roughness 2.5 km • THEMIS vis. Yellow is rough area (~15% of ellipse)

  12. Bridges & Balme Becquerel Ellipse A ILD 0.2 km • THEMIS NIGHT IR: • surface temperature 180-200K • THEMIS V09899025 • Dark barchans

  13. Bridges & Balme Becquerel Ellipse A M0701459 E0502646 0.25 km • Typical terrain: relatively rough with aeolian deposits

  14. Bridges & Balme Becquerel Ellipse B 2 1 2.5 km • Yellow rough terrain 10% • THEMIS IR night • 175 (dark)-200K (light)

  15. 2 1 Bridges & Balme Becquerel Ellipse B Area 1 Area 2 2.5 km • Polygonal terrain – past ice terrain ? (but little or no current ice) • Less rough than ellipse A

  16. Bridges & Balme Becquerel Elevation MOLA shaded map • A and B ellipses -3.6 to -3.8 km, • ILD -3.1 to -3.7 km

  17. Slopes and ILD Access Bridges & Balme Becquerel • Most slopes in A and B <5o • Slopes between ellipses and • ILD 2 – 10o • Base cliffs and top surface of • ILD could be accessed by rover A B ILD

  18. Bridges & Balme Becquerel Summary: Becquerel can reveal past Martian Environment • 352.522E, 21.320N (centre B safer ellipse) • Slopes, terrain allow landing and access to margin and probably onto ILD • Satisfies planetary protection • Accessing ILD allows best analysis • of past martian habitability over millions of years Interior Layered Deposits e0200375 (21.6oN, 351.6oE). Width 1.5 km, 3m/px

  19. Bridges & Balme Becquerel Summary: Becquerel can reveal past Martian Environment • 352.522E, 21.320N (centre B safer ellipse) • Slopes, terrain allow landing and access to margin and probably onto ILD • Satisfies planetary protection • Accessing ILD allows best analysis • of past martian habitability over millions of years • Issues: some dark aeolian • deposits and some rough terrain • in margin of ellipse B Interior Layered Deposits e0200375 (21.6oN, 351.6oE). Width 1.5 km, 3m/px

More Related