Workshop on the Martian Surface and Atmosphere Through Time

The purpose of the workshop was to bring together the Mars Surface and Atmosphere Through Time (MSATT) Community and interested researchers to begin to explore the interdisciplinary nature of, and to determine the relationships between, various aspects of Mars science that involve the geological and chemical evolution of its surface, the structure and dynamics of its atmosphere, interactions between the surface and atmosphere, and the present and past states of its volatile endowment and climate system

Research in volcanic geology, petrology and planetary science at MIT, 1969 to 1974

The behavior of volcanoes was studied by geologic mapping, petrologic investigations of lava and xenoliths, physical measurements, and theoretical modelling. Field observations were conducted in Alaska (Nunivak Island), Iceland, Hawaii (Mauna Kea), Italy (Etna, Stromboli), and Arizona. The results are discussed and compared with known data for lunar and planetary gelogy. Field methods used for the volcano research are cited and a list is given of all participating scientists and students. Publications and abstracts resulting from the research are also listed

Evolution of Martian volatiles

Topics covered include: early Mars volatile inventory, evolution through time, geological influences, present atmospheric properties, soils, exobiology, polar volatiles, and seasonal and diurnal cycles.sponsored by Lunar and Planetary Institute.edited by B. Jakosky and A. Treima

Study of Detection Limits of Carbonate Phases in Mixtures with Basaltic-like Fine Regolith in the MIR (1–5.5 µm) Spectral Range

The presence of minerals formed under the occurrence of liquid water during the first billion years on Mars was a key discovery, but there is still a large number of open issues that make the study of these mineral deposits a main focus of remote sensing and laboratory studies. Moreover, even though there is extensive research related to the study of the spectral behavior of mixtures, we still lack a full understanding of the problem. The main goal of this work is the analysis of the detection limits of hydrated and carbonate phases within mixtures with basaltic-like fine regolith in the spectral region 1.0–5.5 µm (1818–10,000 cm−1). We selected two different basalt samples and mixed them with two carbonate phases: a dolomite and a calcite. Spectral features have been investigated isolating the main carbonate absorption features and overtones; deriving trends of spectral parameters such as band depth, band area, full-width-half-maximum; percentage and grain size variations. The results obtained in this work show how the presence of a basaltic component can strongly influence the appearance of the hydrated and carbonate features showing different trends and intensities depending on the grain size and percentage of the carbonate components

Workshop on Evolution of Martian Volatiles

This volume contains papers that were presented on February 12-14, 1996 at the Evolution for Martian Volatiles Workshop. Topics in this volume include: returned Martian samples; acidic volatiles and the Mars soil; solar EUV Radiation; the ancient Mars Thermosphere; primitive methane atmospheres on Earth and Mars; the evolution of Martian water; the role of SO2 for the climate history of Mars; impact crater morphology; the formation of the Martian drainage system; atmospheric dust-water ice Interactions; volatiles and volcanos; accretion of interplanetary dust particles; Mars' ionosphere; simulations with the NASA Ames Mars General Circulation Model; modeling the Martian water cycle; the evolution of Martian atmosphere; isotopic composition; solar occultation; magnetic fields; photochemical weathering; NASA's Mars Surveyor Program; iron formations; measurements of Martian atmospheric water vapor; and the thermal evolution Models of Mars

Heating experiments of the Tagish Lake meteorite: Investigation of the effects of short-term heating on chondritic organics

We present in this study the effects of short-term heating on organics in the Tagish Lake meteorite and how the difference in the heating conditions can modify the organic matter (OM) in a way that complicates the interpretation of a parent body’s heating extent with common cosmothermometers. The kinetics of short-term heating and its influence on the organic structure are not well understood, and any study of OM is further complicated by the complex alteration processes of the thermally metamorphosed carbonaceous chondrites—potential analogues of the target asteroid Ryugu of the Hayabusa2 mission—which had experienced posthydration, short-duration local heating. In an attempt to understand the effects of short-term heating on chondritic OM, we investigated the change in the OM contents of the experimentally heated Tagish Lake meteorite samples using Raman spectroscopy, scanning transmission X-ray microscopy utilizing X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy, and ultraperformance liquid chromatography fluorescence detection and quadrupole time of flight hybrid mass spectrometry. Our experiment suggests that graphitization of OM did not take place despite the samples being heated to 900 °C for 96 h, as the OM maturity trend was influenced by the heating conditions, kinetics, and the nature of the OM precursor, such as the presence of abundant oxygenated moieties. Although both the intensity of the 1s σ* exciton cannot be used to accurately interpret the peak metamorphic temperature of the experimentally heated Tagish Lake sample, the Raman graphite band widths of the heated products significantly differ from that of chondritic OM modified by long-term internal heating

Planning Implications Related to Sterilization-Sensitive Science Investigations Associated with Mars Sample Return (MSR)

The NASA/ESA Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign seeks to establish whether life on Mars existed where and when environmental conditions allowed. Laboratory measurements on the returned samples are useful if what is measured is evidence of phenomena on Mars rather than of the effects of sterilization conditions. This report establishes that there are categories of measurements that can be fruitful despite sample sterilization and other categories that cannot. Sterilization kills living microorganisms and inactivates complex biological structures by breaking chemical bonds. Sterilization has similar effects on chemical bonds in non-biological compounds, including abiotic or pre-biotic reduced carbon compounds, hydrous minerals, and hydrous amorphous solids. We considered the sterilization effects of applying dry heat under two specific temperature-time regimes and the effects of γ-irradiation. Many measurements of volatile-rich materials are sterilization sensitive—they will be compromised by either dehydration or radiolysis upon sterilization. Dry-heat sterilization and γ-irradiation differ somewhat in their effects but affect the same chemical elements. Sterilization-sensitive measurements include the abundances and oxidation-reduction (redox) states of redox-sensitive elements, and isotope abundances and ratios of most of them. All organic molecules, and most minerals and naturally occurring amorphous materials that formed under habitable conditions, contain at least one redox-sensitive element. Thus, sterilization-sensitive evidence about ancient life on Mars and its relationship to its ancient environment will be severely compromised if the samples collected by Mars 2020 rover Perseverance cannot be analyzed in an unsterilized condition. To ensure that sterilization-sensitive measurements can be made even on samples deemed unsafe for unsterilized release from containment, contingency instruments in addition to those required for curation, time-sensitive science, and the Sample Safety Assessment Protocol would need to be added to the Sample Receiving Facility (SRF). Targeted investigations using analogs of MSR Campaign-relevant returned-sample types should be undertaken to fill knowledge gaps about sterilization effects on important scientific measurements, especially if the sterilization regimens eventually chosen are different from those considered in this report

First Landing Site/Exploration Zone Workshop for Human Mission to the Surface of Mars : October 27–30, 2015, Houston, Texas

The purpose of this workshop is to identify and discuss candidate locations where humans could land, live, and work on the martian surface.Organizer, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, National Aeronautics and Space Administration ; Co-Chairs, Human Landing Sites Study Steering Committee, Benjamin Bussey, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Richard Davis, National Aeronautics and Space Administratio

Visible and Near Infrared imaging spectroscopy and the exploration of small scale hydrothermally altered and hydrated environments on Earth and Mars

The use of Visible and Near Infrared (VNIR) imaging spectroscopy is a cornerstone of planetary exploration. This work shall present an investigation into the limitations of scale, both spectral and spatial, in the utility of VNIR images for identifying small scale hydrothermal and potential hydrated environments on Mars, and regions of the Earth that can serve as martian analogues. Such settings represent possible habitable environments; important locations for astrobiological research. The ESA/Roscosmos ExoMars rover PanCam captures spectrally coarse but spatially high resolution VNIR images. This instrument is still in development and the first field trial of an emulator fitted with the final set of geological filters is presented here. Efficient image analysis techniques are explored and the ability to accurately characterise a hydrothermally altered region using PanCam data products is established. The CRISM orbital instrument has been returning hyperspectral VNIR images with an 18 m2 pixel resolution since 2006. The extraction of sub-pixel information from CRISM pixels using Spectral Mixture Analysis (SMA) algorithms is explored. Using synthetic datasets a full SMA pipeline consisting of publically available Matlab algorithms and optimised for investigation of mineralogically complex hydrothermal suites is developed for the first time. This is validated using data from Námafjall in Iceland, the region used to field trial the PanCam prototype. The pipeline is applied to CRISM images covering four regions on Mars identified as having potentially undergone hydrothermal alteration in their past. A second novel use of SMA to extract a unique spectral signature for the potentially hydrated Recurring Slope Lineae features on Mars is presented. The specific methodology presented shows promise and future improvements are suggested. The importance of combining different scales of data and recognising their limitations is discussed based on the results presented and ways in which to take the results presented in this thesis forward are given