Abstract
AbstractJezero crater is a ~45‐km impact crater on the margin of Isidis basin on Mars. Jezero is the landing site for NASA's Mars 2020 rover mission. The crater hosts a paleolake, and fluvio‐lacustrine deposits formed in this lake remain accessible to exploration. A dark‐toned deposit on the crater floor overlies light‐toned carbonate‐bearing deposits and has been interpreted as a lava flow. We determined the average thickness of this deposit at the margins to be ~13.0 ± 0.8 m. We analyzed the statistics of impact craters superposed on this deposit and estimated its model age as 2.6 ± 0.5 Ga in the Hartmann system, placing it most likely in the Early Amazonian. The error estimate here includes an estimate of the uncertainty associated with the crater counts. Acquisition, caching, and eventual return of a sample from this unit could provide an important calibration point for Mars crater chronology.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
