Abstract
This article assesses how the ground-penetrating radar RIMFAX will image the crater floor at the Mars 2020 landing site, where lithological compositions and stratigraphic relationships are under discussion prior to mission operation. A putative mafic unit (lava flow, volcanic ash, or volcaniclastic deposit) on the crater floor will be crucial in piecing together the chronology of deposition and for understanding the volcanic history in the region. In order to see how lithological properties and subsurface geometries affect radar sounding, a synthetic radargram is generated through forward modeling with a finite-difference time-domain method. The acquisition is simulated across the mafic unit as a succession of lava flows, exploring detection of internal structures and contacts to adjacent lithologies. To compare modeling results with the alternative formation scenarios, a discussion about sounding over a tephra or volcaniclastic material is presented. Similarities and differences between Martian and terrestrial lithologies can be related to electromagnetic properties relevant for radar sounding. This article, therefore, evaluates potential scientific insights gained from acquisition across the disputed mafic unit, in light of proposed hypotheses of lithological generation.
Highlights
D ISCLOSING the near-surface geology will be among the great advances in future exploration of Mars
Due to a large spatial footprint and topographic variation around the Mars 2020 landing site, clutter obscure subsurface reflections and make such correlation problematic. It is at present largely unknown what radar imager for Mars’ subsurface experiment (RIMFAX) will be able to image when operating on the surface of Mars
Distinct reflections from layering within the mafic unit can be detected, with the TVZ displaying a strong top reflection that grades into weaker incoherent reflections [see Fig. 4(a)–(d)]
Summary
D ISCLOSING the near-surface geology will be among the great advances in future exploration of Mars. A GPR transmits microwaves to detect changes in density and composition, i.e., variations in the ground’s electromagnetic properties. In those terms, lithological properties can be described by the relative dielectric constant ε∗. EIDE et al.: GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR MODELING ACROSS THE JEZERO CRATER FLOOR order of magnitude larger than on Earth [21] It is, possible that magnetic properties could be noticeable for radar sounding on Mars. Due to a large spatial footprint and topographic variation around the Mars 2020 landing site, clutter obscure subsurface reflections and make such correlation problematic It is at present largely unknown what RIMFAX will be able to image when operating on the surface of Mars. Similarities and differences between electromagnetic properties in Martian and terrestrial lithologies will be explored, and comparisons will be done between the proposed formational hypotheses for the mafic unit
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