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Abstract
A key goal of the ExoMars rover Rosalind Franklin is to analyze accessible hydrated mineral deposits using panoramic multiscale and multispectral imagery. We conducted a multiscale spectroscopic study on hydrothermally-altered basalt-hosted soils in the geothermal area of Námafjall in northern Iceland. Basaltic lavas here that have experienced first-order geochemical alteration produce a variety of cm-to-meter scale poorly crystalline alteration patterns. The resulting unconsolidated sediments provide a natural analogue material to investigate intimately mixed soils comprising multiple poorly crystalline hydrated phases. We use emulator instruments which replicate the capabilities of the ExoMars 2022 Panoramic Camera (PanCam), the Infrared Spectrometer for ExoMars (ISEM), and the CLose-UP Imager (CLUPI), alongside Raman, aerial, and X-Ray Fluorescence spectroscopic data to investigate how the detection of these mixed basalt-derived alteration phases varies as a function of spatial and spectral scale. We find soils at our study site to be comprised of unconsolidated sediments including Al-OH minerals, hydrated silica, and a variety of ferric oxides, all of which Rosalind Franklin will likely encounter along its traverse at Oxia Planum. We report on (i) the synergy and limitations between Mars rover instrument emulators as an integral part of mission preparation, (ii) how the mixed nature of these hydrothermally-altered soils affects resulting mineralogical interpretations at multiple scales, and (iii) geochemical inferences that can be made using ExoMars 2022 imaging emulators.
Highlights
Mars surface exploration relies upon the cross-referencing of multi scale observations provided by orbiters and landed spacecraft, with the latter providing a local measure of ground truth to regional-scale orbital images
Mean Aberystwyth University PanCam Emulator 3 (AUPE3), Infrared Spectrometer for ExoMars (ISEM)-E and aerial fumarole spectra all possess a steep blue-red 438–671 nm slope (Table 1), but ISEM emulator (ISEM-E) displays 520, 650, and 880 nm visible to nearinfrared (VNIR) absorption features consistent with hematite
In the ISEM-E mean spectrum, the small asymmetric feature at ~1410 nm reveals a higher amount of bound water versus adsorbed water (1460 nm) in the fuma role material (Bishop et al, 2008), which Tarnas et al (2019) associates with amorphous silica
Summary
Mars surface exploration relies upon the cross-referencing of multi scale observations provided by orbiters and landed spacecraft, with the latter providing a local measure of ground truth to regional-scale orbital images. A primary objective of the ExoMars mission is to detect evidence of extinct life within subsurface deposits – organic biomarkers (Vago et al, 2017). If present, these are more likely to be found in environments indicative of water-rock interaction, and in minerals that can reduce the damaging effects of UV-induced photo chemical reactions and ionizing radiation (dos Santos et al, 2016; Vago et al, 2017; Laurent et al, 2019). The entire region has been heavily eroded since these units were emplaced, resulting in the for mation of isolated buttes exposing the underlying Noachian rock (The ExoMars 2018 Landing Site Selection Working Group, 2014; Fawdon (E.R. Mare)
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