Aqueously altered igneous rocks sampled on the floor of Jezero crater, Mars
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater, Mars, to investigate ancient lake and river deposits. We report observations of the crater floor, below the crater?s sedimentary delta, finding the floor consists of igneous rocks altered by water. The lowest exposed unit, informally named Séítah, is a coarsely crystalline olivine-rich rock, which accumulated at the base of a magma body. Fe-Mg carbonates along grain boundaries indicate reactions with CO2-rich water, under water-poor conditions. Overlying Séítah is a unit informally named Máaz, which we interpret as lava flows or the chemical complement to Séítah in a layered igneous body. Voids in these rocks contain sulfates and perchlorates, likely introduced by later near-surface brine evaporation. Core samples of these rocks were stored aboard Perseverance for potential return to Earth.
Date Issued
2022-09-30
Date Acceptance
2022-08-01
Citation
Science, 2022, 377 (6614), pp.1-12
ISSN
0036-8075
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Start Page
1
End Page
12
Journal / Book Title
Science
Volume
377
Issue
6614
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2022 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works https://www.sciencemag.org/about/science-licenses-journal-article-reuse. This is the author’s version of the work. It is posted here by permission of the AAAS for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Science on 377, 30 Sep 2022, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo2196
Identifier
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo2196
Notes
doi: 10.1126/science.abo2196 The Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater, Mars, to investigate ancient lake and river deposits. We report observations of the crater floor, below the crater?s sedimentary delta, finding the floor consists of igneous rocks altered by water. The lowest exposed unit, informally named Séítah, is a coarsely crystalline olivine-rich rock, which accumulated at the base of a magma body. Fe-Mg carbonates along grain boundaries indicate reactions with CO2-rich water, under water-poor conditions. Overlying Séítah is a unit informally named Máaz, which we interpret as lava flows or the chemical complement to Séítah in a layered igneous body. Voids in these rocks contain sulfates and perchlorates, likely introduced by later near-surface brine evaporation. Core samples of these rocks were stored aboard Perseverance for potential return to Earth.
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2022-08-25