Spectral Diversity of Rocks and Soils in Mastcam Observations Along the Curiosity Rover's Traverse in Gale Crater, Mars
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Spectral Diversity of Rocks and Soils in Mastcam Observations Along the Curiosity Rover's Traverse in Gale Crater, Mars. / Rice, Melissa S.; Seeger, Christina; Bell, Jim; Calef, Fred; St Clair, Michael; Eng, Alivia; Fraeman, Abigail A.; Hughes, Cory; Horgan, Briony; Jacob, Samantha; Johnson, Jeff; Kerner, Hannah; Kinch, Kjartan; Lemmon, Mark; Million, Chase; Starr, Mason; Wellington, Danika.
I: Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets, Bind 127, Nr. 8, e2021JE007134, 02.08.2022.Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Spectral Diversity of Rocks and Soils in Mastcam Observations Along the Curiosity Rover's Traverse in Gale Crater, Mars
AU - Rice, Melissa S.
AU - Seeger, Christina
AU - Bell, Jim
AU - Calef, Fred
AU - St Clair, Michael
AU - Eng, Alivia
AU - Fraeman, Abigail A.
AU - Hughes, Cory
AU - Horgan, Briony
AU - Jacob, Samantha
AU - Johnson, Jeff
AU - Kerner, Hannah
AU - Kinch, Kjartan
AU - Lemmon, Mark
AU - Million, Chase
AU - Starr, Mason
AU - Wellington, Danika
PY - 2022/8/2
Y1 - 2022/8/2
N2 - The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover has explored over 400 m of vertical stratigraphy within Gale crater to date. These fluvio-deltaic, lacustrine, and aeolian strata have been well-documented by Curiosity's in situ and remote science instruments, including the Mast Camera (Mastcam) pair of multispectral imagers. Mastcam visible to near-infrared spectra can broadly distinguish between iron phases and oxidation states, and in combination with chemical data from other instruments, Mastcam spectra can help constrain mineralogy, depositional origin, and diagenesis. However, no traverse-scale analysis of Mastcam multispectral data has yet been performed. We compiled a database of Mastcam spectra from >600 multispectral observations and quantified spectral variations across Curiosity's traverse through Vera Rubin ridge (sols 0-2302). From principal component analysis and an examination of spectral parameters, we identified nine rock spectral classes and five soil spectral classes. Rock classes are dominated by spectral differences attributed to hematite and other oxides (due to variations in grain size, composition, and abundance) and are mostly confined to specific stratigraphic members. Soil classes fall along a mixing line between soil spectra dominated by fine-grained Fe-oxides and those dominated by olivine-bearing sands. By comparing trends in soil versus rock spectra, we find that locally derived sediments are not significantly contributing to the spectra of soils. Rather, varying contributions of dark, mafic sands from the active Bagnold Dune field is the primary spectral characteristic of soils. These spectral classes and their trends with stratigraphy provide a basis for comparison in Curiosity's ongoing exploration of Gale crater.
AB - The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover has explored over 400 m of vertical stratigraphy within Gale crater to date. These fluvio-deltaic, lacustrine, and aeolian strata have been well-documented by Curiosity's in situ and remote science instruments, including the Mast Camera (Mastcam) pair of multispectral imagers. Mastcam visible to near-infrared spectra can broadly distinguish between iron phases and oxidation states, and in combination with chemical data from other instruments, Mastcam spectra can help constrain mineralogy, depositional origin, and diagenesis. However, no traverse-scale analysis of Mastcam multispectral data has yet been performed. We compiled a database of Mastcam spectra from >600 multispectral observations and quantified spectral variations across Curiosity's traverse through Vera Rubin ridge (sols 0-2302). From principal component analysis and an examination of spectral parameters, we identified nine rock spectral classes and five soil spectral classes. Rock classes are dominated by spectral differences attributed to hematite and other oxides (due to variations in grain size, composition, and abundance) and are mostly confined to specific stratigraphic members. Soil classes fall along a mixing line between soil spectra dominated by fine-grained Fe-oxides and those dominated by olivine-bearing sands. By comparing trends in soil versus rock spectra, we find that locally derived sediments are not significantly contributing to the spectra of soils. Rather, varying contributions of dark, mafic sands from the active Bagnold Dune field is the primary spectral characteristic of soils. These spectral classes and their trends with stratigraphy provide a basis for comparison in Curiosity's ongoing exploration of Gale crater.
KW - multispectral imaging
KW - reflectance spectroscopy
KW - Mars exploration
KW - Mars geology
KW - image processing
KW - VNIR MULTISPECTRAL OBSERVATIONS
KW - REFLECTANCE SPECTRA
KW - BAGNOLD DUNES
KW - EXPLORATION ROVERS
KW - ENDEAVOR CRATER
KW - SCIENCE
KW - DUST
KW - SPECTROSCOPY
KW - MINERALOGY
KW - IDENTIFICATION
U2 - 10.1029/2021JE007134
DO - 10.1029/2021JE007134
M3 - Journal article
VL - 127
JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth
JF - Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth
SN - 0148-0227
IS - 8
M1 - e2021JE007134
ER -
ID: 317936097