Athena Rover

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The Mission of the Mars Exploration Rovers
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The Athena Science Payload
Remote Sensing Package Pancam Mast Assembly
(PMA) Pancam Mini-TES
Magnetic Properties Experiment
In-Situ Package Instrument Deployment Device
(IDD) Microscopic Imager Alpha Particle
X-Ray Spectrometer Mössbauer Spectrometer
Rock Abrasion Tool
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Driving on Mars from National Air and Space
Museum
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Landing in Gusev Crater
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The View From the Surface
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Adirondack
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Normative Mineralogy from APXS
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Mini-TES Mineralogy
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On to the Columbia Hills
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The Hills are Alive
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Tetl
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Descartes
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Examples of Rock Types of Husband Hill
High P
High Ti
Low Cr
Some Rock Types, including Voltaire Class are Not
Shown
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Rock Counts along Spirits traverse in Gusev
Counts categorized by geomorphic surface (sol
numbers labeled). White arrows indicate the
average azimuth (i.e. "look direction") of scene.
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Size-Frequency Consistent Fragmentation
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Difference Related to Minor Burial/Stripping
Local Burial by Drift
Stripping of 10s of cm
Larger and more numerous rocks on Bonneville
crater rim
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Bedrock Influences Distribution on Husband Hill
Float Matches Ejecta Size Distribution, but shows
interesting compositional variability on Husband
Hill e.g., Backstay Rocks that may be
contributions from Pre-Plains Ejecta?
Voltaire Outcrops
View east towards the crest of Husband Hill
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Dust Devils and Dust Removal
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Home Plate
sol 776
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Home Plate
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Bomb Sag In Coarser Lower Unit
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Fine-Grained Upper Unit
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Silica Valley
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Si
91 SiO2! (also enriched in Ti)
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A Solar Eclipse
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A Lunar Eclipse
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Meridiani Planum
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Opportunity Ledge
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Hematite Distribution
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Spherical Granules (Blueberries)
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MI on Stone Mountain
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Spherule Distribution
Volume distribution is more uniform than random,
as expected for concretions
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Outcrop Chemistry 40 Sulfates
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Mössbauer Mineralogy
2
2
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Current Ripples On Earth
Courtesy of Dave Rubin, USGS
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Endurance Crater
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The Trek Into Endurance
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Chemical Changes With Depth
Depth
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Geologic History

• All rocks composed of sulfate-rich sandstone
• Environment Sulfate-rich eolian deposits (dunes
  and sand sheets), and probable interdune playas
  fed by acidic groundwater.
• Groundwater fluctuations led to dissolution of
  some minerals, and formation of concretions
• Conditions were habitable, but could have posed
  significant challenges to life
• Oxidizing
• Acidic
• Saline
• Arid and only intermittently wet

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Heading South.
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Hello, Sponge Bob!
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North of Victoria Rock With No Berries
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HiRISE Images Victoria
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HiRISE Images Victoria
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Cape Verde
Duck Bay
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Opportunity
Cape Verde
Duck Bay
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Opportunity
Cape Verde
Duck Bay
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Impact Breccia
Fractured In Place
Pre-Impact Surface
Bedrock
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Cape St. Vincent
7-meter thick climbing eolian bedform
Paleo wind direction is north to south
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Near Victoria Big Berries Galore!
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Guadarrama
Madrid
1 m
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Did We Traverse Up Section?
1. Layered Sediments Deposited
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Did We Traverse Up Section?
2. Concretions Precipitated From Groundwater
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Did We Traverse Up Section?
3. Water Drains
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Did We Traverse Up Section?
4. Surface Planed Off By Eolian Erosion
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Did We Traverse Up Section?
5. Victoria Crater Forms
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Did We Traverse Up Section?
Landing Site
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Did We Traverse Up Section?
Landing Site
No Berries
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Did We Traverse Up Section?
Big Berries Again
Landing Site
No Berries
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Did We Traverse Up Section?
Big Berries Again
Landing Site
No Berries
???
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Eroded or Pristine? Primary or Secondary?

• D/d ratio of 0.1
• Serrated, low rim
• Interior dune field
• Eroded Primary, not Pristine Secondary

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How Much Erosion?

• Compare to pristine craters 500-700 m across
• 500 m crater produces rim of all ejecta
• 700 m crater produces rim of all uplift
• 625-650 m crater produces expected rim, ejecta

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What Processes of Erosion?
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The roll of the Wind
Rounded Bays

• Eolian Signatures Ubiquitous, Enable Mass
  Wasting of Capes
• Dunes/Fill, Ventifacts, Narrow/Buried Talus,
  Rounded Forms

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Victoria Crater Traverse (Sols 1382 to 1602)
Nevada
Sol 1559
Sol 1602
Sol 1562
Sol 1596
Sol 1582
Sol 1564
Sol 1563
Sol 1569
Sol 1559
Sol 1487
Sol 1565
Sol 1557
Sol 1491
Sol 1489
Sol 1548
Sol 1484
From Sol 1461
Sol 1402
Sol 1382
To Sol 1440
Sol 1438
Sol 1401
To Sol 1428
Sol 1418
Sol 1416
Sol 1415
OSU Mapping and GIS Laboratory
Image Sources NASA/Cornell University
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1 m
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Sol 1634 Navcam from the rim of Victoria
Out of Victoria on Sol 1634
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