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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Stratigraphic Column
Legend
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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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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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North of Victoria Rock With No Berries
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Near Victoria Big Berries Galore!
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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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Guadarrama
Madrid
1 m
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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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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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Bay Profiles

• Bays display low gradients
• (average 19 degrees)
• Rounded bays are more
• uniform and similar
• Profiles are smooth to
• slightly concave up (head
• averages 5 degrees steeper)
• Some bays less steep
• towards head
• Include deepest (Bottomless
• and Duck)

Rounded Bays
Less Rounded Bays
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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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Eolian Processes Most Important

• Smooth, rounded bays (ventifacts,
• talus-poor) support eolian
• Deepest, Smoothest, and Roundest
• Bays Align with Wind
• Rocks easily eroded by wind (talc to
• chalk, Sullivan 2007)
• Victoria enlarged 120-125 m (50 m
• wider/prevailing winds)
• Exploit Structure (Tear Faults
• probs. matching strat.)
• Wind Streaks and dunes reflect
• transport into, out of crater
• Infilling dominates (2X more in
• crater than from rim)

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1 m