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Habitability of Mars as Inferred Landed Mission Observations
Ray Arvidson
Washington University in Saint Louis
Ninth International Mars Conference
7/22/19
This slide package was presented at the Ninth International Conference on Mars and is being shared, with permission from the plenary presenter. The original file has been compressed in size and converted to .pdf – please contact the presenter if interested in the original presentation.
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What Does Life Need?
• Sustained environment with liquid water (i.e., the solvent)
• Biochemically crucial elements (e.g., carbon)
• Energy sources (other life, solar radiation, inorganic compounds)
• Protection from harmful effects (e.g., solar ultraviolet rays, solar flares, cosmic radiation)
• Leads to the concept of a “habitable zone” within the solar system and beyond
• Focus on what landed missions have told us about habitability on Mars
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Successful Landed Missions to Mars
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Phoenix Sol 148 SSI Mosaic 5
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What Spirit Found
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Fig 22 8
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Sulfate-rich Fumarole and Silica Sinter Hydrothermal Deposits
Innocent Bystander
Norma Luker
Pancam Sol 1234 Image
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Opportunity’s Traverses
Endeavour
Victoria
Endurance
Santa Maria
Cape York
Eagle
Botany Bay
Cape Tribulation
Cape Byron
Marathon Valley
Perseverance Valley
Record-holding 45.141 km
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Eagle crater
Rocks
Exit
First exit try
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Eagle Crater
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First exit try
Exit
Rocks produced in an aqueous environment
Portion of Pancam Lion King Panorama
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Cross Bedding Indicates Flowing Surface Water
MI
Crossbeds
Sulfate-rich Sandstones With Hematitic Concretions13
Last Chance
Portion of Pancam Sol 40 Mosaic
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Endurance
Burns cliff
Burns cliff
Burns cliff sulfate-rich sandstones provided crucial evidence for a dry-wet sabkha environment with rising ground water that led to deposition of the Burns formation strata
Pancam Sol 95 Mosaic
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15Figure courtesy Joel Hurowitz, Stony Brook University
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Opportunity’s Work onEndeavour Crater’s Rim
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Cape York and Discovery of Uplifted Protolith Beneath Shoemaker Formation Impact Ejecta
Navcam Sol 3132Mosaic
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20Figure courtesy David Mittlefehldt, NASA/Johnson Space Center
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Gale Crater
Mount Sharp
Curiosity
Curiosity Rover’s Setting
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Landing Wheels-Down With the Skycrane
Blast Zones
Sol 16 Navcam Mosaic22
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Fluvial Conglomerate Deposits Exposed in Blast Zone
Sol 9 Mastcam Mosaic Goulburn
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Curiosity’s Traverses Midway to Mount Sharp
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Mastcam View Looking South at Pahrump Hills
Mount Sharp
Organics Found
Sol 887 Mastcam ImageSol 887 Mastcam Mosaic 25
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Cross Bedded Sandstones Deposited in Fluvial Channel
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Conglomerates and Sandstones Deposited in Fluvial Channel
B
Sol 796 Mastcam Image 27
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Old Soakermudcracksfrom drying lake
Calcium sulfate veinsfrom rising ground water
And More Evidence From Mastcam Data for the Role of Water
Sol 1555 Mastcam Image
Sol 929 Mastcam Image 28
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Fluvial and Deltaic Deposits
Lake deposits
Mount SharpOverall Model to Explain the Rock Record
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Marias Pass – Sol 1065 – A Curiosity “Selfie”
Mount Sharp
Lakebed mudstones
Fluvial sandstones
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Crystalline hematite
Smectites
Sulfate-bearing Strata
HiRISE BasemapRGB (CRISM FRT0000B6F1)2.3 µm Smectite Fe-OH3.0 µm HydrationHigh Calcium Pyroxene
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Curiosity’s Current Work
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Sol 2247 Mastcam Mosaic of Mount SharpGediz Vallis ridge
Greenheugh pediment
Glen Torridon
Sulfate-bearing Strata
Gediz Vallis
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Mars Habitability and Life Scorecard
• Sustained presence of water – yes, early in geologic time, both surface ground water
• Biochemically crucial elements – yes, remains to be seen if they were bound in appropriate compounds
• Energy sources – yes, solar, inorganic, perhaps other life
• Protected environments – yes, early Mars had a magnetic field and denser atmosphere
• More to come with Curiosity, the 2020 rover, sample return, ….
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