Oxia Planun - Landing Site For Rosalind Franklin

A escolha da Oxia Planum como local de pouso do Rover Rosalind Franklin

1. Oxia Planum, landing site for Mars 2020
P.Thollot
1
, C. Quantin
1
, J. Carter
2
, D. Loizeau
1
and B. Bultel
1

Mars 2020 First Landing Site Workshop
May 14– 16, 2014, Crystal City, VA


(1) Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon, France

(2) IAS, France NOTE ADDED BY JPL WEBMASTER: This content has not been approved or adopted by, NASA, JPL, or the California Institute
of Technology. This document is being made available for information purposes only, and any views and opinions expressed
herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of NASA, JPL, or the California Institute of Technology.

2. Oxia Planum location
Mawrth
Vallis
Meridiani
Chryse
Valles
Marineris
Oxia
Planum

3. Oxia Planum, wide clay-bearing plain
Mawrth Vallis
Ares Vallis

4. Oxia Planum, wide clay-bearing unit
OMEGA+CRISM MSP-Mapping criteria : 2.3
microns band , Mg/Fe Phyllosilicates

5. Geological context: Noachian age
Crater counts on Oxia -Mawrth region
- Oxia-Mawrth Region is 4 Gy (+/- 200 My) old
- Intense crater obliteration from 4 Ga to 3.6 Ga
- Moderate but continuous erosion since 3.6 Ga

6. Geological context: morphology
Coogoon
outflow channel
Fan deposit
Ridged
unit
Channels
Basement
unit
Basement
unit

7. Geological context: hydrated minerals
Red: Fe-bearing phyllosilicates
Outline of 25x20 km
Landing Ellipse
CRISM MSP
100m/pix
Fe/Mg-Phyllo
unit
Fe/Mg-Phyllo
unit
Fe/Mg-Phyllo
unit
Mawrth-Vallis-
like stratigraphy

8. Geological context: evidence for volcanism
Large Caldeira detected further
north in Arabia Terra
(Michalski and Bleacher, 2013)

9. Geological context: Fan shaped deposit in paleo-basin
at the mouth of Coogoon Valles
Fan deposit
Coogoon Vallis N
outlet
Paleo-basin
outline ?
Ejecta
blanket
Coogoon Vallis S
outlet
Runoff
channel ?
Runoff
channel ?
Bedrock unit
Bedrock unit
Capping unit

10. Geological context: Fan shaped deposit in paleo-basin
at the mouth of Coogoon Valles
Fan deposit
Coogoon Vallis N
outlet
Paleo-basin
outline ?
Ejecta
blanket
Coogoon Vallis S
outlet
Runoff
channel ?
Runoff
channel ?
Bedrock unit
Bedrock unit
Capping unit

11. Zoom on divergent Finger-like terminations
Flat surface and No obvious channels : subaquous delta fans ?
Fan shaped deposit
1 km

12. Geological context: Fe/Mg-phyllosilicates,
hydrated silica/kaolinite
Red: Fe-bearing minerals
Yellow: Fe/Mg-phyllosilicates
Blue: Si-OH/Al-OH
CRISM MSP
100m/pix
Low S/N
CRISM FRT
20m/pix
high S/N

Fan deposit

13. South route: proximal fan
deposits and bedrock
stratigraphies
Possible long
term target:
bright layered
deposits
(‘Mawrth-like’)
Capping unit:
lava flows
25x20 km Landing Ellipse
Bedrock unit
Bedrock unit
Fan deposits

Red: Fe-bearing phyllosilicates East route: distal fan
deposits stratigraphy
Possible traverse routes from ellipse center

14. Red: Fe-bearing phyllosilicates
Land on Fe/Mg-Phyllo bearing unit

15. Land on Fe/Mg-Phyllo bearing unit
Dark capping unit, retreating southward
Fan deposits
Most recent exposures of phyllo-
bearing outcrops
Center of Landing Ellipse
Possible traverse routes
Red: Fe-bearing phyllosilicates
+1 km
+2.5 km

16. Land on Fe/Mg -Phyllo bearing unit: morphology
Polygonally fractured surface:
probable dessication cracks:
Depositional and/or diagenetic
Smooth material: probable
erosion of fractured unit and/or
removed capping unit
> favorable for roving
NB: No HiRISE on ellipse center:
shown here is a sample of the same
unit ~4 km to the East

17. Capping unit: prob. lava flows currently eroding
away: young exposure age
Dark capping unit,
retreating
Recent exposure of
Fe/Mg-phyllo-bearing unit

18. Red: Fe-bearing phyllosilicates
+9 km
+5/+8 km Fan deposits

19. Fan deposits stratigraphy exposed in craters
South route:
Exposed stratigraphy of
proximal fan deposits

20. Red: Fe-bearing phyllosilicates
+10 km

21. Basement unit: Fe/Mg -phyllo bearing
South route Fan deposits
Fe/Mg-Phyllo
basement unit
+10 km

22. Red: Fe-bearing phyllosilicates
+10 km

23. Basement unit: Fe/Mg -phyllo bearing
South route
Fe/Mg-phyllo
signatures
Fe/Mg-Phyllo
basement unit
+12 km

24. Red: Fe-bearing phyllosilicates
+15.5 km

25. Late lava flow, associated aqueous alteration, stratigraphic
relationship w/ Fe/Mg-phyllo unit
South route
+15.5 km
Coogoon Vallis lava
flow
(= capping unit ?)
Fe/Mg-phyllo
basement unit
Si-OH signatures

26. Red: Fe-bearing phyllosilicates
+21 km
+24 km
+17 km
+20 km

27. Possible long term target: bright layered deposits
with similar stratigraphy as Mawrth Vallis
Coogoon Vallis lava
flow
(= capping unit ?)
Fe/Mg-phyllo
basement unit
Si-OH
signatures
+21 km
+17 km
Mawrth Vallis – like
Layered deposits

East
route
South route

28. Current datasets coverage
HiRISE
CRISM
CTX
HRSC

29. HiRISE

Lon. , Lat.

-23.98,17.80
-24.00,17.97
-24.08,17.84
-23.91,18.04
-23.80,17.88
-24.01,17.66
-23.81,17.69
-23.72,17.70
CRISM

Lon. , Lat.

-23.75,17.71
-23.94,17.88
-23.95,18.01
Target requests

30. Oxia Planum Essentials
•Surface aqueous alteration of basement unit: Fe/Mg-Phyllosilicates
•Noachian age: ~4 Ga; units overlain by Hesperian Ridged plains
•Noachian fan-shaped sedimentary deposits in paleobasin: delta ?
fossil river channels in basement unit
•Igneous units, Noachian and/or Hesperian (lava flows, caldeiras)
•Ancient capping unit: altered basement and deposits shielded from later
alteration
•Recent erosion of capping unit exposing preserved older units
•Prob. Mawrth-Vallis-like stratigraphy on basement, as close as 4 km from
ellipse
•Exomars candidate landing site (potential exploration synergy )