<i>In Situ</i> Geochronology on Mars and the Development of Future Instrumentation

Cohen, B. A.; Malespin, C. A.; Farley, Kenneth A.; Martin, P.; Cho, Yuichiro; Mahaffy, P. R.

doi:10.1089/ast.2018.1871

Cited by 18 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Ultimately, a landed mission may be needed to elucidate many more details about the working of CO 2 frost processes and the landforms that they produce. Landed missions could even potentially determine absolute ages of individual gully deposits via luminescence methods (Cohen et al., 2019) so as to correlate activity rates with Mars' orbital history. With such gains in understanding, we would better be able to extrapolate present‐day processes and rates back in time and determine whether they are sufficient to account for observed gully sizes, shapes, and distributions, or whether any observations require past liquid water.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active Mars: A Dynamic World

et al. 2021

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An axiom of geology is that the present is the key to the past. Knowledge of current processes and their consequences is an essential tool for understanding history, including the ancient rock record and the associated climate. Modern Mars is cold, with a thin atmosphere, and has previously been thought to have little ongoing geomorphic activity-especially when compared with ancient Mars, which had apparent largescale, Earth-like processes, as inferred from ancient landforms. This interpretation has led much research to focus not on the present Martian environment, but rather on Mars' early conditions and climate change over time. However, in recent years, observations of ongoing surface changes have proliferated, demonstrating that Mars' landscape is actively evolving and likely has been throughout the Amazonian epoch. These observed geomorphic changes shed light on a variety of active processes, some with no terrestrial analog, and reveal present-day Mars to be a dynamic world. This in turn may mean that more of the ancient and recent Martian geologic record can be explained without dramatic climate change.This work presents a comprehensive summary and categorization of the many types of observed changes on the Martian surface. Aeolian and frost-related surface activity are discussed in more detail in a parallel review by Diniega et al. (2021), which focuses on connecting specific landforms to their formative processes; the focus herein is to provide a broad overview of known types of changes in surface morphology and albedo. Weather and seasonal frost and ice are not discussed in detail here, except where necessary to describe their effects on the surface; observations of the atmosphere were reviewed by M. D. Smith (2008) and Martínez et al. (2017), and seasonal frost is discussed in Piqueux, Kleinböhl, et al. (2015) and references therein. Weathering and other microscale or chemical processes are not discussed. Even with these exclusions, the scope of the subject is broad and we have focused on the key discoveries and constraints.Studying surface changes on Mars yields a unique look at processes within an un-Earthly environment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active Mars: A Dynamic World

et al. 2021

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“…The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) measurements of the cosmic ray produced noble gases 36 Ar, 21 Ne, and 3 He released from the Cumberland mudstone samples collected from the upper 5 cm in Gale Crater yielded a surface exposure age of 78 ± 30 Ma (Ma stands for mega-anna, million years) (Farley et al, 2014). Similar measurements of the Mojave mudstone in Gale Crater yielded a cosmic ray exposure age range of 300 Ma to > 1 Ga (Martin et al, 2017;Cohen et al, 2019).…”

Section: P S56-s57)mentioning

confidence: 97%

Planning Implications Related to Sterilization-Sensitive Science Investigations Associated with Mars Sample Return (MSR)

et al. 2022

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“…Today, however, in the absence of sample return, planetary scientists routinely use in situ geochemical (e.g., APXS, ChemCam) and isotopic techniques (e.g., mass spectrometers) to make measurements that although less precise than those made in terrestrial laboratories, are sufficient to resolve major questions. Recognizing the practical limits on sample return, over the last two decades, NASA has invested in the development of in situ dating techniques; through the MatISSE and DALI programs, the technology readiness levels of instruments using complementary radiogenic isotopic systems (K-Ar and Rb-Sr) are on track to become TRL 6 by 2023, when this Decadal Survey's priorities are implemented (reviewed in Cohen et al, 2019). These investments have made possible New Frontiers-class missions that would carry multiple, complementary instruments to conduct in situ dating with the precision needed to meet community-identified science goals (Cohen et al, 2020).…”

Section: Strategies For 2023-2033mentioning

confidence: 99%

Geochronology as a Framework for Inner Solar System History and Evolution

Cohen

Herzog

Jaret

et al. 2021

Bulletin of the AAS

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Major advances in planetary science will be driven by determining absolute ages of geologic units on multiple bodies in the inner Solar System in the next decade. Absolute ages calibrate bodyspecific chronologies and create a framework for understanding Solar System formation, the effects of impact bombardment on life, and the evolution of planets and their interiors. We recommend that the Decadal Survey:• Support Mars Sample Return to ensure the return to Earth of a set of carefully-chosen, well-documented samples for geochronology and other critical studies of Mars' evolution and past habitability. • Prioritize sample-return missions from planetary bodies in the inner Solar System that would answer fundamental questions about the timing of major events in planetary history. • Advocate for sustained funding for in situ dating instruments to continue to raise their technology readiness levels for future exploration of planetary surfaces. • Include a Solar System chronology mission on the New Frontiers mission list, setting the science goals of such a mission but allowing flexibility in how those goals are accomplished. • Reemphasize the importance of an investment strategy for laboratory instrumentation and curation sufficient to provide for both replacement of existing capacity and development of new capabilities. • Recommend that NASA partner with NSF on their Decadal geochronology initiative to leverage NASA's investments in infrastructure supporting planetary geochronology.

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In Situ Geochronology on Mars and the Development of Future Instrumentation

Cited by 18 publications

References 72 publications

Active Mars: A Dynamic World

Active Mars: A Dynamic World

Planning Implications Related to Sterilization-Sensitive Science Investigations Associated with Mars Sample Return (MSR)

Geochronology as a Framework for Inner Solar System History and Evolution

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