Spectral evidence for hydrated salts in recurring slope lineae on Mars

Ojha, L.; Wilhelm, Mary Beth; Murchie, S. L.; McEwen, A. S.; Wray, J. J.; Hanley, J.; Massé, Marion; Chojnacki, M.

doi:10.1038/ngeo2546

Cited by 544 publications

(408 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…However, the presence of water ice in the shallow subsurface midlatitude and polar regions Mitrofanov et al 2002;Byrne et al 2009), along with the detection of perchlorates in polar and equatorial soil Glavin et al 2013;Ming et al 2014) and of chloride-bearing deposits in the southern highlands at low and midlatitudes (Osterloo et al 2008), is important because they can melt this ice at Mars' present-day environmental conditions and produce liquid saline water (brine) (Clark 1978;Brass 1980;Clark and Van Hart 1981;Haberle et al 2001;Chevrier and Altheide 2008;Rennó et al 2009;McEwen et al 2011;Ojha et al 2015).…”

Section: Liquid Water and The H 2 O Cyclementioning

confidence: 99%

The Modern Near-Surface Martian Climate: A Review of In-situ Meteorological Data from Viking to Curiosity

et al. 2017

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We analyze the complete set of in-situ meteorological data obtained from the Viking landers in the 1970s to today's Curiosity rover to review our understanding of the modern near-surface climate of Mars, with focus on the dust, CO 2 and H 2 O cycles and their impact on the radiative and thermodynamic conditions near the surface. In particular, we provide values of the highest confidence possible for atmospheric opacity, atmospheric pressure, near-surface air temperature, ground temperature, near-surface wind speed and direction, and near-surface air relative humidity and water vapor content. Then, we study the diurnal, seasonal and interannual variability of these quantities over a span of more thanThe original version of this article was revised because due to an unfortunate turn of events a wrong value was published in Table 1. The resolution of the PHX pressure sensor was published as "0.1 mbar" whereas this value has now been corrected to "0.1 Pa" which is the correct value and should be regarded as the final version by the reader. B G.M. Martínez

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Section: Liquid Water and The H 2 O Cyclementioning

confidence: 99%

The Modern Near-Surface Martian Climate: A Review of In-situ Meteorological Data from Viking to Curiosity

et al. 2017

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“…This is also highly relevant to the possible explanation of surface changes detected on Mars, which are possibly caused by processes involving liquid water or salts (e.g. Ojha et al 2015).…”

Section: Sources and Sinks Of The Martian Atmospherementioning

confidence: 99%

NOMAD, an Integrated Suite of Three Spectrometers for the ExoMars Trace Gas Mission: Technical Description, Science Objectives and Expected Performance

Vandaele¹,

Moreno²,

Patel³

et al. 2018

Space Sci Rev

113

117

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The NOMAD ("Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery") spectrometer suite on board the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) has been designed to investigate the comThis paper is dedicated to the memory of M. Allen, V. Formisano, and J. McConnell. position of Mars' atmosphere, with a particular focus on trace gases, clouds and dust. The detection sensitivity for trace gases is considerably improved compared to previous Mars missions, compliant with the science objectives of the TGO mission. This will allow for a major leap in our knowledge and understanding of the Martian atmospheric composition and the related physical and chemical processes. The instrument is a combination of three spectrometers, covering a spectral range from the UV to the mid-IR, and can perform solar occultation, nadir and limb observations. In this paper, we present the science objectives of the instrument and explain the technical principles of the three spectrometers. We also discuss the expected performance of the instrument in terms of spatial and temporal coverage and detection sensitivity.

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“…Brines formed through the dissolution of these surface evaporites and their subsurface counterparts represent a potentially important habitat on Mars. These brines are hypothesized to remain liquid in the shallow subsurface, and even surface regions, of present day Mars (Martinez and Renno 2013; Ojha et al 2015). The Boulby Mine therefore presents a unique window into a highly B A C uncharacterized region of the Earth and a way to assess the habitability of past and present extraterrestrial environments.…”

Section: Site Description and Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Planetary science and exploration in the deep subsurface: results from the MINAR Program, Boulby Mine, UK

Payler

Biddle

Coates

et al. 2016

International Journal of Astrobiology

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Abstract. The subsurface exploration of other planetary bodies can be used to unravel their geological history and assess their habitability. On Mars in particular, present-day habitable conditions may be restricted to the subsurface. Using a deep subsurface mine, we carried out a program of extraterrestrial analog research -MINAR (MINe Analog Research). MINAR aims to carry out the scientific study of the deep subsurface and test instrumentation designed for planetary surface exploration by investigating deep subsurface geology, whilst establishing the potential this technology has to be transferred into the mining industry. An integrated multi-instrument suite was used to investigate samples of representative evaporite minerals from a subsurface Permian evaporite sequence, in particular to assess mineral and elemental variations which provide small scale regions of enhanced habitability. The instruments used were the Panoramic Camera emulator (AUPE-2), Close-Up Imager (CLUPI), Raman Spectrometer, SPLIT (Small Planetary Linear Impulse Tool), Ultrasonic Drill and handheld XRD. We present science results from the analog research and show that these instruments can be used to investigate in situ the geological context and mineralogical variations of a deep subsurface environment, and thus habitability, from millimeter to meter scales. We also show that these instruments are complementary. For example, the identification of primary evaporite minerals such as NaCl and KCl, which are difficult to detect by portable Raman spectrometers, can be accomplished with XRD. By contrast, Raman is highly effective at locating and detecting mineral inclusions in primary evaporite minerals. MINAR demonstrates the effective use of a deep subsurface environment for planetary instrument development, understanding the habitability of extreme deep subsurface environments on Earth and other planetary bodies, and advancing the use of space technology in economic mining. IntroductionPlanetary analog research involves the investigation of terrestrial environments that are comparable to extraterrestrial environments. These analogs tend to be focused, at a high level, on science, science operations, or technology research and testing, or a combination of these topics (e.g. Dickinson and Rosen 2003;Sarrazin et al. 2005; Cabrol et al. 2007;Pollard et al. 2009; Lim et al. 2011;Abercromby et al. 2013). Analog field settings are used to evaluate scientific instruments of particular relevance to future flight missions in a rugged field setting. These field tests have, for example, ranged from deserts to underwater settings (e.g. Cabrol et al. 2007;Jasiobedzki et al. 2012;Abercromby et al. 2013), and have taken a variety of forms, from testing a single technology to examine its performance in a particular environment (e.g. Skelley et al. 2007), to fully integrated rover tests utilizing a variety of different instruments (e.g. Schenker et al. 2001).One environment that has received less attention for analog research, but which holds a great deal o...

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Spectral evidence for hydrated salts in recurring slope lineae on Mars

Cited by 544 publications

References 26 publications

The Modern Near-Surface Martian Climate: A Review of In-situ Meteorological Data from Viking to Curiosity

The Modern Near-Surface Martian Climate: A Review of In-situ Meteorological Data from Viking to Curiosity

NOMAD, an Integrated Suite of Three Spectrometers for the ExoMars Trace Gas Mission: Technical Description, Science Objectives and Expected Performance

Planetary science and exploration in the deep subsurface: results from the MINAR Program, Boulby Mine, UK

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