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Hydrous mineral map from OMEGA and CRISM MSP data (Carter et al., 2016) over MOLA elevation map. The hydrous minerals bearing unit is widespread and drapes the current topography from -2600 m of elevation to -3100 m where ExoMars 2020 ellipses are located. The dark ellipses are the 3-sigma probability of the two ellipse endmembers of the launch period: LPO and LPC. The dotted circle highlights a putative ancient circular depression. CRISM, Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars; OMEGA, Observatoire pour la Mineralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activité; LPC, launch period closing; LPO, launch period opening; MSP, multispectral survey.
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The European Space Agency (ESA) and Roscosmos ExoMars mission will launch the "Rosalind Franklin" rover in 2022 for a landing on Mars in 2023.The goals of the mission are to search for signs of past and present life on Mars, investigate the water/geochemical environment as a function of depth in the shallow subsurface, and characterize the surface...
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... by relatively smooth topography and contains fewer impact craters than nearby early Noachian terrains such as the region south of Mawrth Vallis. The ExoMars landing ellipse we proposed for Oxia Planum is located in the northern part of the widespread Oxia clay-bearing region, at the outlet of Coogoon Valles system ( Molina et al., 2017) (Fig. 3). Accordingly, the rest of the article will focus on the geology of the final landing site ellipse area. In Fig. 3, both 3-sigma launch period opening (LPO) and launch period closing (LPC) ellipses considered for the launch in 2020 are displayed. At the time of writing, the landing ellipses for the 2022 launch have not been finalized, ...
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... as the region south of Mawrth Vallis. The ExoMars landing ellipse we proposed for Oxia Planum is located in the northern part of the widespread Oxia clay-bearing region, at the outlet of Coogoon Valles system ( Molina et al., 2017) (Fig. 3). Accordingly, the rest of the article will focus on the geology of the final landing site ellipse area. In Fig. 3, both 3-sigma launch period opening (LPO) and launch period closing (LPC) ellipses considered for the launch in 2020 are displayed. At the time of writing, the landing ellipses for the 2022 launch have not been finalized, but indications are that the ellipse size and azimuth will be similar to those planned for 2020 ( J. Vago, 2020, ...
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... absorption bands centered at 1.9 and 2.3 microns according to a methodology detailed in the work of Carter et al. (2016). The combination of absorption bands centered at these wavelengths is typical of Fe/Mg clays. In the case of Oxia Planum, the dominant spectra match that of a vermiculite-smectite type of clay (Carter et al., 2016). As shown in Fig. 3, the extended claybearing unit ranges in elevation from -2600 m in the southwest part of Oxia Planum to -3100 m where the ellipses are located and thus appears to have overlain the preexisting topography, in a similar way to the clays observed in Mawrth Vallis region ( Loizeau et al., 2012). According to the global geological map ( ...
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... shape ( Supplementary Fig. S2), similarly to the ones observed elsewhere in Arabia Terra ( Michalski and Bleacher, 2013), which are interpreted as volcanic domes. We note that the flank of this dome shows no hydrated mineral signature, which suggests that at least the latest stages of flank formation postdate deposition of the clay-bearing unit (Fig. 3). These domes are plausibly interpreted as volcanic domes that could have been the source of the lava flow that extended into the ...
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... crater-count age and stratigraphic relationships with the global martian geological units ( Tanaka et al., 2014) suggest that the clay-bearing unit is mid-Noachian in age. The unit appears to drape paleotopography at a regional scale (Fig. 3), which could be explained by several processes, including air-fall deposits (e.g., ash-fall) or sedimentary deposits covering a pre-existing topography. The draping nature of the unit is not in agreement with an origin by extrusive volcanism as one would expect lava flows to fill the lower regions. Alteration into clays may have ...
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... by relatively smooth topography and contains fewer impact craters than nearby early Noachian terrains such as the region south of Mawrth Vallis. The ExoMars landing ellipse we proposed for Oxia Planum is located in the northern part of the widespread Oxia clay-bearing region, at the outlet of Coogoon Valles system ( Molina et al., 2017) (Fig. 3). Accordingly, the rest of the article will focus on the geology of the final landing site ellipse area. In Fig. 3, both 3-sigma launch period opening (LPO) and launch period closing (LPC) ellipses considered for the launch in 2020 are displayed. At the time of writing, the landing ellipses for the 2022 launch have not been finalized, ...
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... as the region south of Mawrth Vallis. The ExoMars landing ellipse we proposed for Oxia Planum is located in the northern part of the widespread Oxia clay-bearing region, at the outlet of Coogoon Valles system ( Molina et al., 2017) (Fig. 3). Accordingly, the rest of the article will focus on the geology of the final landing site ellipse area. In Fig. 3, both 3-sigma launch period opening (LPO) and launch period closing (LPC) ellipses considered for the launch in 2020 are displayed. At the time of writing, the landing ellipses for the 2022 launch have not been finalized, but indications are that the ellipse size and azimuth will be similar to those planned for 2020 ( J. Vago, 2020, ...
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... absorption bands centered at 1.9 and 2.3 microns according to a methodology detailed in the work of Carter et al. (2016). The combination of absorption bands centered at these wavelengths is typical of Fe/Mg clays. In the case of Oxia Planum, the dominant spectra match that of a vermiculite-smectite type of clay (Carter et al., 2016). As shown in Fig. 3, the extended claybearing unit ranges in elevation from -2600 m in the southwest part of Oxia Planum to -3100 m where the ellipses are located and thus appears to have overlain the preexisting topography, in a similar way to the clays observed in Mawrth Vallis region ( Loizeau et al., 2012). According to the global geological map ( ...
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... shape ( Supplementary Fig. S2), similarly to the ones observed elsewhere in Arabia Terra ( Michalski and Bleacher, 2013), which are interpreted as volcanic domes. We note that the flank of this dome shows no hydrated mineral signature, which suggests that at least the latest stages of flank formation postdate deposition of the clay-bearing unit (Fig. 3). These domes are plausibly interpreted as volcanic domes that could have been the source of the lava flow that extended into the ...
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... crater-count age and stratigraphic relationships with the global martian geological units ( Tanaka et al., 2014) suggest that the clay-bearing unit is mid-Noachian in age. The unit appears to drape paleotopography at a regional scale (Fig. 3), which could be explained by several processes, including air-fall deposits (e.g., ash-fall) or sedimentary deposits covering a pre-existing topography. The draping nature of the unit is not in agreement with an origin by extrusive volcanism as one would expect lava flows to fill the lower regions. Alteration into clays may have ...
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ExoMars rover mission is expected to deliver the “Rosalind Franklin” rover to explore Oxia Planum, a region straddling between Arabia Terra and Chryse Planitia (335.5E, 18.2N). Oxia Planum shows evidences of a long-lasting aqueous activity, where near-infrared data reveal widespread outcrops of recently exhumed clay-rich deposits. ExoMars rover wil...
One of the most interesting questions about the climate and hydrology of early Mars is whether oceans existed and, if so, when. Various geologic features have been interpreted as ancient shorelines, but these features do not follow gravitational equipotentials. Prior work has shown that the elevation of the Arabia level, hypothesized to represent a...
Oxia Planum, the landing site for the ExoMars rover mission, is a shallow basin on the southern margin of Chryse Planitia that hosts remnants of fan‐shaped sedimentary deposits associated with the ancient channel system Coogoon Vallis. This indicates runoff from a catchment in Arabia Terra has transported sediment into the landing site. To explore...
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... Oxia Planum-which probably contains vermiculite and/or saponite 21,22,28 -may have been so deeply buried (with limited water-rock interaction and extreme reducing conditions) that it only experienced alteration to vermiculite-facies. This would require less time and/or intensity of weathering than the mounds 47 ; as such, not only is Oxia Planum likely to stratigraphically underlie the majority of the Mawrth Vallis plateau sequence 28 , but it may also represent a less altered-and therefore more pristine-section of the Martian crust. ...
The Mawrth Vallis region is a plateau situated on the highland side of Mars’ hemispheric dichotomy boundary. It has a >200-m-thick phyllosilicate-bearing stratigraphic succession that indicates extensive aqueous alteration between 4.1 Ga and 3.7 Ga, during the Noachian Period. In addition, thousands of kilometre-scale isolated mounds in the lowlands north and west of Mawrth Vallis have been identified. Here we use geomorphological and spectroscopic analyses to show that the mounds are erosional remnants that formed through retreat of the highland plateau in the Noachian. Consequently, the escarpment that marks the surface expression of the dichotomy must have receded south-southeast by hundreds of kilometres in this area. Lateral and stratigraphic geochemical variation in the mounds show that widespread, multiphase aqueous alteration occurred in situ across this region in surface and subsurface environments. The mound succession is underlain by a pyroxene-rich unit that represents unaltered material below the regional phyllosilicate-bearing sequence and is unconformably overlain by a thin capping unit that marks the end of large-scale regional aqueous activity. Thus, the mounds contain a stratigraphic record of the onset, evolution and cessation of Noachian aqueous conditions in this region, detailing the environment and climate of Mars at its most habitable.
... Still, signs of life are yet to be detected; however, there have been recent in situ data consistent with the presence of diverse organic molecules . The currently delayed ExoMars rover, Rosalind Franklin, is planned to arrive at Oxia Planum sharing Perseverance's goal of searching for signs of past life while also searching for extant life on the Red Planet (Quantin-Nataf et al., 2021). ...
Determining a reliable method to detect life on another planet is an essential first step in the pursuit of discovering extraterrestrial life. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), bioplastic polymers created by microorganisms, are strong candidates for defining the presence of extraterrestrial life due to their water insolubility, strong ultraviolet resistance , high melting points and high crystallinity, amongst other qualities. PHAs are abundant on Earth, and their chemical properties can easily be distinguished from non-biological matter. Their widespread distribution and conferred resistance to astrobiologically relevant extreme environments render PHAs highly favourable candidates for astrobiological detection. Integrating detection of PHA biosignatures into current and future life-detection instruments would be useful for the planetary search for life. PHAs are analysed and characterized in laboratories by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and immunoassay analysis in addition to other methods. We outline a path forward to integrate PHA detection in astrobiology missions to aid the search for extraterrestrial life.
... Approximately 35% of the landing ellipse contains exposed phyllosilicate-bearing rocks Parkes-Bowen et al., 2022) detected from orbit by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM; Murchie et al., 2007) and Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activité (OMEGA; Bibring et al., 2005) instruments. The phyllosilicate-bearing unit is the main target for the mission as it has the potential to contain preserved biosignatures (Brossier et al., 2023;Quantin-Nataf et al., 2021;Summons et al., 2011). The rover will address this objective by drilling up to 2 m into the sub-surface to provide a core sample for analysis (Vago et al., 2017). ...
... The key to long-term protection of possible remnant organics within the phyllosilicate-bearing unit at Oxia Planum is the presence of a low albedo geologic unit, relative to the underlying, lighter-toned phyllosilicatebearing unit, forming a local cap in many areas. This capping unit has previously been described as an "Amazonian dark resistant unit; ADRU" Quantin-Nataf et al., 2021), "dark capping terrain" , "dark capping unit" (McNeil et al., 2021), and most recently as the "overlying Dark material; oDm" (Fawdon et al., 2024). Here, we refer to this as the Low albedo, Thin, Resistant (LTR) unit in order to separate our observations and interpretations from previous conclusions. ...
... We used orbital remote sensing data to assess the morphology, distribution, and stratigraphy of the LTR unit at Oxia Planum. Previous work (e.g., Quantin-Nataf et al., 2021) has highlighted the importance of the resistant, capping qualities of the LTR unit; however, despite its significance, its origin is largely unconstrained. It has been suggested that the LTR unit may have formerly been more extensive and has been previously interpreted as a lava flow (Gary-Bicas & Rogers, 2021;Ivanov et al., 2020;Mastropietro et al., 2020;Pajola et al., 2017;Quantin-Nataf et al., 2021) as well as sedimentary deposits possibly from a palaeo-lake or playa environment (Fawdon et al., 2022). ...
Oxia Planum, Mars, is the future landing site of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission, which will search for preserved biosignatures in a phyllosilicate‐bearing unit. Overlying the mission‐important phyllosilicate‐bearing rocks is a dark, capping unit—known here as the Low albedo, Thin, Resistant (LTR) unit—which may have protected the phyllosilicate‐bearing unit over geologic time from solar insolation and radiation. However, little is known about the origin of the LTR unit. Here, we map the LTR unit and investigate its distribution and morphology across 50,000 km² using a variety of orbital remote sensing data sets. The characteristics of the LTR unit include draping palaeo‐topographic surfaces, deposition over a wide elevation range, and a consistent vertical thickness that can be best explained by airfall deposition including a primary or reworked volcanic palaeo‐ashfall. Previous research suggests that the LTR unit was not significantly buried, and we find it to be preferentially preserved with a high mechanical strength in discrete deposits representing palaeo‐topographic lows. We suggest this could be attributed to localized cementation via upwelling groundwater. This scenario suggests that most of the phyllosilicate‐bearing exposures may not have been protected over geologic time, as the uncemented LTR sediment would have easily been removed by erosion. However, our observations indicate that the scarped margins of the LTR unit deposits probably exposed regions of the once protected phyllosilicate‐bearing unit. These areas could be key science targets for the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission.
... This work has been conducted in preparation for the operation of the Panoramic Camera (PanCam), the stereo multispectral imaging system of the ESA ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover (Vago et al., 2017). Rosalind Franklin has the primary objective of finding evidence of ancient life in the subsurface of Mars at Oxia Planum, an ancient phyllosilicate-rich terrain (Quantin-Nataf et al., 2021). PanCam will provide visual characterization of the geology of the landing site, and, with tricolor and 12-channel multispectral visibleto-near-infrared (VNIR; ∼400-1,100 nm) imaging, a preliminary assessment of the material composition (Cousins et al., 2010(Cousins et al., , 2012. ...
... To develop this method, we have used the example of identifying hematite in the context of the expected mineralogy of the ExoMars rover Oxia Planum landing site (Quantin-Nataf et al., 2021). Notably, PanCam will sample with a unique set of spectral channels, optimized for detection of the mineralogy of Mars (Cousins et al., 2010(Cousins et al., , 2012, and distinct from the spectral channels of previous Mars rovers (Grindrod et al., 2022;Gunn & Cousins, 2016). ...
... To develop the method we have chosen a set of materials expected at the landing site of Oxia Planum. We represent the Fe/Mg-rich phyllosilicate unit with vermiculite and saponite (Carter et al., 2016) and the mafic-rich capping unit with basalt and basaltic soil (Quantin-Nataf et al., 2021). We also represent a putative Al-rich phyllosilicate unit with montmorillonite (Turner et al., 2021), and include hematite, that has been reported in orbital Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy observations (Da Pieve et al., 2021), but has not yet been reported from orbital reflectance spectroscopy studies of Oxia Planum. ...
In this paper we address two problems associated with data‐limited dynamic spacecraft exploration: data‐prioritization for transmission, and data‐reduction for interpretation, in the context of ESA ExoMars rover multispectral imaging. We present and explore a strategy for selecting and combining subsets of spectral channels captured from the ExoMars Panoramic Camera, and attempt to seek hematite against a background of phyllosilicates and basalts as a test case scenario, anticipated from orbital studies of the rover landing site. We compute all available dimension reductions on the material reflectance spectra afforded by 4 spectral parameter types, and consider all possible paired combinations of these. We then find the optimal linear combination of each pair whilst evaluating the resultant target‐vs.‐background separation in terms of the Fisher Ratio and classification accuracy, using Linear Discriminant Analysis. We find ∼50,000 spectral parameter combinations with a classification accuracy >95% that use 6‐or‐less filters, and that the highest accuracy score is 99.6% using 6 filters, but that an accuracy of >99% can still be achieved with 2 filters. We find that when the more computationally efficient Fisher Ratio is used to rank the combinations, the highest accuracy is 99.1% using 4 filters, and 95.1% when limited to 2 filters. These findings are applicable to the task of time‐constrained planning of multispectral observations, and to the evaluation and cross‐comparison of multispectral imaging systems at specific material discrimination tasks.
... At Oxia Planum, there is a Noachian-aged layered [11] phyllosilicate-rich bedrock at the bottom, see Figure 1 [12]. There, the area witnessed fluvial activity periods, producing a delta [13] and the long-lived Coogoon Vallis system [14] beside sinuous fluvial ridges [15] and paleolake signatures [16]. The importance of deposition-dominated terrains at Oxia Planum is that fine-grained phyllosilicates are expected to accumulate there, which supports an elevated concentration of the eroded Oxia Planum-based material. ...
A model-based surface fluvial erosion and deposition approach was adapted to Martian conditions to forecast the potential locations for shallow subsurface sampling by the Rosalind Franklin ExoMars rover at Oxia Planum. While remote and on-site images show only the surface visible features, former fluvial-related accumulation sites might be hidden. During the fluvial activity, most accumulation-related areas are interesting with regard to clay-like sediments, which could adsorb organics effectively-such sites could be identified by modeling. By applying the SIMWE fluvial erosion/deposition model, substantial variability in accumulation and deposition-dominated areas with their specific pattern and spatial distribution could be outlined, indicating that sophisticated targeting of future sampling could use such a model-based approach. At the main valley-like feature, former water flow tracks were identified, as well as deposition-dominated locations, which are the best targets for shallow subsurface sampling. Joint evaluation of safety aspects like slope angle and loose sand dunes with scientific aspects provide the best sampling locations. Such model-based targeting is important as by using only orbital images, these locations could not be identified.
... Several regions located around the circumference of Chryse Planitia testify to widespread aqueous conditions on early Mars, where infrared datasets reveal extensive exposures of clay-bearing deposits (Carter et al., 2013(Carter et al., , 2015a. These outcrops are valuable "windows" to seek signs of past and present life on the planet (e.g., Fairén et al., 2010;Hays et al., 2017;Vago et al., 2017;Quantin-Nataf et al., 2021), as clay minerals are known to accumulate and preserve organic compounds (e.g., Farmer and Des Marais, 1999). Clays minerals are also known to provide catalytic surfaces that enable the synthesis of organic compounds required for the emergence of life (e.g., Hazen and Sverjensky, 2010). ...
On Mars, the well-known crustal dichotomy marks the boundary between the old southern highlands and the younger northern lowlands. Among these lowlands, Chryse Planitia resembles a quasi-circular basin surrounded by several highlands, and blends into Acidalia Planitia, another flat lowland located farther north. The transition area between these highlands and the Chryse basin is often designated as “circum-Chryse Planitia”, and is the terminus for many outflow channels. Infrared datasets display several sites therein with extensive clay-bearing outcrops, further testifying for aqueous activity on early Mars – notably around Mawrth Vallis, Oxia Planum and Xanthe Terra. In this study, we investigate clay-bearing outcrops identified along the western margins of circum-Chryse basin, often overlooked in the Martian literature. We also compare them with outcrops found in other regions along the crustal dichotomy and relevant in the Martian literature, such as Oxia Planum, Mawrth Vallis and Nili Fossae. Investigating such deposits is crucial for astrobiological perspectives, as they are appealing targets to search for organic compounds possibly stored throughout the rocks and soils. Fe,Mg-rich clays generally result from the interaction of liquid water with rocks under low temperatures, moderate pH levels and neutral to reducing conditions, factors favorable for life. Here, the clay minerals detected in west Chryse Planitia are consistent with either ferrosaponites or vermiculites associated with hydrobiotite, as recently inferred in Oxia Planum and north Xanthe Terra. Diverse alteration pathways might be involved based on either of these clay species. The clay-bearing rocks crop out in isolated hills in Lunae Planum, and along inverted channels and small craters in Tempe Terra. Further geologic investigations in circum-Chryse Planitia should certainly provide new clues on their origin and weathering conditions, while supporting the upcoming ExoMars rover mission and other future explorations.
... Tectonic deformation has occurred throughout the region, as evidenced by widespread shortening structures (formation ages unknown; Woodley et al., 2023). The study area (10-13°N and 20-23°W; Figure 1c) lies between Ares and Mawrth Valles, and about ∼400 km southeast of Oxia Planum, the landing site of the ExoMars rover (Quantin-Nataf et al., 2021;Vago et al., 2017). The study area comprises a cluster of six 15-40 km diameter impact craters, including ∼40 km diameter Marsabit. ...
... Stresses related to the dichotomy boundary and the isostatic adjustment of the highlands and lowlands were proposed by Ruj and Kawai (2021) for the formation of Amazonian wrinkle ridges in Amenthes Planum, and Watters (1993) proposed that dichotomy-related stresses produced dichotomy parallel shortening structures. Widespread exhumation of Noachian terrain has occurred across the dichotomy in western Arabia Terra (McNeil et al., 2022;Quantin-Nataf et al., 2021), which may have contributed to Hesperian dichotomy-related stresses. Although, the shortening structure in the study area is oriented oblique to the dichotomy boundary (NE-SW, Figure 1), it could have been re-activated by dichotomy-related stresses. ...
Plain Language Summary
We identify a large fault system, called a shortening structure, that has been repeatedly active during the last 2 billion years. This is suggested by a series of landslides with a variety of degradation states. These originate from where a large‐scale shortening structure deforms the wall of Marsabit crater. We propose these were triggered by at least four large tectonic events. The shortening structure has a scarp face height of about 700 m, implying that about 1.4 km of movement has occurred along the fault; requiring tens to thousands of marsquakes to accumulate. Our evidence that multiple marsquakes occurred “recently” (in the last 2 billion years) is important because Mars is thought to have been barely tectonically active during this time. This raises questions about the regional/global processes responsible for recent tectonic activity of this magnitude which would have likely re‐activated other local tectonic structures. Our study shows that repeated and long‐lasting tectonic activity occurred in the last 2 billion years, and finding more young tectonic structures would help to better understand the spatial and temporal extent of Mars' recent tectonic history.
... Ancient Martian terrains (> 3.7 Ga) covered by clay minerals are the main targets for the astrobiological exploration of Mars (Pajola et al., 2017;Salvatore et al., 2018;Quantin-Nataf et al., 2021). In addition to being at the heart of the "clay life" hypothesis, which posits that life began as self-replicating minerals (Cairns-Smith, 1966;Joshi et al., 2015;Brucato and Fornaro, 2019), clay minerals have strong absorption capacities, conferring them a high 'potential for biopreservation' (Hedges and Keil, 1995;Kennedy et al., 2002;Ehlmann et al., 2008;Westall and Cockell, 2016;McMahon, 2018;Broz, 2020). ...
... It has been reported that liquid water could be present in the Martian subsurface (Martín-Torres et al., 2015;Orosei et al., 2018;Rivera-Valentín et al., 2020). Therefore, investigation on the distribution of subsurface habitats in Mars-analog sites on Earth is important for ongoing and future life exploration since Mars rovers such as Perseverance, Tianwen-3, and ExoMars have been or will be equipped with drills (Moeller et al., 2021;Quantin-Nataf et al., 2021). ...
... Nevertheless, it is still difficult to determine the origin of such TOC level in Martian lacustrine deposits. Further theoretical and experimental investigations will provide more guidance for biosignature detection in insitu measurements on Mars and sample-return lab-based analyses (Moeller et al., 2021;Quantin-Nataf et al., 2021). ...
Searching for life is one of the most important targets of Mars exploration missions. It has been considered that the Martian subsurface, away from the extreme surface environment, is a potentially habitable region for microbial growth. However, the distribution pattern of potential microbial habitats in the Martian subsurface has yet to be evaluated. Here, we investigate the subsurface habitats to depths of 20–60 cm from various landscapes, including slopes, gullies, channels, playas, and alluvial fans across the Mars-analog Qaidam Basin, NW China. We characterize subsurface niches by measuring microbial biomass and radiocarbon ages, and correlate them with soil properties including depth, moisture content, total organic carbon content, electric conductivity, pH, evaporite and clay mineral contents. We find more habitable niches for microbial colonization at depths of 5–25 cm as compared with the surface and deep subsurface across the hyperarid Qaidam Basin. Maximum biomass and biotic activity could be correlated with physical stability, limited radiation, and short-term moderate water availability in the shallow subsurface in hyperarid deserts. The findings of this study provide new perspectives on subsurface microbial habitats in Mars-analog hyperarid deserts and ongoing biosignature detection on Mars.
... As the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) investigation on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) comes to a close, the troves of data returned continue to enable new discoveries, expand our understanding of Mars, and provide valuable context for landed missions (Carter et al., 2013;Ehlmann and Edwards, 2014;Goudge et al., 2018;Murchie et al., 2019;Tarnas et al., 2019;Horgan et al., 2020;Brown et al., 2020;Quantin-Nataf et al., 2021). The CRISM instrument was capable of operating in a gimbaled mode for high spatial resolution hyperspectral targeted observations and in a fixedgimbal nadir-pointing mode for regional-scale, moderate spatial resolution mapping (Murchie et al., 2007(Murchie et al., , 2009Seelos et al., 2023). ...
... The added wavelengths make it possible to discriminate among subtle variability in the spectra of, for example, silica in different hydration states (e.g., Pineau et al., 2020), and clays, carbonates and sulfates with different cation compositions and/or hydration states. Here, we summarize construction of hyperspectral mapping tile mosaics matching the spatial dimensionality of previous MRDR mosaics, compare these products to CRISM targeted data and MRDRs, and report new information available in sample hyperspectral mapping tile mosaics covering the Mawrth Vallis region near the future landing site of the European Space Agency's ExoMars rover in Oxia Planum (Quantin-Nataf et al., 2021). ...
The CRISM instrument on MRO collected visible-infrared hyperspectral mapping data (HSP; 180 m/pixel, 262 spectral channels covering 365 to 3937 nm) that covered~39% of Mars. Here we present results from a new processing pipeline for these data that produces 5°x 5°hyperspectral mapping tiled mosaics that overlap the coverage of recently released multispectral map tile products (version 4 Multispectral Reduced Data Records, MRDRs; 180 m/pixel, 72 spectral channels). These data enable regional investigations into compositional variations that require high spectral resolution or wavelengths not included in MRDRs. In addition to standard processing techniques available in the CRISM Analysis Toolkit (CAT), the pipeline includes a new correction for systematic discrepancies in radiometric calibration between CRISM observing modes, an improved filtering algorithm to reme-diate noise, and a technique to correct for differences in radiometry among data strips that arise from differences in photometric and atmospheric conditions. Demonstration hyperspectral mapping tiles covering the Mawrth Vallis region were developed and compared with MRDRs and high spatial resolution hyperspectral targeted observations. The new processing pipeline shows an improvement in data quality over standard processing using CAT utilities. Compared to targeted observations (18 or 36 m/pixel, 545 spectral channels), hyperspectral mapping tile mosaics reveal compositional information across a much greater spatial extent at the expense of 5-10 times coarser spatial resolution. In addition, the hyperspectral mapping tile mosaics reveal greater compositional detail in both the spatial and spectral dimensions compared to MRDRs, but with sparser spatial coverage. Sample hyperspectral mapping tile mosaics over the Mawrth Vallis region reveal hydrated silica, Al-bearing smectite, Fe/ Mg-bearing smectite, and mixed clays, consistent with compositions previously reported in the literature.