Sanna Alwmark
Associate senior lecturer
Geological, multispectral, and meteorological imaging results from the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover in Jezero crater
Author
Summary, in English
Perseverance’s Mastcam-Z instrument provides high-resolution stereo and multispectral images with a unique combination of spatial resolution, spatial coverage, and wavelength coverage along the rover’s traverse in Jezero crater, Mars. Images reveal rocks consistent with an igneous (including volcanic and/or volcaniclastic) and/or impactite origin and limited aqueous alteration, including polygonally fractured rocks with weathered coatings; massive boulder-forming bedrock consisting of mafic silicates, ferric oxides, and/or iron-bearing alteration minerals; and coarsely layered outcrops dominated by olivine. Pyroxene dominates the iron-bearing mineralogy in the fine-grained regolith, while olivine dominates the coarse-grained regolith. Solar and atmospheric imaging observations show significant intra- and intersol variations in dust optical depth and water ice clouds, as well as unique examples of boundary layer vortex action from both natural (dust devil) and Ingenuity helicopter–induced dust lifting. High-resolution stereo imaging also provides geologic context for rover operations, other instrument observations, and sample selection, characterization, and confirmation.
Department/s
- Lithosphere and Biosphere Science
Publishing year
2022
Language
English
Publication/Series
Science Advances
Volume
8
Issue
47
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Topic
- Geology
Keywords
- Boundary layers
- Dust
- Rovers
- Stereo image processing
- Volcanic rocks
- Volcanoes
- High resolution stereo
- Meteorological imaging
- Multispectral images
- Multispectral imaging
- Spatial coverage
- Spatial resolution
- Spatial wavelengths
- Stereoimages
- Volcanics
- Wavelength coverage
- Iron oxides
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 2375-2548