Exploring Gusev Crater with Spirit: Review of science objectives and testable hypotheses

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Read Full Article (file size: 1343721 bytes) Cited by JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 108, NO. E12, 8076, doi:10.1029/2002JE002026, 2003 Exploring Gusev Crater with Spirit: Review of science objectives and testable hypotheses Nathalie A. Cabrol NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA Edmond A. Grin NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA Michael H. Carr U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California, USA Brad Sutter NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA Jeffrey M. Moore NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA Jack D. Farmer Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA Ronald Greeley Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA Ruslan O. Kuzmin Vernadsky Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia David J. DesMarais NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA Marc G. Kramer NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA Horton Newsom Institute of Meteoritics and Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Charles Barber Institute of Meteoritics and Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Ivan Thorsos Institute of Meteoritics and Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Kenneth L. Tanaka Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA Nadine G. Barlow U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA David A. Fike Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachussetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Mary L. Urquhart Department of Science and Mathematics Education, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, USA Brian Grigsby Schreder Planetarium, Redding, California, USA Frederick D. Grant Department of Geology, University of Mississippi, Jackson, Mississippi, USA Olivier de Goursac Mars Society en France, Suresnes, France Abstract Gusev Crater was selected as the landing site for the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit mission. Located at the outlet of Ma'adim Vallis and 250 km south of the volcano Apollinaris Patera, Gusev is an outstanding site to achieve the goals of the MER mission. The crater could have collected sediments from a variety of sources during its 3.9 Ga history, including fluvial, lacustrine, volcanic, glacial, impact, regional and local aeolian, and global air falls. It is a unique site to investigate the past history of water on Mars, climate and geological changes, and the potential habitability of the planet, which are central science objectives of the MER mission. Because of its complex history and potential diversity, Gusev will allow the testing of a large spectrum of hypotheses with the complete suite of MER instruments. Evidence consistent with long-lived lake episodes exist in the landing ellipse area. They might offer a unique opportunity to study, for the first time, Martian aqueous sediments and minerals formed in situ in their geological context. We review the geological history and diversity of the landing site, the science hypotheses that can be tested during the MER mission, and the relevance of Gusev to the MER mission objectives and payload. Received 5 December 2002; accepted 3 September 2003; published 30 December 2003. Index Terms: 6225 Planetology: Solar System Objects: Mars; 5470 Planetology: Solid Surface Planets: Surface materials and properties. Read Full Article (file size: 1343721 bytes) Cited by Citation: Cabrol, N. A., et al. (2003), Exploring Gusev Crater with Spirit: Review of science objectives and testable hypotheses, J. Geophys. Res., 108(E12), 8076, doi:10.1029/2002JE002026. Copyright 2003 by the American Geophysical Union.

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