Inorganic interpretation of luminescent materials encountered by the Perseverance rover on Mars.

A major objective of the Mars 2020 mission is to sample rocks in Jezero crater that may preserve organic matter for later return to Earth. Using an ultraviolet Raman and luminescence spectrometer, the Perseverance rover detected luminescence signals with maximal intensities at 330 to 350 nanometers and 270 to 290 nanometers that were initially reported as consistent with organics. Here, we test the alternative hypothesis that the 330- to 350-nanometer and 270- to 290-nanometer luminescence signals trace Ce3+ in phosphate and silicate defects, respectively. By comparing the distributions of luminescence signals with the rover detections of x-ray fluorescence from P2O5 and Si-bearing materials, we show that, while an organic origin is not excluded, the observed luminescence can be explained by purely inorganic materials. These findings highlight the importance of eventual laboratory analyses to detect and characterize organic compounds in the returned samples.

Helium Leak Rate Measurements of Flight-like Mars 2020 Sample Tubes.

The sample tubes on board NASA's Perseverance rover are designed to contain rocks, regolith, and atmospheric gases and are hermetically sealed on the surface of Mars to minimize sample loss, alteration, and contamination. Following a robust testing program during mission development, it was determined that the helium (He) leak rates of flight-like sample tubes sealed under a range of conditions were typically no greater than ∼10-10 standard cubic centimeters per second (scc/s); leak rates below this value could not be measured since this is the detection limit of commercially available He leak detectors. This limit was adequate to meet mission requirements. However, some scientific objectives could be compromised by sample tube leak rates even below 10-10 scc/s, thus motivating a more sensitive technique for establishing leak rates. This study investigated He leak rates on six flight-like sample tubes using a static mode mass spectrometer. Room temperature He leak rates of the six sample tubes ranged from ∼8.8 × 10-17 to ∼4.6 × 10-14 scc/s. One sample tube was analyzed at eight different temperatures, ranging from -51°C to +42°C, and yielded He leak rates correlated with temperature that varied from ∼1.7 × 10-15 to ∼1.4 × 10-13 scc/s, respectively. Our results confirm and extend previous findings demonstrating that the Mars 2020 sample tube seals are likely to be very leak-tight, with leak rates <10-13 scc/s. These leak rates are sufficiently low that the impact of gas egress or ingress is expected to be negligible.

Diverse organic-mineral associations in Jezero crater, Mars.

The presence and distribution of preserved organic matter on the surface of Mars can provide key information about the Martian carbon cycle and the potential of the planet to host life throughout its history. Several types of organic molecules have been previously detected in Martian meteorites1 and at Gale crater, Mars2-4. Evaluating the diversity and detectability of organic matter elsewhere on Mars is important for understanding the extent and diversity of Martian surface processes and the potential availability of carbon sources1,5,6. Here we report the detection of Raman and fluorescence spectra consistent with several species of aromatic organic molecules in the Máaz and Séítah formations within the Crater Floor sequences of Jezero crater, Mars. We report specific fluorescence-mineral associations consistent with many classes of organic molecules occurring in different spatial patterns within these compositionally distinct formations, potentially indicating different fates of carbon across environments. Our findings suggest there may be a diversity of aromatic molecules prevalent on the Martian surface, and these materials persist despite exposure to surface conditions. These potential organic molecules are largely found within minerals linked to aqueous processes, indicating that these processes may have had a key role in organic synthesis, transport or preservation.

Aqueous alteration processes in Jezero crater, Mars-implications for organic geochemistry.

The Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater, Mars, in February 2021. We used the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument to perform deep-ultraviolet Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy of three rocks within the crater. We identify evidence for two distinct ancient aqueous environments at different times. Reactions with liquid water formed carbonates in an olivine-rich igneous rock. A sulfate-perchlorate mixture is present in the rocks, which probably formed by later modifications of the rocks by brine. Fluorescence signatures consistent with aromatic organic compounds occur throughout these rocks and are preserved in minerals related to both aqueous environments.

Photogeologic Map of the Perseverance Rover Field Site in Jezero Crater Constructed by the Mars 2020 Science Team.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landing site is located within Jezero crater, a ∼ 50 km diameter impact crater interpreted to be a Noachian-aged lake basin inside the western edge of the Isidis impact structure. Jezero hosts remnants of a fluvial delta, inlet and outlet valleys, and infill deposits containing diverse carbonate, mafic, and hydrated minerals. Prior to the launch of the Mars 2020 mission, members of the Science Team collaborated to produce a photogeologic map of the Perseverance landing site in Jezero crater. Mapping was performed at a 1:5000 digital map scale using a 25 cm/pixel High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) orthoimage mosaic base map and a 1 m/pixel HiRISE stereo digital terrain model. Mapped bedrock and surficial units were distinguished by differences in relative brightness, tone, topography, surface texture, and apparent roughness. Mapped bedrock units are generally consistent with those identified in previously published mapping efforts, but this study's map includes the distribution of surficial deposits and sub-units of the Jezero delta at a higher level of detail than previous studies. This study considers four possible unit correlations to explain the relative age relationships of major units within the map area. Unit correlations include previously published interpretations as well as those that consider more complex interfingering relationships and alternative relative age relationships. The photogeologic map presented here is the foundation for scientific hypothesis development and strategic planning for Perseverance's exploration of Jezero crater.

An extraterrestrial trigger for the mid-Ordovician ice age: Dust from the breakup of the L-chondrite parent body.

The breakup of the L-chondrite parent body in the asteroid belt 466 million years (Ma) ago still delivers almost a third of all meteorites falling on Earth. Our new extraterrestrial chromite and 3He data for Ordovician sediments show that the breakup took place just at the onset of a major, eustatic sea level fall previously attributed to an Ordovician ice age. Shortly after the breakup, the flux to Earth of the most fine-grained, extraterrestrial material increased by three to four orders of magnitude. In the present stratosphere, extraterrestrial dust represents 1% of all the dust and has no climatic significance. Extraordinary amounts of dust in the entire inner solar system during >2 Ma following the L-chondrite breakup cooled Earth and triggered Ordovician icehouse conditions, sea level fall, and major faunal turnovers related to the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event.

In Situ Geochronology on Mars and the Development of Future Instrumentation.

We review the in situ geochronology experiments conducted by the Mars Science Laboratory mission's Curiosity rover to understand when the Gale Crater rocks formed, underwent alteration, and became exposed to cosmogenic radiation. These experiments determined that the detrital minerals in the sedimentary rocks of Gale are ∼4 Ga, consistent with their origin in the basalts surrounding the crater. The sedimentary rocks underwent fluid-moderated alteration 2 Gyr later, which may mark the closure of aqueous activity at Gale Crater. Over the past several million years, wind-driven processes have dominated, denuding the surfaces by scarp retreat. The Curiosity measurements validate radiometric dating techniques on Mars and guide the way for future instrumentation to make more precise measurements that will further our understanding of the geological and astrobiological history of the planet.

Rapid recovery of life at ground zero of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.

The Cretaceous/Palaeogene mass extinction eradicated 76% of species on Earth1,2. It was caused by the impact of an asteroid3,4 on the Yucatán carbonate platform in the southern Gulf of Mexico 66 million years ago 5 , forming the Chicxulub impact crater6,7. After the mass extinction, the recovery of the global marine ecosystem-measured as primary productivity-was geographically heterogeneous 8 ; export production in the Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic-western Tethys was slower than in most other regions8-11, taking 300 thousand years (kyr) to return to levels similar to those of the Late Cretaceous period. Delayed recovery of marine productivity closer to the crater implies an impact-related environmental control, such as toxic metal poisoning 12 , on recovery times. If no such geographic pattern exists, the best explanation for the observed heterogeneity is a combination of ecological factors-trophic interactions 13 , species incumbency and competitive exclusion by opportunists 14 -and 'chance'8,15,16. The question of whether the post-impact recovery of marine productivity was delayed closer to the crater has a bearing on the predictability of future patterns of recovery in anthropogenically perturbed ecosystems. If there is a relationship between the distance from the impact and the recovery of marine productivity, we would expect recovery rates to be slowest in the crater itself. Here we present a record of foraminifera, calcareous nannoplankton, trace fossils and elemental abundance data from within the Chicxulub crater, dated to approximately the first 200 kyr of the Palaeocene. We show that life reappeared in the basin just years after the impact and a high-productivity ecosystem was established within 30 kyr, which indicates that proximity to the impact did not delay recovery and that there was therefore no impact-related environmental control on recovery. Ecological processes probably controlled the recovery of productivity after the Cretaceous/Palaeogene mass extinction and are therefore likely to be important for the response of the ocean ecosystem to other rapid extinction events.

Mars atmosphere. Mars methane detection and variability at Gale crater.

Reports of plumes or patches of methane in the martian atmosphere that vary over monthly time scales have defied explanation to date. From in situ measurements made over a 20-month period by the tunable laser spectrometer of the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument suite on Curiosity at Gale crater, we report detection of background levels of atmospheric methane of mean value 0.69 ± 0.25 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) at the 95% confidence interval (CI). This abundance is lower than model estimates of ultraviolet degradation of accreted interplanetary dust particles or carbonaceous chondrite material. Additionally, in four sequential measurements spanning a 60-sol period (where 1 sol is a martian day), we observed elevated levels of methane of 7.2 ± 2.1 ppbv (95% CI), implying that Mars is episodically producing methane from an additional unknown source.

Amphitheater-headed canyons formed by megaflooding at Malad Gorge, Idaho.

Many bedrock canyons on Earth and Mars were eroded by upstream propagating headwalls, and a prominent goal in geomorphology and planetary science is to determine formation processes from canyon morphology. A diagnostic link between process and form remains highly controversial, however, and field investigations that isolate controls on canyon morphology are needed. Here we investigate the origin of Malad Gorge, Idaho, a canyon system cut into basalt with three remarkably distinct heads: two with amphitheater headwalls and the third housing the active Wood River and ending in a 7% grade knickzone. Scoured rims of the headwalls, relict plunge pools, sediment-transport constraints, and cosmogenic ((3)He) exposure ages indicate formation of the amphitheater-headed canyons by large-scale flooding ∼46 ka, coeval with formation of Box Canyon 18 km to the south as well as the eruption of McKinney Butte Basalt, suggesting widespread canyon formation following lava-flow diversion of the paleo-Wood River. Exposure ages within the knickzone-headed canyon indicate progressive upstream younging of strath terraces and a knickzone propagation rate of 2.5 cm/y over at least the past 33 ka. Results point to a potential diagnostic link between vertical amphitheater headwalls in basalt and rapid erosion during megaflooding due to the onset of block toppling, rather than previous interpretations of seepage erosion, with implications for quantifying the early hydrosphere of Mars.

Low upper limit to methane abundance on Mars.

By analogy with Earth, methane in the Martian atmosphere is a potential signature of ongoing or past biological activity. During the past decade, Earth-based telescopic observations reported "plumes" of methane of tens of parts per billion by volume (ppbv), and those from Mars orbit showed localized patches, prompting speculation of sources from subsurface bacteria or nonbiological sources. From in situ measurements made with the Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) on Curiosity using a distinctive spectral pattern specific to methane, we report no detection of atmospheric methane with a measured value of 0.18 ± 0.67 ppbv corresponding to an upper limit of only 1.3 ppbv (95% confidence level), which reduces the probability of current methanogenic microbial activity on Mars and limits the recent contribution from extraplanetary and geologic sources.

A late Miocene dust shower from the break-up of an asteroid in the main belt.

Throughout the history of the Solar System, Earth has been bombarded by interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), which are asteroid and comet fragments of diameter approximately 1-1,000 microm. The IDP flux is believed to be in quasi-steady state: particles created by episodic main belt collisions or cometary fragmentation replace those removed by comminution, dynamical ejection, and planetary or solar impact. Because IDPs are rich in 3He, seafloor sediment 3He concentrations provide a unique means of probing the major events that have affected the IDP flux and its source bodies over geological timescales. Here we report that collisional disruption of the >150-km-diameter asteroid that created the Veritas family 8.3 +/- 0.5 Myr ago also produced a transient increase in the flux of interplanetary dust-derived 3He. The increase began at 8.2 +/- 0.1 Myr ago, reached a maximum of approximately 4 times pre-event levels, and dissipated over approximately 1.5 Myr. The terrestrial IDP accretion rate was overwhelmingly dominated by Veritas family fragments during the late Miocene. No other event of this magnitude over the past approximately 10(8) yr has been deduced from main belt asteroid orbits. One remarkably similar event is present in the 3He record 35 Myr ago, but its origin by comet shower or asteroid collision remains uncertain.

Rapid glacial erosion at 1.8 Ma revealed by 4He/3He thermochronometry.

Alpine glaciation and river incision control the topography of mountain ranges, but their relative contributions have been debated for years. Apatite 4He/3He thermochronometry tightly constrains the timing and rate of glacial erosion within one of the largest valleys in the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Five proximate samples require accelerated denudation of the Klinaklini Valley initiating 1.8 +/- 0.2 million years ago (Ma). At least 2 kilometers of overlying rock were removed from the valley at >/=5 millimeters per year, indicating that glacial valley deepening proceeded >/=6 times as fast as erosion rates before approximately 1.8 Ma. This intense erosion may be related to a global transition to enhanced climate instability approximately 1.9 Ma.