P31A:
A Persistent Habitable Environment in Gale Crater, Mars: How 5 Years of Exploration with the Curiosity Rover Have Changed Our View of Mars and Its Potential for Life I Posters

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Session ID#: 24296

Session Description:
NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission, with its Curiosity rover, is advancing our understanding of the planet’s habitability and the prospects for detecting signs of ancient life through its multi-disciplinary investigations. Geological, chemical, and mineralogical investigations of the rock record indicate that water persisted for millions of years in fluvial, lacustrine, and groundwater systems. Isotopic studies of the atmosphere and water evolved from ancient authigenic clay minerals provide new constraints on atmospheric evolution, including key greenhouse gases. Detections of organic molecules indicate their long-term preservation; measurements of radiation combined with surface exposure ages suggest that modern aeolian erosion is exhuming materials that can be investigated for biosignatures with reduced degradation relative to other surface materials. Records of atmospheric composition (including methane), meteorology, and radiation exceed two Mars years and will aid in planning human exploration. This session will integrate this knowledge with other missions and assess how it informs exploration strategies.
Primary Convener:  Ashwin R Vasavada, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States and Mars Science Laboratory Science Team
Convener:  Michael A Meyer, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC, United States and Mars Science Laboratory Science Team
Chairs:  Michael A Meyer, NASA HQ, Washington, DC, United States, Ashwin R Vasavada, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States and Mars Science Laboratory Science Team
OSPA Liaison:  Ashwin R Vasavada, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States and Mars Science Laboratory Science Team
Index Terms:

5215 Origin of life [PLANETARY SCIENCES: ASTROBIOLOGY]
5455 Origin and evolution [PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLID SURFACE PLANETS]
5470 Surface materials and properties [PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLID SURFACE PLANETS]
6225 Mars [PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS]

Abstracts Submitted to this Session:

Grain Size Measurements of Eolian Ripples in Gale Crater, Mars (210312)
Catherine M Weitz, Planetary Science Institute Tucson, Tucson, AZ, United States, Robert J Sullivan Jr, Cornell University, CCAPS, Ithaca, NY, United States, Mathieu Gaetan Andre Lapotre, Stanford University, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Stanford, CA, United States, Scott Kaniela Rowland, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Department of Earth Sciences, Honolulu, United States, Kenneth S Edgett, Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, CA, United States, John A Grant III, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, Washington, DC, United States, R Aileen Yingst, Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ, United States and Curiosity Rover Science Team
Mt. Sharp as a Source of the Sand within Gale Crater (233434)
Kristen A Bennett1, Briony H N Horgan2 and Christopher S Edwards1, (1)Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States, (2)Purdue University, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, West Lafayette, IN, United States
Tracking Changes in Iron Mineralogy Through Time in Gale Crater and Terrestrial Analogues (216546)
Rachel Sheppard, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States, Ralph Milliken, Brown University, Providence, United States and James M Russell, Brown University, Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Providence, United States
Curiosity at Gale Crater's Hematite Ridge: High Mn and P Near the Ridge Show Chemical Evidence for Generation by an Oxidation Front (248177)
Roger C Wiens1, Pierre-Yves Meslin2, Nina Lanza3, Jens Frydenvang3, Nicolas Mangold4, Jeffrey Roy Johnson5, Abigail Fraeman6, Briony Horgan7, Candice Bedford8, Diana L Blaney9, John Bridges10, Agnes Cousin2, Bethany L Ehlmann11, Olivier Forni2, Patrick James Gasda12, Olivier Gasnault13, Ralf Gellert14, Steve Johnstone3, Sarah N. Lamm15, Jeremie Lasue2, Stephane Le Mouelic16, Sylvestre Maurice17, Horton E Newsom18, Ann Ollila3, Valerie Payre19, William Rapin20, Mark R Salvatore21, Susanne P Schwenzer22, Nancy H. Thomas20, Ashwin R Vasavada23 and the MSL Science Team, (1)Space Science and Applications, Los Alamos, United States, (2)Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), Toulouse, France, (3)Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States, (4)LPGN Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique de Nantes, Nantes Cedex 03, France, (5)Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, United States, (6)NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, United States, (7)Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States, (8)Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, United States, (9)Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States, (10)University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom, (11)California Institute of Technology, Geological and Planetary Sciences, Pasadena, CA, United States, (12)Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, United States, (13)IRAP, Toulouse, France, (14)University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, (15)Kansas State University, Department of Geology, Manhattan, KS, United States, (16)CNRS, Paris Cedex 16, France, (17)IRAP, CNRS, Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, Toulouse, France, (18)Univ New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States, (19)University of Lorraine Nancy, Nancy Cedex, France, (20)California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States, (21)Northern Arizona University, Astronomy and Planetary Science, Flagstaff, AZ, United States, (22)Open University, AstrobiologyOU, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, (23)Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States
Modeling of Mastcam Visible/Near-Infrared Spectrophotometric Observations at Yellowknife Bay (234925)
Jeffrey Roy Johnson, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States, Prof. James F Bell III, PhD, Arizona State University, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Tempe, United States, Matthew Hedman, Cornell University, Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, Ithaca, United States, Weigang Liang, Univ. Arizona, LPL, Tucson, United States, Mark T Lemmon, Space Science Institute, Boulder, United States, William M Grundy, Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, United States and Robert G Deen, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States
Spectrophotometric Modeling of MAHLI Goniometer Observations (243233)
Weigang Liang, Univ. Arizona, LPL, Tucson, United States, Jeffrey Roy Johnson, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, United States, Matthew Hedman, Cornell University, Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, Ithaca, United States, Mark T Lemmon, Space Science Institute, Boulder, United States, Prof. James F Bell III, PhD, Arizona State University, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Tempe, United States, William M Grundy, Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, United States and Robert G Deen, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States
Sulfur Geochemical Analysis and Interpretation with ChemCam on the Curiosity Rover (288902)
Samuel M Clegg, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, United States, Ryan B Anderson, USGS Astrogeology Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ, United States, Jens Frydenvang, Univ. of Copenhagen, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark, Olivier Forni, Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), Toulouse, France, Horton E Newsom, Univ New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States, Diana L Blaney, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States, Sylvestre Maurice, IRAP, CNRS, Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, Toulouse, France and Roger C Wiens, Purdue University, West Lafayette, United States
The Preservation and Detection of Organic Matter within Jarosite (257657)
James M T Lewis1,2, Jennifer L Eigenbrode2, Amy McAdam3, Slavka C Andrejkovicova4, Christine A Knudson2, Greg M Wong5, Maëva Millan6, Caroline Freissinet7, Cyril Szopa8, Xiang Li9 and Dina M Bower10, (1)Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology, Howard University, Washington, United States, (2)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (3)NASA Goddard SFC, Greenbelt, United States, (4)CRESST, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD, United States, (5)Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States, (6)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, United States, (7)LATMOS Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales, Paris Cedex 05, France, (8)Université Versailles St-Quentin, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, CNRS, LATMOS Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales, Paris, France, (9)UMBC Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology (CRESST), Baltimore, United States, (10)University of Maryland, College Park/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Department of Astronomy, Greenbelt, United States
Influence of Oxychlorine Phases on the Pyrolysis of Organics Trapped in Jarosite and the Quest of Organics on Mars with the SAM Instrument Onboard Curiosity (261535)
Maëva Millan1,2, James M T Lewis3, Jennifer L Eigenbrode4, Caroline Freissinet5, Cyril Szopa6, Arnaud Buch7, Amy McAdam4, Daniel Patrick Glavin8, Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez9, Sarah Johnson10 and Paul R Mahaffy1, (1)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, United States, (2)Georgetown University, Washington, United States, (3)Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology, Howard University, Washington, United States, (4)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (5)LATMOS Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales, Paris Cedex 05, France, (6)Université Versailles St-Quentin, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, CNRS, LATMOS Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales, Paris, France, (7)LGPM Laboratoire Génie des Procédés et les Matériaux, Châtenay-Malabry, France, (8)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Solar System Exploration Division, Greenbelt, United States, (9)Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Mexico City, DF, Mexico, (10)Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States
D/H in Water Evolved from Martian Rocks in Gale Crater (228534)
Paul R Mahaffy1, Heather B. Franz1, Sushil K Atreya2, Christopher R Webster3 and Mars Science Laboratory Team, (1)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, United States, (2)University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States, (3)NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States
Formation of Gas Traps in the Martian Soil and Implications for Methane Variability on Mars. (234069)
Alexander Pavlov, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, Jeffrey Davis, University of Maryland College Park, Department of Physics, College Park, MD, United States, Erin Redwing, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States, Melissa G Trainer, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Planetary Environments Laboratory, Greenbelt, United States and Chris Johnson, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, United States
Recent select Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Testbed analog results (273817)
Charles Malespin1, Amy McAdam2, Samuel Teinturier2, Jennifer L Eigenbrode2, Caroline Freissinet3, Christine A Knudson4, James M. Lewis2, Maëva Millan1, Andrew Steele5, Jennifer C Stern2 and Amy J Williams6, (1)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, United States, (2)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (3)LATMOS Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales, Paris Cedex 05, France, (4)CRESST/University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD, United States, (5)Carnegie Science, Earth and Planets Laboratory, Washington, United States, (6)University of Florida, Department of Geological Sciences, Ft Walton Beach, FL, United States
Between Two Lakes: Opportunities for the Inception of Life in Gale Crater, Mars (255106)
Ezat Heydari, Jackson State University, Dept. of Physics, Atmospheric Sciences, & Geoscience, Jackson, MS, United States, Fred Calef, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States, Jeff Schroeder, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States, Jason van Beek, Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, CA, United States, Timothy J Parker, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States, Scott K. Rowland, University of Hawai'i, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, Honolulu, HI, United States, Alberto G. Fairén, Center of Astrobiology, Unidad Asociada UVa-CSIC-CAB, Valladolid, Spain and Bernard Hallet, University of Washington, Earth and Space Sciences, Seattle, WA, United States
Developing a High Fidelity Martian Soil Simulant Based on MSL Measurements: Applications for Habitability, Exploration, and In-Situ Resource Utilization (240748)
Kevin Cannon1, Daniel Turner Britt1, Trent M Smith2, Ralph F Fritsche2, Stephen D Covey3, Daniel Batcheldor4 and Beverly Watson4, (1)University of Central Florida, Physics, Orlando, FL, United States, (2)NASA, Melbourne, FL, United States, (3)Deep Space Industries, Orlando, FL, United States, (4)Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, United States
The Radiation Environment on the Surface of Mars and its Implications for Human Exploration: Five Years of Measurements with the MSL/RAD instrument (295287)
Cary J Zeitlin1, Bent Ehresmann2, Don Hassler2, Robert F Wimmer-Schweingruber3, Jingnan Guo4, Jan Kristoffer Appel5, Eckart Boehm5, Stephan I Boettcher6, Soenke Burmeister7, Henning Lohf5, Cesar Martin-Garcia8, Daniel Matthiae9, Scot CR Rafkin10 and Gunther Reitz9, (1)Leidos Innovations Corporation, SRAG, Houston, TX, United States, (2)Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, United States, (3)Institute for Experimental and Applied Physics (IEAP), Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany, (4)University of Science and Technology of China, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Hefei, China, (5)University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany, (6)University of Kiel, Institute for Experimental and Applied Physics, Kiel, Germany, (7)Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Institute for Experimental and Applied Physics, Kiel, Germany, (8)IEAP, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany, (9)DLR, Cologne, Germany, (10)Southwest Research Institute Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States
The UV Sensor Onboard the Mars Science Laboratory Mission: Correction and Generation of UV Fluxes (262363)
Álvaro Vicente-Retortillo1, German Martinez1, Nilton O Renno2, Mark T Lemmon3 and Javier Gomez-Elvira4, (1)University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States, (2)Univ Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States, (3)Space Science Institute, Boulder, United States, (4)Payload & Space Science Department. Insituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Madrid, Spain

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