Aqueous alteration processes in Jezero crater, Mars-implications for organic geochemistry.
Eva L SchellerJoseph Razzell HollisEmily L CardarelliAndrew SteeleLuther W BeegleRohit BhartiaPamela G ConradKyle UckertSunanda SharmaBethany L EhlmannWilliam J AbbeySanford A AsherKathleen C BenisonEve L BergerOlivier BeyssacBenjamin L BleefeldTanja BosakAdrian J BrownAaron S BurtonSergei V BykovEdward A CloutisAlberto G FairénLauren DeFloresKenneth A FarleyDeidra M FeyTeresa FornaroAllison C FoxMarc FriesKeyron Hickman-LewisWilliam F HugJoshua E HuggettSamara ImbeahRyan S JakubekLinda C KahPeter B KelemenMegan R KennedyTanya V KizovskiCarina LeeYang LiuLucia MandonFrancis M McCubbinKelsey R MooreBrian E NixonJorge I NúñezCarolina Rodriguez Sanchez-VahamondeRyan D RoppelMitchell SchulteMark A SephtonShiv K SharmaSandra SiljeströmSvetlana ShkolyarDavid L ShusterJustin I SimonRebecca J SmithKathryn M StackKim SteadmanBenjamin P WeissAlyssa WerynskiAmy J WilliamsRoger C WiensKenneth H WillifordKathrine WinchellBrittan WogslandAnastasia YanchilinaRachel YinglingMaría-Paz ZorzanoPublished in: Science (New York, N.Y.) (2022)
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, probably formed by later modifications of the rocks by brine. Fluorescence signatures consistent with aromatic organic compounds occur throughout these rocks, preserved in minerals related to both aqueous environments.