San Francisco Volcanic Field, Arizona, as AN Analog for Lunar and Martian Surface Exploration

Details San Francisco Volcanic Field, Arizona, as AN Analog for Lunar and Martian Surface Exploration San Francisco Volcanic Field, Arizona, as AN Analog for Lunar and Martian Surface Exploration

Dec 2010

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010agufm.p13b1378y&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2010, abstract #P13B-1378

Mathematics

Logic

[5400] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets, [6297] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Instruments And Techniques

Scientific paper

Terrestrial analog sites are an important tool that planetary geologists and engineers can use to examine both the geologic processes that shape other planetary surfaces as well as to develop and test technologies that are needed for the exploration of planetary surfaces. During the Apollo era, sites like Meteor Crater, Arizona, were used to train astronauts in the protocols and practices of field geology so that their lunar surface activities would be more geologically productive and efficient. As we enter a new period of planetary surface exploration, analogs will be increasingly important in preparing the next generation of both human and robotic planetary explorers. No single analog will be representative of another planetary surface, but testing technologies in a variety of settings will provide NASA and other space agencies with the operational knowledge needed to launch exploratory missions. The site we present here is one of many that can be used to explore surface operations on other planetary surfaces. The San Francisco Volcanic Field (SFVF), containing both SP Crater and Black Point Lava Flow (BPLF), Arizona, is currently being used as the test site for the Desert Research and Technology Studies (D-RATS) field test, coordinated by Johnson Space Center (JSC) and involving several other NASA centers. During the 2010 test, two habitat rovers (Space Exploration Vehicles, or SEVs) operated simultaneously, each with one astronaut crewmember and one geologist crewmember. The mission lasted 14 days and traversed some 150 km. The geologic setting of SFVF includes a series of ~2 Ma basaltic lava flows overlying Triassic sedimentary rocks, both among the predominant rock types that are found primarily on Mars. SFVF has also been identified as an analog to the Marius Hills on the Moon, a Constellation site of interest. In addition, D-RATS 2010 is simulating operational scenarios based on notional traverses near the Malapert Massif on the lunar surface. While SFVF is similar to several sites on both the Moon and Mars, and it is logistically easy for some 120 ground support staff and their equipment to access and operate in, there are several factors that need to be considered when evaluating the fidelity of SFVF and the D-RATS activities and analogs. For example, the lack of conventional sedimentary processes on the Moon detracts from its scientific fidelity as a lunar analog. While lava flows on Mars seem to have similar morphology and outcrop patterns to SFVF, there are no lunar analogs where volcanic flows lie on top of sedimentary outcrops. This presentation will discuss both the merits and limitations of this analog site.

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