Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Dec 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufm.p32b..01c&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #P32B-01
Mathematics
Logic
[5410] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Composition, [5464] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Remote Sensing, [6225] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Mars
Scientific paper
Our current scientific understanding of Mars has been established through a systematic sequence of missions, beginning 45 years ago with flybys, and followed by reconnaissance from orbiters and landers, detailed mapping from highly sophisticated orbiters, and, most recently, rovers that are capable of true geologic and geochemical exploration. The past fifteen years of intense exploration has revolutionized our knowledge and understanding of Mars, changing our view of Mars from a cold, dry planet in which the activity occurred billions of years ago, to one with an extensive inventory of near-surface snow and ice, recently-active aqueous processes, and a remarkable diversity of aqueous environments that show evidence for major differences in aqueous chemistry, conditions, and processes. The bulk of this knowledge has come from the analysis of global remote sensing data, which have provided elemental and mineralogic composition maps, morphology at sub-meter resolution, and information on the physical properties of the regolith. While these remote data sets provide a wealth of insight into past and present surface process, they are limited in the detection of potentially important minor phases, and cannot provide details at spatial scales that are often necessary to understand the details of formation mechanisms. The MER rovers demonstrated the tremendous utility of in situ investigations to ground truth the global remote sensing, and in many cases confirmed the discoveries from orbit. However, even in situ observations are limited, with severe restrictions on the set of experiments that can be performed because of the difficulty of miniaturizing state-of-the-art analytical tools within limited rover payload capacity. The recently published NRC Planetary Science Decadal Survey Report placed pursuing the questions of habitability and the potential origin and evolution of life on Mars as the highest priority Mars science goal. Among the key questions to be studied are what are the nature, ages, and origin of the diverse suite of aqueous environments, were any of them habitable, how, when, and why did environments vary through time, and finally, did any of them host life or its precursors? A critical next step toward answering these questions would be provided through the analysis of carefully selected samples from geologically diverse and well-characterized sites that are returned to Earth for detailed study. This sample return campaign is envisioned as a sequence of three missions that collect the samples, place them into Mars orbit, and return them to Earth. Our existing scientific knowledge of Mars makes it possible to select a site at which specific, detailed hypotheses can be tested, and from which the orbital mapping can be validated and extended globally. Existing and future analysis techniques developed in laboratories around the world will provide the means to perform a wide array of tests on these samples, develop hypotheses for the origin of their chemical, isotopic, and morphologic signatures, and, most importantly, perform follow-up measurements to test and validate the findings. These analyses will dramatically improve our understanding of the geologic processes and history of Mars, and through their ties to the global geologic context, will once again revolutionize our understanding of this complex planet.
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