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Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle
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Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle
The Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle is also referred to as MC-19 (Mars Chart-19). The Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle covers the area from 0° to 45° west longitude and 0° to 30° south latitude on Mars. Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle contains Margaritifer Terra and parts of Xanthe Terra, Noachis Terra, Arabia Terra, and Meridiani Planum.
The name of this quadrangle means "pearl bay" after the pearl coast at Cape Comorin in South India.
This quadrangle shows many signs of past water with evidence of lakes, deltas, ancient rivers, inverted channels, and chaos regions that released water. Margaritifer Sinus contains some of the longest lake-chain systems on Mars, perhaps because of a wetter climate, more groundwater, or some of each factor. The Samara/Himera lake-chain system is about 1800 km long; the Parara/Loire valley network and lake-chain system is about 1100 km long. A low area between Parana Valles and Loire Vallis is believed to have once held a lake. The 154 km diameter Holden Crater also once held a lake. Near Holden Crater is a graben, called Erythraea Fossa, that once held a chain of three lakes.
This region contains abundant clay-bearing sediments of Noachian age. Spectral studies with CRISM showed Fe/Mg-phyllosilicates, a type of clay. Biological materials can be preserved in clay. It is believed that this clay was formed in near-neutral pH water. The clay was not mixed with sulfates which form under acid conditions. Life is probably more likely to form under neutral pH conditions.
This region of Mars is famous because the Opportunity Rover landed there on January 25, 2004, at 1.94°S and 354.47°E (5.53° W). NASA declared the mission over in a press conference on February 13, 2019. This mission lasted almost 15 years. Russia's Mars 6 crash-landed in Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle at 23.9 S and 19.42 W.
Opportunity Rover found that the soil at Meridiani Planum was very similar to the soil at Gusev crater and Ares Vallis; however in many places at Meridiani the soil was covered with round, hard, gray spherules that were named "blueberries". These blueberries were found to be composed almost entirely of the mineral hematite. It was decided that the spectra signal spotted from orbit by Mars Odyssey was produced by these spherules. After further study it was decided that the blueberries were concretions formed in the ground by water. Over time, these concretions weathered from what was overlying rock, and then became concentrated on the surface as a lag deposit. The concentration of spherules in bedrock could have produced the observed blueberry covering from the weathering of as little as one meter of rock. Most of the soil consisted of olivine basalt sands that did not come from the local rocks. The sand may have been transported from somewhere else.
A Mössbauer spectrum was made of the dust that gathered on Opportunity's capture magnet. The results suggested that the magnetic component of the dust was titanomagnetite, rather than just plain magnetite, as was once thought. A small amount of olivine was also detected which was interpreted as indicating a long arid period on the planet. On the other hand, a small amount of hematite that was present meant that there may have been liquid water for a short time in the early history of the planet. Because the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) found it easy to grind into the bedrocks, it is thought that the rocks are much softer than the rocks at Gusev crater.
Few rocks were visible on the surface where Opportunity landed, but bedrock that was exposed in craters was examined by the suit of instruments on the Rover. Bedrock rocks were found to be sedimentary rocks with a high concentration of sulfur in the form of calcium and magnesium sulfates. Some of the sulfates that may be present in bedrocks are kieserite, sulfate anhydrate, bassanite, hexahydrite, epsomite, and gypsum. Salts, such as halite, bischofite, antarcticite, bloedite, vanthoffite, or glauberite, may also be present.
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Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle
The Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle is also referred to as MC-19 (Mars Chart-19). The Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle covers the area from 0° to 45° west longitude and 0° to 30° south latitude on Mars. Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle contains Margaritifer Terra and parts of Xanthe Terra, Noachis Terra, Arabia Terra, and Meridiani Planum.
The name of this quadrangle means "pearl bay" after the pearl coast at Cape Comorin in South India.
This quadrangle shows many signs of past water with evidence of lakes, deltas, ancient rivers, inverted channels, and chaos regions that released water. Margaritifer Sinus contains some of the longest lake-chain systems on Mars, perhaps because of a wetter climate, more groundwater, or some of each factor. The Samara/Himera lake-chain system is about 1800 km long; the Parara/Loire valley network and lake-chain system is about 1100 km long. A low area between Parana Valles and Loire Vallis is believed to have once held a lake. The 154 km diameter Holden Crater also once held a lake. Near Holden Crater is a graben, called Erythraea Fossa, that once held a chain of three lakes.
This region contains abundant clay-bearing sediments of Noachian age. Spectral studies with CRISM showed Fe/Mg-phyllosilicates, a type of clay. Biological materials can be preserved in clay. It is believed that this clay was formed in near-neutral pH water. The clay was not mixed with sulfates which form under acid conditions. Life is probably more likely to form under neutral pH conditions.
This region of Mars is famous because the Opportunity Rover landed there on January 25, 2004, at 1.94°S and 354.47°E (5.53° W). NASA declared the mission over in a press conference on February 13, 2019. This mission lasted almost 15 years. Russia's Mars 6 crash-landed in Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle at 23.9 S and 19.42 W.
Opportunity Rover found that the soil at Meridiani Planum was very similar to the soil at Gusev crater and Ares Vallis; however in many places at Meridiani the soil was covered with round, hard, gray spherules that were named "blueberries". These blueberries were found to be composed almost entirely of the mineral hematite. It was decided that the spectra signal spotted from orbit by Mars Odyssey was produced by these spherules. After further study it was decided that the blueberries were concretions formed in the ground by water. Over time, these concretions weathered from what was overlying rock, and then became concentrated on the surface as a lag deposit. The concentration of spherules in bedrock could have produced the observed blueberry covering from the weathering of as little as one meter of rock. Most of the soil consisted of olivine basalt sands that did not come from the local rocks. The sand may have been transported from somewhere else.
A Mössbauer spectrum was made of the dust that gathered on Opportunity's capture magnet. The results suggested that the magnetic component of the dust was titanomagnetite, rather than just plain magnetite, as was once thought. A small amount of olivine was also detected which was interpreted as indicating a long arid period on the planet. On the other hand, a small amount of hematite that was present meant that there may have been liquid water for a short time in the early history of the planet. Because the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) found it easy to grind into the bedrocks, it is thought that the rocks are much softer than the rocks at Gusev crater.
Few rocks were visible on the surface where Opportunity landed, but bedrock that was exposed in craters was examined by the suit of instruments on the Rover. Bedrock rocks were found to be sedimentary rocks with a high concentration of sulfur in the form of calcium and magnesium sulfates. Some of the sulfates that may be present in bedrocks are kieserite, sulfate anhydrate, bassanite, hexahydrite, epsomite, and gypsum. Salts, such as halite, bischofite, antarcticite, bloedite, vanthoffite, or glauberite, may also be present.
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