Aqueous alteration processes in Jezero crater, Mars—implications for organic geochemistry
Eva L. Scheller, Joseph Razzell Hollis, Emily Cardarelli, A. Steele, L. W. Beegle, R. Bhartia, P. G. Conrad, Kyle Uckert, Sunanda Sharma, B. L. Ehlmann, William Abbey, Sanford A. Asher, Kathleen C. Benison, E. L. Berger, Olivier Beyssac, Benjamin L. Bleefeld, Tanja Bosak, A. J. Brown, Aaron S. Burton, Sergei V. Bykov, E. A. Cloutis, Alberto González Fairén, Lauren DeFlores, Kenneth A. Farley, Deidra M. Fey, Teresa Fornaro, Allison C. Fox, M. Fries, Keyron Hickman‐Lewis, William F. Hug, Joshua Huggett, Samara Imbeah, Ryan S. Jakubek, Linda C. Kah, P. B. Kelemen, M. R. Kennedy, T. V. Kizovski, Carina Lee, Yang Liu, Lucia Mandon, F. M. McCubbin, Kelsey R. Moore, Brian Nixon, Jorge I. Núñez, Carolina Rodriguez Sánchez-Vahamonde, Ryan D. Roppel, M. Schulte, Mark A. Sephton, Shiv K. Sharma, Sandra Siljeström, Svetlana Shkolyar, David L. Shuster, Justin I. Simon, R. J. Smith, K. M. Stack, Kim Steadman, B. P. Weiss, Alyssa Werynski, Amy J. Williams, R. C. Wiens, Kenneth H. Williford, K. Winchell, Brittan Wogsland, Anastasia Yanchilina, Rachel Yingling, María‐Paz Zorzano
Abstract
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, which probably formed by later modifications of the rocks by brine. Fluorescence signatures consistent with aromatic organic compounds occur throughout these rocks and are preserved in minerals related to both aqueous environments.