Atmospheric Physics Building,Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU
Professor Erwin Dehouck, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon
Andrea Simpson - andrea.simpson@physics.ox.ac.uk
Abstract
The geologic record of Mars can provide crucial constraints on its ancient climate and help us evaluate whether, and for how long, its surface might have been habitable. In February 2021, the NASA Perseverance rover landed in Jezero, a ~45-km-large, ~3.9-Ga-old crater located on the western margin of the Isidis basin. Since then, the rover has driven nearly 40 km and explored terrains of different age and nature, collecting images, data, and samples along the way. One of the most frequently used instruments onboard is SuperCam, which combines several spectroscopic techniques to remotely analyze the chemical and mineralogical composition of the rocks around the rover. This talk will present some of the major findings from SuperCam that shed light on the geologic and aqueous history of Jezero, as well as on the climatic conditions required to form the observed mineral assemblages.