Jezero Delta Campaign, Sols 414-1000, 21 Apr 2022- 23 Dec 2023 |
Jezero Delta Campaign, Sols 414-1000, 21 Apr 2022- 23 Dec 2023 |
Apr 21 2022, 07:21 PM
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#16
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Member Group: Members Posts: 362 Joined: 13-April 06 From: Malta Member No.: 741 |
Think we can kick off the new phase of exploration at Jezero.
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Apr 28 2022, 08:57 AM
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#17
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 75 Joined: 8-July 15 Member No.: 7566 |
I concur with john_s. The rocks on Sol 420, best seen in Ant103's panorama, in my opinion look like the igneous rocks we saw earlier. Their colour, texture, and subdued relief reminds me of the upper Maaz formation members encountered early in the mission, remember the first failed coring attempt? Meanwhile the Sol 421 lithology is very different and is all consistent with prodelta mudstones, which must be an exciting moment for the mission's geologists.
That means sometime in the last drive, the rover crossed the geological contact between the two units. On the surface, this contact may not have been spotted, as the area is covered in sand ripples and the contact is between two quite soft rock types. However, perhaps they've detected the contact in the subsurface using Rimfax, the radar instrument. In fact, the last two drives look very well suited for doing such a radar survey: the rover pivoted northwards and has conducted a nearly straight, N-S transect across the boundary, so I expect that's what they're doing right now. The rover did this same thing the last time it crossed a major boundary, when it entered the Seitah Formation around Sol 200 (see image for the results of that survey). I wonder if this was a major motivation for the rover planners choosing to come here in the first place instead of going to Hawksbill Gap: because this area better preserves the contact between the delta and the lava flow, allowing them to do a transect & Rimfax survey. |
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