Ancient Alluvial Plains at Oxia Planum, Mars

Davis, J. M.; Balme, M. R.; Fawdon, P.; Grindrod, Peter M.; Favaro, Elena A.; Banham, S. G.; Thomas, N.

doi:10.1002/essoar.10511552.1

Cited by 2 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Additional contextual evidence precludes the survival of small constructional landforms over geological time: the mounds are in a region with multitudes of other erosional landforms such as inverted channels (Davis et al., 2022; Fawdon et al., 2021a, 2022), inverted craters (Quantin‐Nataf et al., 2021; Roberts et al., 2021), Periodic Bedrock Ridges (Favaro et al., 2021; Silvestro et al., 2021), and the DRU (Fawdon et al., 2021a; Quantin‐Nataf et al., 2021). These, along with the low surface dust index (Ruff & Christensen, 2002) and population of aeolian bedforms indicative of transport over a long period of time (Favaro et al., 2021), are indicative of an erosive environment in Oxia Planum.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mounds in Oxia Planum: The Burial and Exhumation of the ExoMars Rover Landing Site

et al. 2022

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Oxia Planum is the planned landing site of ESA's ExoMars "Rosalind Franklin" rover (Vago et al., 2017). This low-relief plain is situated on the hemispheric dichotomy boundary in the transitional terrain (classified as HNCc1-Early Hesperian to Late Noachian in Tanaka et al. (2005)) between the ancient, rugged highlands of Arabia Terra and the younger, smoother lowlands of Chryse Planitia. Rosalind Franklin will investigate the surface and subsurface geologic and geochemical environments of Oxia Planum, with a primary objective to search for evidence of extinct life through the identification of potential habitable paleoenvironments and biosignatures (Vago et al., 2017). Oxia Planum contains a diversity of Noachian-aged geologic features and geochemical characteristics which make it a suitable candidate for astrobiological exploration, including extensive Fe/Mg-rich clay-bearing plains indicative of widespread aqueous alteration (e.g.,

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mounds in Oxia Planum: The Burial and Exhumation of the ExoMars Rover Landing Site

et al. 2022

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“…Oxia Planum's geology records Noachian basement (Pan et al, 2019;Quantin-Nataf et al, 2021) and global-scale tectonic fabrics (Anderson et al, 2001;Woodley et al, 2023). The wider region was extensively modified during the late Noachian and Hesperian periods, as shown by evidence of fluvial and paleo-lake activity (Davis et al, 2023;Fawdon et al, 2022;Gary-Bicas & Rogers, 2021;Mandon et al, 2021;Molina et al, 2017;Quantin-Nataf et al, 2021), possible shoreline formation (e.g. Dickeson & Davis, 2020), volcanism (Michalski & Bleacher, 2013), and aqueous alteration (Bultel et al, 2019;Carter et al, 2015).…”

Section: Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Layering often variable in thickness. uBG1 is also strongly associated with inverted/ exhumed channels (Davis et al, 2023) uBg3 Upper Bedrock Group 3 -HiRISE: Bright, rough, small-scale (<5 m) fractures/knobs with darker material between them. CaSSIS: Dark blue/black with bright speckles.…”

Section: Bedrock Unitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the upper bedrock group (uBg) we also map three units. The uBg dose not have such a strong association with aqueous alteration, but in the wider Oxia Planum region do contain exhumed fluvial channel bodies (Davis et al, 2023;Fawdon et al, 2022). The top of the group (uBg1) forms a thin resistant layer directly underlying both the Mound material group and the overlying Dark material unit.…”

Section: Lower Bedrock Group Lbg1 Lowermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Found in regional topographic lows, on local topographic highs, often surrounded by a moat. Often found in continuum with inverted and low relief channels(Davis et al, 2023;Fawdon et al, 2022).iDmInterbedded dark material -HiRISE: High relief, bright ∼1-3 m diameter rounded knobs picked out by dark infilling material. Occasional bright blocks.…”

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The high-resolution map of Oxia Planum, Mars; the landing site of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission

Fawdon,

Orgel,

Adeli

et al. 2024

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Introduction: Oxia Planum (OP) [1] is the selected landing site for the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin (RF) Rover. The goal of the reformulated ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission, now in planning for launch in 2028, is to search for signs of past and present life and to characterize the water and geochemical environment in the subsurface as a function of depth. RF will accomplish this with its ‘Pasteur’ suite of scientific instruments, and a drilling and sampling subsystem to retrieve samples for analysis from up to 2 m depth [2].In preparation for the 2022 mission, The ExoMars science team undertook a geological mapping exercise of the landing site [3] prioritizing the 1-sigma area of the 2022 landing ellipses (Fig 1). The goal of this map is to develop a thorough understanding prior to rover operations of the OP landing site’s geography, stratigraphy, and geological history, and to provide testable hypotheses to facilitate interpretation of results and address the mission’s science objectives.Here we present the completed map of Oxia Planum, our interpretations of the major geological units, the leading hypotheses for some major units and implications for astrobiology goals of the mission. Figure 1: The compleated map sheet of the 1:25,000 scale landing site map (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17445647.2024.2302361 ) Progress: The compleat map (Figuer 1) is presented at a scale of 1:30,000 and includes 14 bedrock geological units in 6 groups, 6 overlay units and geomorphic linework.Interpretations and Hypotheses: This map is a detailed investigation into geological units of the proposed landing site; however these units are also representative of the wider Oxia Planum region. To formulate interpretation and hypothesis we incorporate these additional contextual observations and consider a range of possible interpretations and associated confidences presented in [4].Lower bedrock group (lBg; lBg1, lBg 2, lBg3) –materials with orange tone CaSSIS Near IR Panchromatic Blue channel images strongly associated with phyllosilicate spectral signatures. Also includes brighter ‘knobby’ materials, whether these are stratigraphically distinct layers or lateral variation is unclear. Contextual observation suggests the origin of these units may be the upper part of a lacustrine to alluvial succession [5] but it is also likely that the alteration predominantly occurred in situ [6, 7].Upper Bedrock group (uBg; uBg1, uBg2, uBg3) – uBg1 forms a thin resistant layer directly underlying Mm and oDm units. uBg2 and uBg3 host a boxwork of upstanding ridges associated with high relief areas such as scarps and large ridges. Regionally extensive, this unit crops out as a mantling layer, and contains exhumed fluvial channel bodies, so an origin related to fluvial and groundwater processes is possible, but this may be reworking of widespread volcanoclastic material.Mound material (Mm; hMm, rMm) – This unit group constitutes isolated hills (hMm) and ridges (rMm), which are part of a regional population. Mm predates the dark group and appears to be remnants of a ~100 m thick layer [8]. However, deposition and erosion mechanics for the unit are unresolved.Dark material (Dm; oDm iDm) – Thin (~1 m), rough units with lots of trapped regolith, are found at the top of the stratigraphy (oDm) on local topographic highs in regional topographic lows, or interbedded with the lBgBright patches (Bp; cfBp, cBp) – Light toned patches with concentric layers occur in (250m), but not infilled, craters.Crater materials (Cm; nCM, rCm, dCm) – Material relating to impact craters show degradation states varying from fresh dark ejecta (nCm) to degraded and overlain rims (dCm).Conclusions: The mapping effort is now completed. Since the resumption of the ExoMars mission we are working towards publication of the map, data and accompanying report to support science activities in preparation for the planned 2028 launch. Acknowledgments: We thank the CaSSIS and HiRISE teams for ongoing data collection. PF thanks UK Space Agency for funding (ST/W002736/1)References: [1] Fawdon, et al (2021) Journal of Maps, 17:2, 621-637, [2] Vago, J. et al., (2017) Astrobiology 17 (6–7), 471–510. [3] Sefton-Nash, E. et al., (2021) in LPSC 51, Abs.# 1947. [4] Fawdon P. in LPSC54 abs#2061 [5] Fawdon et al., 2022 JGRp 127, e2021JE007045 [6] Mandon et al, 2022 Astrobiology 2021 21:4, 464-480 [7] McNeil et al, LPSC54 abs#1252 [8] McNeil et al 2022 JGRp 127, e2022JE007246 

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Ancient Alluvial Plains at Oxia Planum, Mars

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Cited by 2 publications

References 36 publications

Mounds in Oxia Planum: The Burial and Exhumation of the ExoMars Rover Landing Site

Mounds in Oxia Planum: The Burial and Exhumation of the ExoMars Rover Landing Site

The high-resolution map of Oxia Planum, Mars; the landing site of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission

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