Oxia Palus quadrangle

Oxia Palus quadrangle
Map of Oxia Palus quadrangle from Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data. The highest elevations are red and the lowest are blue.
Coordinates15°00′N 22°30′W / 15°N 22.5°W / 15; -22.5
Image of the Oxia Palus Quadrangle (MC-11). The region contains heavily cratered highlands in the southeast which are intersected by several large outflow channels terminating in the relatively smooth plains of Chryse basin in the northwest.

The Oxia Palus quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Oxia Palus quadrangle is also referred to as MC-11 (Mars Chart-11).[1]

The quadrangle covers the region of 0° to 45° west longitude and 0° to 30° north latitude on Mars. This quadrangle contains parts of many regions: Chryse Planitia, Arabia Terra, Xanthe Terra, Margaritifer Terra, Meridiani Planum and Oxia Planum.

Mars Pathfinder landed in the Oxia Palus quadrangle at 19°08′N 33°13′W / 19.13°N 33.22°W / 19.13; -33.22, on July 4, 1997, at the intersection Tiu Valles and Ares Vallis.

Many craters within Oxia Palus are named after famous scientists. Besides Galilei and da Vinci, some of the people who discovered the atom and radiation are honored there: Curie, Becquerel, and Rutherford.[2]

Mawrth Vallis was strongly considered as a landing site for NASA's Curiosity rover, the Mars Science Laboratory.[3] It made it to at least the top two sites for NASA's EXoMars 2020 Rover mission. The exact location proposed for this landing is 22.16 N and 342.05 E.[4]

The Mawrth Vallis region is well studied with more than 40 papers published in peer-reviewed publications. Near the Mawrth channel is a 200 meter high plateau with many exposed layers. Spectral studies have detected clay minerals that present as a sequence of layers.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Clay minerals were probably deposited in the Early to Middle Noachian period. Later weathering exposed a variety of minerals such as kaolin, alunite, and jarosite. Later, volcanic material covered the region. This volcanic material would have protected any possible organic materials from radiation.[16]

Another site in the Oxia Palus quadrangle has been picked for the EXoMars 2020 landing is at 18.14 N and 335.76 E. This site is of interest because of a long-duration aqueous system including a delta, possible biosignatures, and a variety of clays.[4][17][18]

This quadrangle contains abundant evidence for past water in such forms as river valleys, lakes, springs, and chaos areas where water flowed out of the ground. A variety of clay minerals have been found in Oxia Palus. Clay is formed in water, and it is good for preserving microscopic evidence of ancient life.[19] Recently, scientists have found strong evidence for a lake located in the Oxia Palus quadrangle that received drainage from Shalbatana Vallis. The study, carried out with HiRISE images, indicates that water formed a 30-mile-long canyon that opened up into a valley, deposited sediment, and created a delta. This delta and others around the basin imply the existence of a large, long-lived lake. Of special interest is evidence that the lake formed after the warm, wet period was thought to have ended. So, lakes may have been around much longer than previously thought. [20][21] In October 2015, Oxia Planum, a plain located near 18°16′30″N 335°22′05″E / 18.275°N 335.368°E / 18.275; 335.368,[22] was reported to be the preferred landing location for the ExoMars rover.[23][24] An erosion-resistant layer on top of clay units may have preserved evidence of life.[25][26]

  1. ^ Davies, M.E.; Batson, R.M.; Wu, S.S.C. "Geodesy and Cartography" in Kieffer, H.H.; Jakosky, B.M.; Snyder, C.W.; Matthews, M.S., Eds. Mars. University of Arizona Press: Tucson, 1992.
  2. ^ U.S. department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey, Topographic Map of the Eastern Region of Mars M 15M 0/270 2AT, 1991
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  4. ^ a b https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2018/eposter/2177.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  5. ^ Poulet; et al. (2005). "Phyllosilicates on Mars and implications for early martian climate". Nature. 438 (7068): 623–627. Bibcode:2005Natur.438..623P. doi:10.1038/nature04274. PMID 16319882. S2CID 7465822.
  6. ^ Loizeau et al. 2007. JGR 112, E08S08
  7. ^ Bishop; et al. (2008). "Phyllosilicate Diversity and Past Aqueous Activity Revealed at Mawrth Vallis, Mars". Science. 321 (5890): 830–3. Bibcode:2008Sci...321..830B. doi:10.1126/science.1159699. PMC 7007808. PMID 18687963. S2CID 32231092.
  8. ^ Noe Dobrea et al. 2010. JGR 115, E00D19
  9. ^ Michalski, Noe Dobrea. 2007. Geol. 35, 10.
  10. ^ Loizeau; et al. (2010). "Stratigraphy in the Mawrth Vallis region through OMEGA, HRSC color imagery and DTM" (PDF). Icarus. 205 (2): 396–418. Bibcode:2010Icar..205..396L. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2009.04.018.
  11. ^ Farrand; et al. (2009). "Discovery of jarosite within the Mawrth Vallis region of Mars: Implications for the geologic history of the region". Icarus. 204 (2): 478–488. Bibcode:2009Icar..204..478F. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2009.07.014.
  12. ^ Wray; et al. (2010). "Identification of the Ca-sulfate bassanite in Mawrth Vallis, Mars". Icarus. 209 (2): 416–421. Bibcode:2010Icar..209..416W. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2010.06.001.
  13. ^ Bishop; et al. (2013). "What the Ancient Phyllosilicates at Mawrth Vallis can tell us about Possible Habitability on Early Mars". PSS. 86: 130–149. Bibcode:2013P&SS...86..130B. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2013.05.006.
  14. ^ Michalski; et al. (2013). "Multiple working hypotheses for the formation of compositional stratigraphy on Mars: Insights from the Mawrth Vallis region". Icarus. 226 (1): 816–840. Bibcode:2013Icar..226..816M. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2013.05.024.
  15. ^ Michalski; et al. (2010). "The Mawrth Vallis Region of Mars: A Potential Landing Site for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Mission". Astrobiology. 10 (7): 687–703. Bibcode:2010AsBio..10..687M. doi:10.1089/ast.2010.0491. PMID 20950170.
  16. ^ Gross, C. et al. 2016. MAWRTH VALLIS – PROPOSED LANDING SITE FOR EXOMARS 2018/2020. 47th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2016) 1421.pdf
  17. ^ ] Quantin C. et al. (2014) ExoMars LSSW#1
  18. ^ "ESA - Robotic Exploration of Mars".
  19. ^ http://themis.asu.edu/features/marwrthvillis[permanent dead link]
  20. ^ "CU Researchers Find First Definitive Evidence for Ancient Lake on Mars | News Center | University of Colorado at Boulder". Archived from the original on 2011-12-29. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  21. ^ "Evidence Found for Ancient Mars Lake". Space.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-21. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  22. ^ Bridges, John (July 1, 2015). "Clay-Rich Terrain in Oxia Planum: A Proposed ExoMars Landing Site". Arizona University. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  23. ^ Amos, Jonathan (October 21, 2015). "ExoMars rover: Landing preference is for Oxia Planum". BBC News. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  24. ^ Atkinson, Nancy (October 21, 2015). "Scientists Want ExoMars Rover to Land at Oxia Planum". Universe Today. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  25. ^ Quantin, C. et al. 2015. EPSC2015-704
  26. ^ Quantin C. et al. (2015) ExoMars LSSW#