In Situ and Orbital Stratigraphic Characterization of the InSight Landing Site—A Type Example of a Regolith‐Covered Lava Plain on Mars

Autor: N. H. Warner, M. P. Golombek, V. Ansan, E. Marteau, N. Williams, J. A. Grant, E. Hauber, C. Weitz, S. Wilson, S. Piqueux, N. Mueller, M. Grott, T. Spohn, L. Pan, C. Schmelzbach, I. J. Daubar, J. Garvin, C. Charalambous, M. Baker, M. Banks
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Warner, N H, Golombek, M P, Ansan, V, Marteau, E, Williams, N, Grant, J A, Hauber, E, Weitz, C, Wilson, S, Piqueux, S, Mueller, N, Grott, M, Spohn, T, Pan, L, Schmelzbach, C, Daubar, I J, Garvin, J, Charalambous, C, Baker, M & Banks, M 2022, ' In Situ and Orbital Stratigraphic Characterization of the InSight Landing Site-A Type Example of a Regolith-Covered Lava Plain on Mars ', Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, vol. 127, no. 4, e2022JE007232 . https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JE007232
Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 127 (4)
ISSN: 2169-9100
2169-9097
0148-0227
Popis: The InSight lander rests on a regolith-covered, Hesperian to Early Amazonian lava plain in Elysium Planitia within a ∼27-m-diameter, degraded impact crater called Homestead hollow. The km to cm-scale stratigraphy beneath the lander is relevant to the mission's geophysical investigations. Geologic mapping and crater statistics indicate that ∼170 m of mostly Hesperian to Early Amazonian basaltic lavas are underlain by Noachian to Early Hesperian (∼3.6 Ga) materials of possible sedimentary origin. Up to ∼140 m of this volcanic resurfacing occurred in the Early Amazonian at 1.7 Ga, accounting for removal of craters ≤700 m in diameter. Seismic data however, suggest a clastic horizon that interrupts the volcanic sequence between depths of ∼30 and ∼75 m. Meter-scale stratigraphy beneath the lander is constrained by local and regional regolith thickness estimates that indicate up to 10–30 m of coarse-grained, brecciated regolith that fines upwards to a ∼3 m thick loosely-consolidated, sand-dominated unit. The maximum depth of Homestead hollow, at ∼3 m, indicates that the crater is entirely embedded in regolith. The hollow is filled by sand-size eolian sediments, with contributions from sand to cobble-size slope debris, and sand to cobble-size ejecta. Lander-based observations indicate that the fill at Homestead hollow contains a cohesive layer down to ∼10–20 cm depth that is visible in lander rocket-excavated pits and the HP3 mole hole. The surface of the landing site is capped by a ∼1 to 2 cm-thick loosely granular, sand-sized layer with a microns-thick surficial dust horizon.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 127 (4)
ISSN:0148-0227
ISSN:2169-9097
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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