THE MARKER BAND IN GALE CRATER: A SYNTHESIS OF ORBITAL AND GROUND OBSERVATIONS
Résumé
The “Marker Band” (previously called the Marker Bed and Marker Horizon [1-4]) in Gale crater is a distinctive indurated and dark-toned unit observed in the strata of Mount Sharp. From orbital data, the Marker Band (MB) was mapped across much of the western and southern edges of Mount Sharp, spanning over 80 km in distance and 1.6 km in elevation [4]. CRISM spectra of the MB show no hydration signatures and broad absorptions around
~1 and 2 μm interpreted to be from high-Ca pyroxene [4]. Favored origins for the MB based upon orbital observations included a more indurated sulfate, a sandstone, and a volcanic ash deposit. The Curiosity rover recently reached the MB and is now collecting critical in situ measurements to test these postulated and other origins and make new discoveries at the finer mm- to cm-scale that could not be assessed from orbital data. Here we provide a summary of several of the most crucial MB observations made by the rover thus far from sols 3640-3645 and 3668-present.
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