Overview of halite detections by chemcam in Gale Crater, Mars
Résumé
Since 2012, the Curiosity rover has been exploring geological records of a paleo-lacustrine environment in Gale crater. It started with the fluvio-deltaic and lacustrine deposits in the Bradbury Group, followed by ∼300 m of stratigraphy through the Murray formation (from the Pahrump Hills to the Jura member) dominated by mudstones and occasionally heterolithic mudstones, siltstones and sandstones. It also crossed the
unconformity with the overlying Stimson formation, dominated by aeolian sandstones, and the Vera Rubin
Ridge, an erosion-resistant section of the Murray fm., which has undergone extensive diagenesis[1]. From Sol
2300 to 3072, Curiosity has explored the Glen Torridon region, previously named “Clay-bearing unit”. Since
Sol 3100 (Mont Mercou), the rover entered the basal Layered Sulfate unit with the objective of documenting
a possible major change in Mars climate history. Evaporitic salts could represent a geochemical marker of this
transition. Here, we provide an overview of previous halite detections by ChemCam [2, 3] and report on new
detections made in the sulfate-bearing unit.
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