MINERAL ABUNDANCES AND SOIL PROPERTIES FOR MARS SCIENCE LABORATORY CANDIDATE LANDING SITES DERIVED FROM CRISM OBSERVATIONS AND MINERALOGIC MODELING

Hydrated minerals are one the primary motivating factors in selecting a final landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. A variety of hydrated minerals have been identified at the four candidate landing sites – Eberswalde Crater, Holden Crater, Gale Crater, and Mawrth Vallis – including hydrated sulfates and phyllosilicates. However, still unclear are the relative abundances of these phases and their distributions along notional rover traverses. Here, we use data from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) and mineralogical modeling to predict the relative abundances and distribution of key minerals at the candidate MSL landing sites.

High-resolution targeted CRISM observations were selected for low atmospheric opacity and IR detector temperature. The atmospheric effects of gases and dust/ice aerosols were removed from the observations using the DISORT-based radiative transfer model with a non-Lambertian surface.

The atmospherically-corrected spectra were then matched to model spectra produced using a Hapke non-linear mixing model. Relative abundances of mineral species and grain sizes are reported for regions of interest at all four landing sites, and the distribution and accessibility of mineral phases are mapped for notional rover traverses.