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Mars 2001 Mission: Addressing Scientific Questions Regarding the Characteristics and Origin of Local Bedrock and SoilThe Mars Surveyor Program 2001 Mission will carry instruments on the orbiter, lander and rover that will support synergistic observations and experiments to address important scientific questions regarding the local bedrock and soils. The martian surface is covered in varying degrees by fine materials less than a few mms in size. Viking and Pathfinder images of the surface indicate that soils at those sites are composed of fine particles. Wheel tracks from the Sojourner rover suggest that soil deposits are composed of particles <40 mm. Viking images show that dunes are common in many areas on Mars and new MOC images indicate that dunes occur nearly everywhere. Dunes on Mars are thought to be composed of 250-500 microns particles based upon Viking IRTM data and Mars wind tunnel experiments. If martian dunes are composed of sand particles > 100 microns and soils are dominated by <10 micron particles, then where are the intermediate grain sizes? Have they been wom away through prolonged transport over the eons? Were they never generated to begin with? Or are they simply less easy to identify because do they not form distinctive geomorphic features such as dunes or uniform mantles that tend to assume superposition in the soil structure?
Document ID
20000025375
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Saunders, R. S.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA United States)
Arvidson, R. E.
(Washington Univ. Saint Louis, MO United States)
Weitz, C. M.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA United States)
Marshall, J.
(Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Inst. Moffett Field, CA United States)
Squyres, S. W.
(Cornell Univ. Ithaca, NY United States)
Christensen, P. R.
(Arizona State Univ. Tempe, AZ United States)
Meloy, T.
(West Virginia Univ. Morgantown, WV United States)
Smith, P.
(Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ United States)
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
September 1, 1999
Publication Information
Publication: Studies of Mineralogical and Textural Properties of Martian Soil: An Exobiological Perspective
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: Lunar and Planetary Science
Location: Houston, TX
Country: United States
Start Date: March 15, 1999
End Date: March 19, 1999
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NCC2-926
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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