In Situ Geochronology on Mars and the Development of Future Instrumentation

• Published in: Astrobiology Vol. 19; no. 11; p. 1303
• Main Authors: Cohen, Barbara A, Malespin, Charles A, Farley, Kenneth A, Martin, Peter E, Cho, Yuichiro, Mahaffy, Paul R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.11.2019
• Subjects: Instrument development; Geochronology; Mars; Mars rovers

We review the geochronology experiments conducted by the Mars Science Laboratory mission's Curiosity rover to understand when the Gale Crater rocks formed, underwent alteration, and became exposed to cosmogenic radiation. These experiments determined that the detrital minerals in the sedimentar...