Iceland review - 2019, Side 48

44
Iceland Review
Jezero, Iceland
The site we are standing on was chosen due to its
likeness to the Jezero Crater. Mars’ surface is mainly
composed of tholeiitic basalt, which closely resem-
bles the basalt sand surrounding Lambahraun lava
field. Sand-E team leader Dr. Ryan Ewing, associate
professor in geology and geophysics at Texas A&M
University, says the research done here will help the
Mars 2020 mission interpret the geology of Mars.
“This landscape is quite similar to Jezero, which is
a desert crater with a riverbed in the bottom. We’re
interested in this specific area because here we have a
glacier upstream of this river eroding volcanic rocks,
similar to what we find on Mars. The geomorphology
of the landscape here is an alluvial fan, a river spread
out on this broad plain. What we observe is that
rocks change in their size, shape, and chemistry as
we move downstream into different environments.”
Potentially, the mission could prove the presence
of ancient microbial life on Mars, as the fine grains
found in Jezero Crater have a higher probability of
containing organic material than material elsewhere
on the red planet. Those grains are spread out in a
similar way to those found in the Lambahraun area.
Assessment and opportunity
The ground-breaking Autonomic Soil Assessment
System (ASAS) lets the rover automatically assess
WE’RE INTERESTED IN THIS SPECIFIC
AREA BECAUSE HERE WE HAVE
A GLACIER UPSTREAM OF
THIS RIVER ERODING VOLCANIC ROCKS,
SIMILAR TO WHAT WE FIND ON MARS.