The Opportunity Rover's Athena Science Investigation at Meridiani Planum, Mars

TLDR

Opportunity’s exploration of Meridiani Planum revealed basaltic sand soils with hematite‑rich spherules, wind‑rippled surfaces, and finely laminated, sulfur‑rich sedimentary rocks containing abundant sulfate salts. Cross‑lamination and spherule concretions indicate episodic shallow water deposition, followed by evaporation, exposure, desiccation, and postdepositional diagenesis involving liquid water.

Abstract

The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has investigated the landing site in Eagle crater and the nearby plains within Meridiani Planum. The soils consist of fine-grained basaltic sand and a surface lag of hematite-rich spherules, spherule fragments, and other granules. Wind ripples are common. Underlying the thin soil layer, and exposed within small impact craters and troughs, are flat-lying sedimentary rocks. These rocks are finely laminated, are rich in sulfur, and contain abundant sulfate salts. Small-scale cross-lamination in some locations provides evidence for deposition in flowing liquid water. We interpret the rocks to be a mixture of chemical and siliciclastic sediments formed by episodic inundation by shallow surface water, followed by evaporation, exposure, and desiccation. Hematite-rich spherules are embedded in the rock and eroding from them. We interpret these spherules to be concretions formed by postdepositional diagenesis, again involving liquid water.