Martian soils: Varieties, structure, composition, physical properties, drillability, and risks for landers

Abstract

This paper has collected data on different properties of Martian soils, which can be of interest to developers of instruments and spacecraft for the exploration of this planet. These data are dispersed in numerous publications of different years, which are not always available; therefore, this collection will facilitate their search and study. It has been shown that, in the first approximation, the diversity of Martian soils can be reduced to four varieties of dry regolith, frozen regolith, soft rocks, and hard rocks. Information on the structure and composition of Martian soils and their physical, thermophysical, and mechanical properties is based on the analysis of orbital sensing data, those obtained by seven landing spacecraft, and analogous terrestrial materials. The drillability of Martial soils and risks for landers are considered separately.