MARSCOMPOSITIONOMEGA · A search for habitable environments on Mars: a study of the martian surface composition through the analysis of the OMEGA/Mars Express dataset.
FP6 — Marie Curie Actions (Human Resources and Mobility)
- Duration
- 2004-11-01 → 2006-05-31
- EU contribution
- €261,050
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- OIF
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Results in brief
Final Activity Report Summary - MARSCOMPOSITIONOMEGA (A search for habitable environments on Mars: a study of the Martian surface composition through the analysis of the OMEGA/Mars Express dataset)
The OMEGA/Mars Express instrument, onboard the first European spacecraft orbiting Mars, revealed a new face of the planet to the scientific community. Because of its unprecedented high spatial and spectral resolution it allowed for the identification of a wealth of minerals with strong implications on the Martian history. Different types of sulphates and clays were identified, which forced researchers to adjust their understanding of the water history through time. Based on this new data, it was decided that two phases took place in Martian history, the first with non acidic and the second with acidic water on or near the surface, followed by a dry period. An increased knowledge of Mars volcanic history was also made possible via the identification of spatially defined mineral deposits, such as olivines, calcium rich and poor pyroxenes, as well as through their global mapping. The conditions of formation of these minerals also led to hypotheses constraining the age of formation of the large scale structures. This project contributed to these achievements through allowing the identification of most sulphate types, the global mapping of the deposits, as well as the mapping of some volcanic materials, such as calcium rich and poor pyroxenes. An effort of integration with existing imaging data at different resolution was also made, which allowed for a better understanding of the geological history associated to the minerals.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Is the origin and evolution of Life unique to the Earth or is it a common occurrence on planets when conditions suitable for Life are present? This is perhaps one of the most compelling questions of our time. It is also one that we can begin to answer through the exploration of Mars, and through the analysis of the dataset of OMEGA, the imaging spectrometer onboard the European spacecraft, Mars Express.OMEGA is in Martian orbit since January 2004, and will observe, during the next two years, the whole planet with a spatial resolution of ~2 km and 5% of the planet with a spatial resolution of 300 m. Its spatial resolution is up to 100 times better than the last instrument observing Mars in the visible and near infrared, its spectral resolution is twice better, and its wavelength coverage is extended.My goal is to identify those locations where water has played a major role in Martian history. My PhD was focused on the development of techniques for the rapid retrieval of information from OMEGA data. I developed a method of automatic band detection, and I adapted existing methods of analysis to the specific case of OMEGA data.Tests of these methods were conclusive and are promising for the application on the OMEGA dataset. The Rio Tinto (Spain), has a mean pH of 2 and a high concentration of ferric iron in solution (up to 20 g.L-1). It has been proposed as a Martian analogue terrain. In this peculiar environment an incredible diversity of eukaryotes and prokaryotes exist.The relationships which likely exist between the biota and the mineralogy have not been studied. Through this study we will define criteria to recognize sites analogue to the Rio Tinto in the OMEGA dataset.The successor of OMEGA, the CRISM experiment will be launched in 2005 on board the NASA spacecraft, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. I will use my experience on OMEGA to prepare the data processing of CRISM. This experience will allow that my team in France work on these data in the future.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITé PARIS SUD · ORSAY CEDEXCoordinatorCity levelFrance
- DEPARTEMENT OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES · PROVIDENCECity levelUnited States
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union