Mars2020 and Mars Sample Return

TL;DR

This paper discusses the Mars2020 mission, focusing on remote sensing analysis of a specific olivine-rich unit in Jezero crater, its astrobiological importance, and the overall Mars Sample Return architecture.

Contribution

It provides a detailed remote sensing characterization of a Jezero crater unit and explores its astrobiological significance in the context of Mars Sample Return.

Findings

Characterized olivine grain size and Fe/Mg ratio using CRISM data.

Identified the unit's potential astrobiological relevance based on analogies with early Earth.

Discussed the current Mars Sample Return mission architecture.

Abstract

Mars Sample Return consists of three separate missions, the first of which is the Mars2020 rover which will land at Jezero crater on February 18, 2021. We describe here our remote sensing study of a particular unit that outcrops in Jezero crater that is likely to be part of the return sample suite. We report on our efforts to characterize the olivine unit using data from the CRISM instrument, including the grain size and Fe/Mg (Fo) number of the olivine. We also discuss the astrobiological significance of the unit by analogy with the stromatolite-bearing early Archean Warrawoona group in Western Australia. We also discuss the current state of the MSR architecture.