A Phoenix Derived Mars Drilling Mission

Robotics and Automation for “Icebreaker”

Authors:

Glass et al

Abstract:

The proposed “Icebreaker” mission is a return to the Mars polar latitudes first visited by the Phoenix mission in 2007–2008. Exploring and interrogating the shallow subsurface of Mars from the surface will require some form of excavation and penetration, with drilling being the most mature approach. A series of 0.5–5 m automated rotary and rotary-percussive drills developed over the past decade by NASA Ames and Honeybee Robotics provide the capability to fly on a Mars surface mission within the next decade. Surface robotics have been integrated for sample transfer to deck instruments, and the Icebreaker sample acquisition system has been tested successfully in Mars chambers and analog field sites to depths between 1 and 3 m, most recently in the Antarctic Dry Valleys in January of 2013. This paper provides a hardware and software systems overview of the Icebreaker sample acquisition system, and discusses test results of this robotic system in relevant environments. Test results from recent Arctic and Antarctic field campaigns demonstrate a hands-off “dust to data” capability.

Perchlorates in Northern Mars may not be Present in Equitorial Latitudes

Aqueous and Non-Aqueous Soil Processes on the Northern Plains of Modern Mars: Insights from the Distribution of Perchlorate Salts at the Phoenix Landing Site and in Earth Analog Environments

Authors:

Cull et al

Abstract:

In 2008, the Phoenix lander returned chemical evidence of perchlorate salts in the soils at its landing site on the northern plains of Mars. Subsequent spectral mapping of the perchlorate using Phoenix's multispectral Surface Stereo Imager (SSI) showed that concentrated patches of the salt exist in the subsurface. Because atmospheric formation of Martian perchlorate should form a highly-concentrated layer of salt on the surface, subsurface concentrated patches have been interpreted as evidence that Phoenix soils experienced minor amounts of aqueous reworking after perchlorate formation. Here, we present results from a wide-scale mapping of the Phoenix landing site using SSI multispectral data. We report that, contrary to preliminary case studies, limited occurrences of rocks and soil clods with perchlorate coatings are also found on the undisturbed surface. The discovery of these patches on undisturbed surfaces points to more complex processes operating on modern-day polar soils, perhaps including a combination of aqueous and mechanical processes, such as cryoturbation. Finally, we combine results from this study with an analysis of perchlorate redistribution mechanisms on Earth to illustrate the mechanisms likely responsible for modern processing of soils on the northern plains of Mars.