Louise Jandura

A Habitable Fluvio-Lacustrine Environment at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars

The Curiosity rover discovered fine-grained sedimentary rocks, which are inferred to represent an ancient lake and preserve evidence of an environment that would have been suited to support a martian biosphere founded on chemolithoautotrophy. This aqueous environment was characterized by neutral pH, low salinity, and variable redox states of both iron and sulfur species. Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, and phosphorus were measured directly as key biogenic elements; by inference, phosphorus is assumed to have been available. The environment probably had a minimum duration of hundreds to tens of thousands of years. These results highlight the biological viability of fluvial-lacustrine environments in the post-Noachian history of Mars.

Organic and inorganic contamination control approaches for return sample investigation on Mars 2020

The Mars 2020 Rover mission will have the capability to collect and cache samples for potential Mars sample return. Specifically, the sample caching system (SCS) is designed for coring Mars samples and acquiring regolith samples as well as handling, sealing and caching on Mars. As the potential first Martian samples that could be returned to Earth, assuring low levels of terrestrial contamination is of the utmost concern. In developing the SCS, the project prioritizes limiting sample contamination in organic, inorganic and biological areas. The focus of this paper is on the strategies being implemented to limit terrestrial organic and inorganic contamination in the samples.

Keeping the MSL rover safe against slip and settling while sampling

Extra-terrestrial rover design and operation is a relatively young field. One important aspect of the design and operation of these rovers is to safeguard the vehicle against the loads resulting from the rover slipping or settling, particularly when the robotic arm has placed a science or engineering tool on or near the ground surface. This is a significant engineering challenge because of the need to balance rover slip capability in uncertain terrains with mission mass and volume constraints - and it is a challenge few teams have had to encounter. This paper describes how system requirements, innovative numerical simulations, and an operational process - termed the Slip Risk Assessment Process - are being used on the Mars Science Laboratory Rover. The paper also describes the experience the team has gained from applying these techniques for nearly 400 sols of surface operations, and points to improvements which could benefit future missions.