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In Situ Identification of Paleoarchean Biosignatures Using Colocated Perseverance Rover Analyses: Perspectives for In
Keyron Hickman-Lewis1,2, Kelsey R Moore3,4, Joseph J Razzell Hollis3
1Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom.
Astrobiology
|July 21, 2022
Summary
NASA's Perseverance rover can detect ancient organic materials on Mars. This study validates its instruments using Earth-based microbial mats, showing potential for finding biosignatures in Jezero crater.
Area of Science:
- Astrobiology
- Planetary Science
- Geochemistry
Background:
- The NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is exploring Jezero crater, a site with high potential for ancient life.
- The rover utilizes a synergistic payload for detailed geological and chemical analysis of rock targets.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the capability of Perseverance's WATSON, SHERLOC, and PIXL instruments to detect biosignatures.
- To analyze Paleoarchean microbial mats as analogues for potential Martian life.
Main Methods:
- A WATSON-SHERLOC-PIXL protocol was applied to South African microbial mats.
- Correlative deep-UV Raman, fluorescence spectroscopy, and X-ray elemental mapping were used.
- Results were compared to high-performance laboratory instruments.
Main Results:
- The Perseverance payload can detect thermally and texturally mature organic materials of biogenic origin.
- Organic-mineral interrelationships and elemental colocation were identified at fine spatial scales.
- The rover's protocol yielded results comparable to advanced laboratory analyses.
Conclusions:
- The correlative micro-analytical approach of WATSON, SHERLOC, and PIXL is effective for detecting microscale organic-bearing textural biosignatures on Mars.
- Laminated, organic-bearing samples are plausible analogues for Noachian-Hesperian Martian biosignatures.
- Discoveries at Jezero crater could aid in reconstructing Mars' carbon cycle and searching for fossilized life.
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