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Athabasca Valles as a candidate MSL landing site

Athabasca Valles as a candidate MSL landing site. D.M. Burr, A.J. Brown, R.A. Beyer, A.S. McEwen, K.L. Tanaka, L.P. Keszthelyi, J.P. Emery and P.D. Lanagan. Athabasca Valles. Outline/Summary. outflow channel in volcanic terrain originates at volcanic fissures

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Athabasca Valles as a candidate MSL landing site

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  1. Athabasca Vallesas a candidate MSL landing site D.M. Burr, A.J. Brown, R.A. Beyer, A.S. McEwen, K.L. Tanaka, L.P. Keszthelyi, J.P. Emery and P.D. Lanagan

  2. Athabasca Valles Outline/Summary • outflow channel in volcanic terrain • originates at volcanic fissures • sourced by deep aquifer, possible hydration features in spectra • flood deposits in channel, possibly from subsurface biosphere, but accessibility? • meets engineering constraints with avail. data

  3. Athabasca Valles AV: Background • Amazonian-aged surface (but see Edgett and Malin 2003) • located in volcanically active region 1 2

  4. Athabasca Valles AV a/b attraction: hydration features 1 2

  5. Athabasca Valles AV a/b attraction: deposits floodwater released from the subsurface, so deposited material may show evidence of subsurface biosphere (Fisk and Giovannoni 1999, Mancancelli 2002) two types of flood deposits…. 1 2

  6. Athabasca Valles Deposited material I • sedimentary flood-formed dunes (three fields) • analogous to terrestrial flood-formed dunes Altai Mts, Sibera

  7. Athabasca Valles Deposited material II • clustered streamlined forms Subset of MOC image R01-00745 (1.54 m/pxl). Subset of MOC image M07-00614 (5.9 m/pxl).

  8. THEMIS daytime mosaic Athabasca Valles Accessible?... fissures on channel floor THEMIS nighttime mosaic

  9. Trafficability of channel floor fissures? M02-01973 (res. 5.9 m/pxl) V13712013

  10. Athabasca Valles Landing site constraints:

  11. Roughness

  12. Athabasca Valles Summary • outflow channel in volcanic terrain • originates at volcanic fissures • sourced by deep aquifer, possible hydration features in spectra • flood deposits in channel, possibly from subsurface biosphere, but accessibility? • meets engineering constraints with avail. data

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