Jezero Crater
Posted: January 4th, 2023
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Jezero Crater
Astronomers refer to Jezero to be a crater located on Mars and continue to perform adequate research to land on the heavenly body in 2020. Researchers believe that the crater was once filled with water that later flowed away, leaving the significant depression. Astronomers and scientists think that the site offers a suitable landing place on Mars, and will give more room to understand the nature of the old life that must have existed on the planet. Various scientists have dedicated much time and resources to study the Jezero Crater. They have come up with valuable findings that help to understand the geologic history and sequence of events that led to the formation of the natural feature. The past and current studies on the possible existence of ancient forms of life at the Jezero Crater motivate scientists to make a trip to planet Mars to validate the claims that the place once carried living creatures.
Regional Context
The Jezero Crater on Mars was formed following a massive impact within the Syrtis Major square. The crater was named after a local city in Former Bosnia and Herzegovina and has a diameter of about 47.50 kilometers (Fassett and James 37). The crater is located on the western boundary Isidis Planitia, a big basin along the Martian equator. Fassett and James (41) inform that the Martian equator has some of the classical and most scientifically appealing landscapes of planet Mars. Many scientists today focus their attention on the crater with the expectation of gaining more information about it and its regional context.
Geologic History and Sequence of Events
Scientists and astronomers alike believe that the crater that now has so much clay deposits were once filled with water. The researchers believe that the crater was flooded with water at a time when valley networks were formed on the planet (NASA). The crater has a delta as well as several channels that must have drained water out of the site (NASA). More evaluations of the delta and channels show that so much water stayed in the lake for a long time and that at no time did the water level go down until later.
Jezero Crater has several geological units that define the depression. A unique deposit of dark rocks that possibly emanated from the lava that flowed after the lake had dried out lies on top of the sediments (Horgan et al.). The carbonate-bearing unit is an essential section because it is at this place where most of the carbonates are located. The crater comprises of the carter margins, basin-filled components, and valleys leading both in and out of the depression (Horgan et al.). The valleys in the upstream constitute a large watershed, which indicates some ancient activities in this region. The olivine-generating unit also forms part of the essential sections and comprises of lava flows, effects of melt sheets, and an intrusion (Horgan et al.). The other units are the mottled terrain unit, which is texturally varied, with numerous sub-sections, and the light-toned floor covered with aeolian dune. The mafic level is close to the light-toned level, appears as a dark-colored capping, and also adjacent to the pitted capping unit and the thin dark capping unit (Horgan et al.). The volcanic floor unit comprises of deposits of dust, similar to the dusty-light-toned unit. Knowing the various units of the Jezero, Crater offers valuable insight into its geological structure.
Various scholars have contributed significantly towards understanding the nature of the Jezero Crater. Caleb Fassett was the first to identify the classical lake at Jezero in 2005 (Brown University). The tutor at Mount Holyoke College who graduated from Brown University recognized two channels on the western and eastern sides of the crater that appeared to be filled with water. Fassett realized that the water ultimately overflowed the walls of the crater on the southern part and moved out through a third channel formed to free the excessive water. Fassett and his team are not clear as to how long the water system remained active, but believe that the water dried out nearly 3.4 to 3.9 billion years ago (Brown University). Bethany Ehlmann and his team set out in 2008 to find out more about the nature and possible origin of the crater. They discovered after a series of observations that the deposits of water that filled the crater are rich in clay components, a clear suggestion of change by water (Brown University). The Ehlmann-led team sought to find out how the minerals were precisely created. Their results offered debatable factors, such as whether the minerals took the lake’s place or whether they were created elsewhere and moved into the lake.
Another study by a research team from Brown University showed that the old Martian lake in the crater was formed following the steady flow of water around the region for at least two separate periods. Tim Goudge, who led the research team, said that the lake’s presence shows two eras of water-connected activities on the planet, which offers valuable information regarding the early events on Mars (Brown University). Goudge collected several high-resolution images from the orbit using the CTX device at NASA and put them together with information from the RISM (Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars) that is fed on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that NASA operates (Brown University). Goudge managed to formulate a clear mineralogical and geological map for the whole of the water system at the crater. The map displays that each of the fan deposits has different mineral structures matching the forms and signatures of the watersheds from which they were retrieved (Brown University). Goudge believes based on the findings that the mineral content developed in the basin, and later moved into the lake (Brown University). The earlier researches impact current scientists to enhance their work on the subject to come up with more valuable information.
The revelations could give some light on the water history of Jezero. The crater was wetter than it is now at one time of history. Researchers are still validating whether the climate was appropriate or warm enough to maintain liquid water on the surface for so long (Brown University). Some thinkers have argued that if the climatic conditions in the location were cold, chemical changes might have been caused by the percolation of water in the warmer surfaces (Brown University). The Jezero crater makes an exciting area of study that explorers must acquire more information to make reliable conclusions moving forward.
Mars 2020 Exploration Target
Jezero that was once identified to be a place for conducting laboratory operations, was later determined to be a suitable landing site for a rover mission set to land on planet Mars in 2020. Astronomers are dedicated to land on Mars to recognize any form of life (NASA). The visit to Mars will offer adequate insight into future expeditions and possibly identify other types of life (Smithsonian Institution). The team set to land on the spot in 2020 will have the opportunity to study at least five kinds of rocks, including carbonates and various types of clays, which preserve some ancient life (Smithsonian Institution). The Mars 2020 expedition sets to land in the crater will explore the lake beds and the deltas that may give some hint about ancient habitability and whether life once existed on Mars (Smithsonian Institution).
The Mars 2020 exploration with the Perseverance rover is a plan by NASA to explore Mars, and is dubbed as a long-term initiative of robotic examination of the planet. The mission addresses fundamental science objectives for exploring Mars, while findings answers to essential astrobiology concerns about the possibility of life on Mars (NASA). The mission takes a higher notch by not only finding indications of habitable factors and conditions on the planet, but also identifying for indications of ancient microbial life (NASA). The Perseverance rover is fitted with a drill that can gather vital samples of the most targeted soils and rocks and put them aside for further analysis (NASA). The rover would help evaluators examine the samples in labs under favorable conditions and special equipment that would be too cumbersome to transport to Mars.
Works Cited
Brown University. “A Geologic History of an Ancient Martian Lake System in Jazero Crater.”
SciTechDaily, June 12, 2020. https://scitechdaily.com/a-geologic-history-of-an-ancient-
martian-lake-system-in-jezero-crater/
Fassett, Caleb and James Head. “Valley Network-Fed, Open-Basin Lakes on Mars: Distribution
and Implications for Noachian Surface and Subsurface Hydrology.” Icarus, vol. 198, no.
1, 2008, pp. 37-56.
Horgan, Briony et al. “The Mineral Diversity of Jezero Crater: Evidence for Possible Lacustrine
Carbonates on Mars.” Icarus, vol. 339, 2020,
NASA. “National Aeronautics and Space Administration.” NASA, 2019. https://www.nasa.gov/
Smithsonian Institution. “Mars 2020 Landing Site: Jazero Crater.” Smithsonian Institution, 2020.
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