Our research focuses on the geology of Mars, using data from rovers and orbiters to interpret the aqueous history of the planet and its potential for habitability. In recent years, outcrop- and hand-lens-scale geologic investigations from rovers have revealed complex histories of sedimentation, diagenesis, weathering and erosion; these data suggest that Mars may have had more localized niches for habitability – both spatially and temporally – than previously thought. Our work supports these field investigations at Mars and aims to answer the following key questions about the planet’s evolution:
- What is the nature of “wetter” climates on early Mars, and what are the extents of habitable niches where life could have persisted beyond this earliest period?
- What records of aqueous alteration and environmental changes on Mars are recorded in the stratigraphic rock record?
We use an interdisciplinary set of approaches to address the questions above, incorporating imagery, spectroscopy, and geochemical data from orbital and landed missions. Here are some more details on specific research areas:
The Curiosity Rover at Gale Crater
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover mission has been exploring Gale Crater, Mars since 2012. The rover’s Mastcam instrument includes two cameras that can acquire images of the surface in 12 unique wavelengths in the visible to near-infrared. Our research group uses these multispectral images to study the spectral variability of rocks an soils to help characterize the surface mineralogy and the history of aqueous alteration. Dr. Melissa Rice is a Participating Scientist and part of the Long Term Planning (LTP) group on the MSL mission, and Western Mars Lab students participate in mission operations in the role of Geology Keeper of the Plan (GeoKOP).
The Perseverance Rover at Jezero Crater
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Perseverance rover lands in Jezero Crater, Mars in February 2021. Dr. Melissa Rice is a Co-Investigator for the Mastcam-Z instrument, which are the two mast-mounted zoom cameras that will be the scientific “eyes” of the rover. Like its predecessor Mastcam, the Mastcam-Z instrument will acquire images in multiple wavelengths from the visible to near-infrared, which will be used to characterize the surface mineralogy and search for hydration. The Western Mars Lab has been part of the design, calibration, and operations readiness testing activities in preparation for Mastcam-Z‘s surface investigation.
You can learn more about how we have been preparing for the Perseverance rover mission in these Planetary Society articles written by Western Mars Lab students:
- Visiting Perseverance During Its Final Week at JPL by Jess Mollerup ‘20
- How to Send a Camera to Mars by Tina Seeger ‘20
- A Special Mastcam-Z Team Photomosaic by Darian Dixon ‘18
- Preparing for Five-Hour Operations by Katherine Winchell ‘17
Rock and Mineral Spectroscopy
In our laboratory work, we aim to understand the variability of diagnostic absorption features under different conditions (varying grain size, temperature, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, and viewing geometry), which can be critical to the interpretation of spectra from Mars. We use an ASD FieldSpec4 Hi-Res reflectance spectrometer to investigate these spectral properties at Western Washington University.
We are currently funded by a grant from NASA’s Solar System Workings program to study rock weathering processes on Mars by analyzing terrestrial rocks in the lab using a variety of techniques, collaborating with WWU’s Mike Kraft and Sean Mulcahy. For this project we are working with the Seattle engineering company First Mode to build a custom-designed goniometer for our spectroscopy lab. Read more in articles from WWU, First Mode, Seattle Business Magazine and GeekWire.
Explore spectra from our lab and other online sources using the WWU Vis-NIR Spectroscopy Database!