TP13

The MSL/Curiosity rover has been exploring Gale crater for 14 years, and has explored a variety of geologic units and past environments. These local observations unveil processes, more or less understood, that may have global implications at Mars. For example, the discovery of an unexpected siderite deposit in association with sulfates tells part of the CO2 cycle story.
The Mars2020/Perseverance rover also brought some light into the CO2 cycle via the observation of ultramafic material that underwent carbonation and/or serpentinization. Now Perseverance is exploring the Jezero crater rim and encountering the oldest terrains ever explored in situ by rovers, dating from before the Jezero crater formation or even before the Isidis basin formation. Some megablocks have revealed an extraordinary diversity of magmatic and alteration processes, from non-altered pyroxene-rich rocks to fully serpentinized rocks.
Mars Express and MRO, from orbit, also have key observations about the nature of early crust and associated alteration processes.
This session aims at understanding the characteristics of Mars’ primary crust, its evolution, and alteration products. In situ, orbital, and experimental/modeling observations are welcome.