A habitable fluvio-lacustrine environment at Yellowknife Bay, Gale crater, Mars
Grotzinger, J.P.; Sumner, D.Y.; Kah, L.C.; Stack, K.; Gupta, S.; Edgar, L.; Rubin, D.; Lewis, K.; Schieber, J.; Mangold, N.; Milliken, R.; Conrad, P.G.; DesMarais, D.; Farmer, J.; Siebach, K.; Calef III, F.; Hurowitz, J.; McLennan, S.M.; Ming, D.; Vaniman, D.; Crisp, J.; Vasavada, A.; Edgett, K.S.; Malin, M.; Blake, D.; Gellert, R.; Mahaffy, P.; Wiens, R.C.; Maurice, S.; Grant, J.A.; Wilson, S.; Anderson, R.C.; Beegle, L.; Arvidson, R.; Hallet, B.; Sletten, R.S.; Rice, M.; Bell III, J.; Griffes, J.; Ehlmann, B.; Anderson, R.B.; Bristow, T.F.; Dietrich, W.E.; Dromart, G.; Eigenbrode, J.; Fraeman, A.; Hardgrove, C.; Herkenhoff, K.; Jandura, L.; Kocurek, G.; Lee, S.; Leshin, L.A.; Leveille, R.; Limonadi, D.; Maki, J.; McCloskey, S.; Meyer, M.; Minitti, M.; Newsom, H.; Oehler, D.; Okon, A.; Palucis, M.; Parker, T.; Rowland, S.; Schmidt, M.; Squyres, S.; Steele, A.; Stolper, E.; Summons, R.; Treiman, A.; Williams, R.; Yingst, A.; MSL Science Team, the
(2014) Science, volume 343, issue 6169
(Article)
Abstract
The Curiosity rover discovered fine-grained sedimentary rocks, which are inferred to represent an ancient lake and preserve evidence of an environment that would have been suited to support a martian biosphere founded on chemolithoautotrophy. This aqueous environment was characterized by neutral pH, low salinity, and variable redox states of both
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iron and sulfur species. Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, and phosphorus were measured directly as key biogenic elements; by inference, phosphorus is assumed to have been available. The environment probably had a minimum duration of hundreds to tens of thousands of years. These results highlight the biological viability of fluvial-lacustrine environments in the post-Noachian history of Mars.
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ISSN: 0036-8075
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science
(Peer reviewed)