MSc Thesis Defence: Characterizing the mineral composition of Jezero crater using Fe-Mn, (SO3 + Cl) wt.% distributions and the stoichiometric minerology identified using data from PIXL on-board Perseverance, Mars 2020

MSc Candidate

Salvador Fernandez

Abstract

Mineral stoichiometry was applied to PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry) data using the Mineral Identification Protocol (MIP_SF) characterizing minerals sampled from the first two years of the Mars 2020 rover mission that landed in Jezero crater in February 2021. MIP_SF identifies minerals by comparing elemental compositions to known stoichiometries, detecting common basaltic minerals with high accuracy. Fe-Mn ratios and (SO3 + Cl) wt.% compositions categorize samples into low and high alteration groups. These parameters provide broad classifications, further refined by MIP_SF for detailed mineral descriptions.
Using analysisM1 (M1), XRD effects in PIXL scans are detected and corrected from reported oxide concentrations. This correction is shown to be essential for proper mineral identification by MIP_SF and Fe-Mn. These methods were shown to produce comparable mineral identification reports to PIXL team analysis and similar algorithms – e.g., MIST (Mineral Identification by Stoichiometry) - particularly for igneous samples with low degrees of chemical alteration.

Examination Committee

• Dr. Eric Poisson, Chair
• Dr. Ralf Gellert, Advisor
• Dr. Joanne O'Meara, Advisory Committee
• Dr. Scott VanBommel, Advisory Committee