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Science 3 December 2004:
Vol. 306. no. 5702, pp. 1709 - 1714
DOI: 10.1126/science.1104559
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Research Articles

In Situ Evidence for an Ancient Aqueous Environment at Meridiani Planum, Mars

S. W. Squyres,1* J. P. Grotzinger,2 R. E. Arvidson,3 J. F. Bell, III,1 W. Calvin,4 P. R. Christensen,5 B. C. Clark,6 J. A. Crisp,7 W. H. Farrand,8 K. E. Herkenhoff,9 J. R. Johnson,9 G. Klingelhöfer,10 A. H. Knoll,11 S. M. McLennan,12 H. Y. McSween, Jr.,13 R. V. Morris,14 J. W. Rice, Jr.,5 R. Rieder,15 L. A. Soderblom9

Sedimentary rocks at Eagle crater in Meridiani Planum are composed of fine-grained siliciclastic materials derived from weathering of basaltic rocks, sulfate minerals (including magnesium sulfate and jarosite) that constitute several tens of percent of the rock by weight, and hematite. Cross-stratification observed in rock outcrops indicates eolian and aqueous transport. Diagenetic features include hematite-rich concretions and crystal-mold vugs. We interpret the rocks to be a mixture of chemical and siliciclastic sediments with a complex diagenetic history. The environmental conditions that they record include episodic inundation by shallow surface water, evaporation, and desiccation. The geologic record at Meridiani Planum suggests that conditions were suitable for biological activity for a period of time in martian history.

1 Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
2 Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
3 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63031, USA.
4 Department of Geological Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
5 Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
6 Lockheed Martin Corporation, Littleton, CO 80127, USA.
7 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
8 Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO 80301, USA.
9 U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA.
10 Johannes Gutenberg University, D-55128 Mainz, Germany.
11 Botanical Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
12 Department of Geosciences, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
13 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
14 NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA.
15 Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, Kosmochemie, D-55128 Mainz, Germany.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: squyres{at}astrosun.tn.cornell.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)