학술논문

A Habitable Fluvio-Lacustrine Environment at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars
Document Type
article
Source
Science. 343(6169)
Subject
Bays
Carbon
Exobiology
Extraterrestrial Environment
Geologic Sediments
Hydrogen
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Iron
Mars
Nitrogen
Oxidation-Reduction
Oxygen
Phosphorus
Salinity
Sulfur
Water
MSL Science Team
General Science & Technology
Language
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 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.