Localization Of Methane Signals In Gale Crater
M.A Mischna, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute Of Technology, Pasadena, Ca, Usa
(Michael.A.Mischna@Jpl.Nasa.Gov), Y. Luo, J. Li, D. Adams, Y.L. Yung, Division Of Geological And Planetary
Sciences, California Institute Of Technology, Pasadena, Ca, Usa, J. Lin, B. Fasoli, U. Utah, Slc, Ut, Usa.
Introduction: The Origin Of Methane In The Martian Atmosphere Has Implications For Geology, Geochemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry And Astrobiology.
The Tunable Laser Spectrometer (Tls) Onboard The
Curiosity Rover Has Detected Several Methane Spikes
During Its Multi-Year Operation In Gale Crater On Mars.
To Better Constrain The Location Of Potential Methane
Emission Sites Responsible For These Signals, We Have
Used Several Complementary Numerical Tools To Identify Approximate Source Locations Given The Timing
And Magnitude Of The Detected Signals. Following
From This Work, We Have Since Developed A Multi-Node
Detecting Strategy That Demonstrates What Resources
Would Be Required To Constrain The Location Of A Source
To Within A Region Small Enough For A Present-Day
Mars Rover To Cover. Such An Approach Could Be Used
To Determine The Highest Priority Future Landing Sites
For Studying The Origin Of Mars Methane.
The Work Relies On The Implementation Of Backtrajectory, Lagrangian Numerical Methods—An Approach Commonly Used On Earth For Tracking Trace Gas