Free Astronomy Magazine January-February 2020

46 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2020 ASTRONAUTICS M ars 2020 has major new technologies that improve entry, descent, and landing, as high- lighted in this an- imation. [NASA] Below, this artist’s concept depicts NASA’s Mars 2020 rover at work on the surface of Mars. [NASA/JPL-Cal- tech] debris that spilled into the crater. Here is what Thomas Zurbuchen, associate admin- istrator for NASA’s Science Mission Direc- torate, said in this regard: “The landing site in Jezero Crater offers geologically rich terrain, with landforms reaching as far back as 3.6 billion years old, that could potentially answer important questions in planetary evolution and astrobiology. Getting samples from this unique area will revolutionize how we think about Mars and its ability to harbor life.” According to the mission team, there are at least five dif- ferent types of rock in Jezero Crater that may represent interesting tar- gets to sample, simply because they include hy- drated silica and carbon- ates. “Using a technique we developed that helps us find rare, hard-to-de- tect mineral phases in data taken from orbiting spacecraft, we found two outcrops of hydrated silica within Jezero crater. We know from Earth that this mineral phase is exceptional at preserving microfossils and other biosignatures, so that makes these outcrops exciting targets