Evidence for indigenous nitrogen in sedimentary and aeolian deposits from the Curiosity rover investigations at Gale crater, Mars

Jennifer C. Stern; Brad Sutter; Caroline Freissinet; Rafael Navarro-González; Christopher P. McKay; P. Douglas Archer Jr; Arnaud Buch; Anna E. Brunner; Patrice Coll; Jennifer L. Eigenbrode; Alberto G. Fairen; Heather B. Franz; Daniel P. Glavin; Srishti Kashyap; Amy C. McAdam; Douglas W. Ming; Andrew Steele; Cyril Szopa; James J. Wray; F. Javier Martín-Torres; Maria-Paz Zorzano; Pamela G. Conrad; Paul R. Mahaffy

doi:10.1073/pnas.1420932112

Evidence for indigenous nitrogen in sedimentary and aeolian deposits from the Curiosity rover investigations at Gale crater, Mars

Jennifer C. Stern, Brad Sutter, Caroline Freissinet, Rafael Navarro-González, Christopher P. McKay, P. Douglas Archer Jr, Arnaud Buch, Anna E. Brunner, Patrice Coll, Jennifer L. Eigenbrode, Alberto G. Fairen, Heather B. Franz, Daniel P. Glavin, Srishti Kashyap, Amy C. McAdam, Douglas W. Ming, Andrew Steele, Cyril Szopa, James J. Wray, F. Javier Martín-TorresMaria-Paz Zorzano, Pamela G. Conrad, Paul R. Mahaffy

Geology and Geophysics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

159 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) investigation on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover has detected oxidized nitrogen-bearing compounds during pyrolysis of scooped aeolian sediments and drilled sedimentary deposits within Gale crater. Total N concentrations ranged from 20 to 250 nmol N per sample. After subtraction of known N sources in SAM, our results support the equivalent of 110-300 ppm of nitrate in the Rocknest (RN) aeolian samples, and 70-260 and 330-1,100 ppm nitrate in John Klein (JK) and Cumberland (CB) mudstone deposits, respectively. Discovery of indigenous martian nitrogen in Mars surface materials has important implications for habitability and, specifically, for the potential evolution of a nitrogen cycle at some point in martian history. The detection of nitrate in both wind-drifted fines (RN) and in mudstone (JK, CB) is likely a result of N₂ fixation to nitrate generated by thermal shock from impact or volcanic plume lightning on ancient Mars. Fixed nitrogen could have facilitated the development of a primitive nitrogen cycle on the surface of ancient Mars, potentially providing a biochemically accessible source of nitrogen.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	4245-4250
Number of pages	6
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	112
Issue number	14
Early online date	23 Mar 2015
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1420932112
Publication status	Published - 7 Apr 2015

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgements.
We are grateful for support from the entire Sample Analysis at Mars and Mars Science Laboratory operations, engineering, and scientific teams. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Mars Exploration Program and Goddard Space Flight Center provided support for the development and operation of SAM. SAM-GC was supported by funds from the French Space Agency (Centre National d’Études Spatiales). Data from these SAM experiments are archived in the Planetary Data System

Keywords

Aerospace Engineering
Rymd- och flygteknik

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10.1073/pnas.1420932112Licence: Unspecified

F. J. Martin-Torres
- School of Geosciences, Planetary Sciences, Geography - Personal Chair
- Centre for Energy Transition
Person: Academic

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Stern, J. C., Sutter, B., Freissinet, C., Navarro-González, R., McKay, C. P., Archer Jr, P. D., Buch, A., Brunner, A. E., Coll, P., Eigenbrode, J. L., Fairen, A. G., Franz, H. B., Glavin, D. P., Kashyap, S., McAdam, A. C., Ming, D. W., Steele, A., Szopa, C., Wray, J. J., ... Mahaffy, P. R. (2015). Evidence for indigenous nitrogen in sedimentary and aeolian deposits from the Curiosity rover investigations at Gale crater, Mars. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112(14), 4245-4250. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1420932112

Evidence for indigenous nitrogen in sedimentary and aeolian deposits from the Curiosity rover investigations at Gale crater, Mars. / Stern, Jennifer C.; Sutter, Brad; Freissinet, Caroline et al.
In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 112, No. 14, 07.04.2015, p. 4245-4250.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Stern, JC, Sutter, B, Freissinet, C, Navarro-González, R, McKay, CP, Archer Jr, PD, Buch, A, Brunner, AE, Coll, P, Eigenbrode, JL, Fairen, AG, Franz, HB, Glavin, DP, Kashyap, S, McAdam, AC, Ming, DW, Steele, A, Szopa, C, Wray, JJ, Martín-Torres, FJ, Zorzano, M-P, Conrad, PG & Mahaffy, PR 2015, 'Evidence for indigenous nitrogen in sedimentary and aeolian deposits from the Curiosity rover investigations at Gale crater, Mars', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 112, no. 14, pp. 4245-4250. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1420932112

Stern JC, Sutter B, Freissinet C, Navarro-González R, McKay CP, Archer Jr PD et al. Evidence for indigenous nitrogen in sedimentary and aeolian deposits from the Curiosity rover investigations at Gale crater, Mars. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2015 Apr 7;112(14):4245-4250. Epub 2015 Mar 23. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1420932112

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abstract = "The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) investigation on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover has detected oxidized nitrogen-bearing compounds during pyrolysis of scooped aeolian sediments and drilled sedimentary deposits within Gale crater. Total N concentrations ranged from 20 to 250 nmol N per sample. After subtraction of known N sources in SAM, our results support the equivalent of 110-300 ppm of nitrate in the Rocknest (RN) aeolian samples, and 70-260 and 330-1,100 ppm nitrate in John Klein (JK) and Cumberland (CB) mudstone deposits, respectively. Discovery of indigenous martian nitrogen in Mars surface materials has important implications for habitability and, specifically, for the potential evolution of a nitrogen cycle at some point in martian history. The detection of nitrate in both wind-drifted fines (RN) and in mudstone (JK, CB) is likely a result of N2 fixation to nitrate generated by thermal shock from impact or volcanic plume lightning on ancient Mars. Fixed nitrogen could have facilitated the development of a primitive nitrogen cycle on the surface of ancient Mars, potentially providing a biochemically accessible source of nitrogen. ",

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AU - McKay, Christopher P.

AU - Archer Jr, P. Douglas

AU - Buch, Arnaud

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AU - Szopa, Cyril

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Evidence for indigenous nitrogen in sedimentary and aeolian deposits from the Curiosity rover investigations at Gale crater, Mars

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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F. J. Martin-Torres

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