Women’s Network Luncheon: “Unearthing” the History of Jezero Crater, Mars, with Perseverance

Since landing in February 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover has been exploring the ancient landscapes of Jezero Crater, Mars — a once-lake basin that preserves evidence of both igneous activity and aqueous alteration. Through a series of directed campaigns, Perseverance is investigating and sampling rocks that record the planet’s magmatic and hydrologic evolution. The Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL) on the rover’s arm uses X-ray fluorescence to provide the highest-resolution geochemical analyses ever obtained on another planet, enabling identification of sub-millimeter textures and compositions. Stoichiometric identification of minerals using the Mineral Identification by Stoichiometry (MIST) algorithm and analysis of crystallinity reveals distinct mineral assemblages that trace water–rock interactions and diagenetic processes. By comparing these Martian minerals to their Earth analogs, we gain new insights into habitability and the geologic processes that continue to shape both planets.

Eleanor (Ellie) Moreland is a Ph.D. candidate in Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Rice University. Before coming to Rice, Ellie earned her B.A. in Geology from Washington University in St. Louis. Her early research used aqueous geochemistry to explore iron oxidation pathways on Mars and reflectance spectroscopy to understand mineralogy of Martian aeolian deposits. Now, as part of the Mars 2020 Perseverance science team, Ellie studies Martian mineralogy and geochemistry with the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL). Ellie supports the operations of the PIXL instrument and works to elucidate mineralogy using the novel Mineral Identification by Stoichiometry (MIST) algorithm. Her broader research spans surface processes and paleoenvironments on Mars and other planets, including studies of redox-driven mineral associations and climate modeling of ancient lake systems.