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THE CHICXULUB IMPACT CRATER: Producing a Cradle of Life in the Midst of a Global Calamity Featured Story | From the Desk of Lori Glaze | Meeting Highlights | News from Space | Spotlight on Education In Memoriam | Milestones | New and Noteworthy | Calendar LUNAR AND PLANETARY INFORMATION BULLETIN April 2021 Issue 164
F E AT U R E D S TO RY
THE CHICXULUB IMPACT
CRATER: Producing a
Cradle of Life in the Midst of
a Global Calamity
DAVID A. KRING, LUNAR AND PLANETARY INSTITUTE
Expedition 364 mission patch
Introduction when the International Ocean Discov- an area that had been a stable sediment
ery Program (IODP) and International catchment for over 100 million years?
Strategically located scientific drilling Continental Scientific Drilling Program Clues began to emerge when the core
can be used to tap the Earth for evi- (ICDP) initiated a new campaign with was analyzed. Logging revealed chem-
dence of evolutionary upheavals that the call sign Expedition 364. Drilling ical and petrological variations on the
transformed the planet. A good example from a marine platform a few meters granitic theme, plus felsite and dolerite
is the Yucatán-6 borehole in Mexico above the sea surface, the new borehole intrusions, in a granitoid rock sequence
that recovered rock samples from 1.2 reached a depth of 1335 meters be- that represented continental crust that
and 1.3 kilometers beneath Earth’s neath the sea floor (mbsf). The borehole had been assembled through a series of
surface. I used those samples 30 years penetrated seafloor sediments that bury tectonic events over more than a billion
ago to show that a buried, geophysical- the crater, finally reaching impactites at years. However, that crust in the core
ly anomalous structure on the Yucatán a depth of 617 mbsf. Continuous core was crosscut by seams of impact melt
Peninsula contained a polymict breccia was recovered from 506 mbsf, within rock and suevite. Moreover, quartz and
with shock metamorphism and an impact Eocene sediments deposited 48 million other minerals in the granitoid rocks were
melt rock, indicating the buried structure years ago, to the bottom of the borehole deformed, corresponding to shock pres-
was an immense impact crater that was within the crater’s 66-million-year-old sures of 16 to 18 gigapascals, indicating
excavated 66 million years ago. That peak ring. The core is a scientific marvel, the tectonic construction of the crust had
structure, which we called Chicxulub, was exceeding the expedition’s highest hopes been superseded by an impact event.
produced by a ~100-million-megaton of success. Here, I briefly summarize
blast responsible for a global environ- the science party’s analyses of that core Those observations indicated the granit-
mental calamity and mass extinction that and the insights they are gleaning about oid rocks were uplifted from the geologic
defines the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) peak ring formation and the biological basement of the Yucatán, far beneath a
boundary in Earth’s evolution (see LPIB, communities that reoccupied the site after carbonate platform sequence of sedi-
March 2016, for additional details of most life on Earth had been extinguished. mentary strata that covers the peninsula.
that discovery). The impact provoked a Numerical simulations of the impact
biological crisis that extinguished indicator Formation of the integrated with borehole observations
species throughout the world, including suggest the crystalline rock was uplift-
winged pterosaurs in the air, non-avian Crater’s Peak Ring ed from a depth of 8 to 10 kilometers.
dinosaurs on land, and apex predator During the crater-forming process, the
mosasaurs in the seas, along with 75% of Granite. Lots of spectacular-looking uplifted rock formed a transient central
the total breadth of species that existed granite. That was a common observa- peak that collapsed outward to form
on Earth at that time. Life was decimated. tion when meter after meter of core was a peak ring, overturning the granitoid
pulled from the sea, bringing to light one rocks. A dramatic cycle of compres-
Science has returned twice to probe the of the expedition’s key questions: Why sion, dilation, rotation, and shear all
depths of Chicxulub, most recently in 2016 was granite so near Earth’s surface in occurred within minutes as the crust of
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F E AT U R E D S TO RY
Earth flowed at speeds in excess of 100 being traced across the Chicxulub basin
kilometers per hour, producing zones where the breccia blankets an ~3-kilo-
of microcommunited rock (cataclasites), meter-thick central melt sheet. Ejected
shear faults, and deformation bands that debris was also launched beyond the
cross-cut shock metamorphic fabrics. crater rim, where some of it flew through
Shearing is particularly intense in the the atmosphere faster than the speed of
basal 100 meters of the core, produced sound, producing sonic booms like bil-
when overlying granitoid rocks were lions of simultaneously falling meteorites.
thrust over impact melt that had already That curtain of debris hit the sea surface
covered underlying basement rocks. with such high speeds it caused the sea
The resulting impact crater looked very to boil with cavitation. The debris dis-
much like the Schrödinger basin on the placed seawater, too, while cascading
Moon, before being hidden from view to the seafloor and pummeling marine
beneath Tertiary sediments. Asymmetries organisms caught in its path. The speed
in Chicxulub’s peak ring and underlying of that debris hitting Earth’s surface grew
mantle uplift were noted, however, and larger with distance from the crater and
explored in numerical simulations of increasingly ploughed into the surface
the crater-forming event. Those results it landed upon. Because the Chicxulub
suggest the impactor had a trajectory impact occurred at sea (albeit above
from the northeast to the southwest. The continental crust rather than oceanic
transient central uplift, potentially rising crust), the ballistic sedimentation process
more than 10 kilometers into the atmo- often mixed ejecta with water. In those
sphere, was momentarily higher than cases, fluid target materials escaped the An 83-millimeter-diameter granitic core from the
Mt. Everest and would have been visible final deposit, leaving behind a blanket Chicxulub peak ring that is crosscut with cataclastic
halfway across the Gulf of Mexico if of wholly ejected rock and solidified and hydrothermal veins, and which also has been
not obscured by >25 trillion metric tons impact melt. At greater distances, shock-metamorphosed, as illustrated with planar
deformation features with ~5-micrometer spacing
of ejecta lofted into the atmosphere. beyond the unit traditionally mapped in quartz (inset, with field of view 245 micrometers
as proximally emplaced continuous wide). Photomicrograph of quartz by expedition
Deposition of ejecta, impact melt spherules cascad- scientist Ludovic Ferrière. Previously published by D.
ed through the atmosphere and seas A. Kring, Ph. Claeys, S. P. S. Gulick, J. V. Morgan, G.
Impactites throughout the region, forming blankets
S. Collins, and the IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 Sci-
ence Party (2017) Chicxulub and the exploration of
of glass that are still preserved in Beloc large peak-ring impact craters through scientific dril-
Some of that ejecta fell back onto the (Haiti), Arroyo el Mimbral (Mexico), ling. GSA Today, 27, DOI: 10.1130/GSATG352A.1.
granitoid peak ring, producing 130 and Gorgonilla Island (Colombia).
meters of melt-bearing polymict brec-
cia (suevite) and impact melt rock. The The impact also generated a vapor-rich Decimating the
basal melt rock is a small portion of the ejecta plume that expanded from the
104 to 105 cubic kilometers of molten point of impact, accelerating through the Marine Environment
rock generated by wholesale melting of atmosphere as it raced toward space.
Earth’s crust by the impact. Overlying Superheated to temperatures on the order The concept of “ground zero” literally ex-
breccia clast sizes grow smaller toward of 10,000°, that plume and other ejecta ploded into our lexicon with the 21-kilo-
the top of the suevite, but do not form ignited vegetation on distant shores. Back- ton Trinity blast in the Jornada del Muerto
a single (normally graded) unit going wash from impact-generated tsunamis desert valley of New Mexico in 1945.
from large to small clast sizes. Rather, and/or strong atmospheric circulation The devastating effects of high-energy ex-
there is at least one erosional contact carried charcoal from those fires back plosions were immediately obvious and
in the lower portion of the breccias and to the crater, where it is found buried in began coloring descriptions of impacting
several size-graded intervals toward the core on top of the peak ring. That asteroids like the collision that produced
the top of the sequence, indicating high-energy ejecta plume also carried Barringer Meteorite Crater (aka Meteor
reworking by marine currents, including vaporized components of the impacting Crater) in Arizona. The Chicxulub impact
impact-generated seiches produced object. When it and other debris reaccret- blast was nearly five billion times more
when tsunamis and other waves washed ed to Earth, they heated the atmosphere energetic than the Trinity test and seven
to and fro across the ocean basin. and generated a firestorm over a broader million times more energetic than the
area. Scorched woodland fragments from Meteor Crater event. The Chicxulub blast
Impact melt and suevite sampled in the those fires were incorporated into peak- occurred in a thriving marine ecosystem
borehole cover more than 100,000 ring sediments, too, with iridium rainout that was, with a flash of light, vaporized.
square kilometers of the Gulf seafloor. over a longer period of time, producing
The seismic properties of the suevite are a second peak in charcoal abundance. In the mid-1990s, I used the results of
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pounds per square inch (or a few to tens
of megapascals) and likely lethal out to
distances of about 2000 kilometers in the
open sea. Underwater shock waves were
also reflected, producing an amplifying
(compression) wave from the seafloor
and negative (rarefaction) wave from the
sea-air interface. Both types of reflected
waves modified peak pressure values
and the shape of the pressure pulse that
passed through seawater. Moreover, the
shock wave that passed through the crust
of Earth generated an additional wave at
the seafloor interface. Collectively, those
effects and the collapse of transient crater
walls to produce the final crater rim gen-
erated a series of propagating disturbanc- Core section immediately above impact suevite,
es. Shock waves reflected by the seafloor with an iridium anomaly produced when condensed
moved slower than the primary shock components of the impactor settled through the at-
wave, approaching acoustic speeds of mosphere and blanketed Earth’s surface. A helium-3
anomaly reflects changes in post-impact sedimen-
1500 meters per second, reaching shore tation rates. Also shown are charcoal anomalies,
shortly before the Chicxulub crater was the first likely due to scorched vegetation along
fully formed ~10 minutes after the impac- the coast, carried out to sea by tsunami backwash,
tor first made contact with the sea surface. while the second may be due to atmospheric rainout
of debris lofted and scattered by a firestorm over a
larger region. The core section is ~1 meter tall and
The pathology of internal damage pro- 83 millimeters wide.
duced by the blast in marine organisms is
gruesome, so I limit a description of those
effects to the most general terms. The pres- boundary. Seafloor rudist and coral reefs,
sure pulse generated extensive hemor- oysters, gastropods, and giant inoceramid
rhaging and bone fractures in vertebrates, clams were buried by rockfalls and land-
including mosasaurs and a variety of slides triggered by the impact’s seismic
bony and cartilaginous fish. The outcome impulses (equivalent to a magnitude 10
was worse for Cretaceous species with earthquake initially, followed by a series
Top panel: Pre-impact paleogeography of the Gulf
of Mexico region. Middle panel: The Chicxulub closed air bladders (like modern cod and of lower-energy tectonic events) if not
impact crater superimposed on that late Cretaceous rockfish) than those with air bladders that buried by impact ejecta and secondary
paleogeography. The impactor hit the sea, penetra- open to the mouth (like modern salmon) debris carried by the backwash of im-
ting carbonate shelf sediments, underlying carbonate
or those with no air bladders (like modern pact-generated tsunamis. The sea surface
platform strata that included sulfate-rich anhydrite
beds, and crystalline basement rocks. Impact melt fills halibut and sole). Over a larger area, the was filled with faunal and floral flotsam
the crater. The surrounding landmass was affected by pressure pulse and acoustic energy likely from tsunami backwash that drained rav-
an air blast and fire. Coastal seas were turbid with deafened mosasaurs (with ears similar to aged coastal mangroves and from marine
debris. Bottom panel: Post-impact view of the crater.
those of modern sea turtles), plesiosaurs animal kills. That post-impact scene was
In this view, early Tertiary vegetation covers the land,
but the crater has not yet been buried by seafloor (with ears similar to those of modern sea cloaked in darkness by a debris-filled
sediments. Credit: Pre-impact paleogeographic re- turtles or whales, depending on the spe- sky, but the smell of smoke and stench of
construction provided by John Snedden, University of cies), and other animals with inner and putrefying carcasses and vegetation filled
Texas-Austin. Other illustration details by the author.
middle ear structures. Because marine an- the air. Although we scientists normally
Credit: Art by Victor O. Leshyk for the LPI.
imals use hearing to navigate, avoid pred- and necessarily write in colorless tones
ators, and forage, the loss of hearing was of objectivity, we also have to acknowl-
nuclear explosion tests to calculate shock crippling if not deadly (as it is in modern edge the horror of the impact’s aftermath.
pressure and air blast effects on fauna humpback whales with blast-damaged
and flora that inhabited the land around ears). Impact-generated tsunamis carried Those acute regional effects were
Meteor Crater. Those same principles sea life onto shore, stranding fish, am- significantly compounded by global
can be used to evaluate the blast effects monites, and other organisms where environmental perturbations (e.g., at-
in marine ecosystems that extended they suffocated. A species of lagoonal mospheric heating by reaccreting ejecta,
for hundreds of kilometers around the crab that existed along the gulf coast cooling by atmospheric dust blocking
Chicxulub impact site. Near the coast, would seemingly have been better fitted sunlight, and then heating again by
shock pressure radiating through the for survival from that marine assault, but greenhouse warming gases; particu-
water may have been several thousand it disappeared completely at the K-T lates in the atmosphere that shut down
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F E AT U R E D S TO RY
hydrothermal activity and determine the
habitability of that hydrothermal system. I
found the first hints of that hydrothermal
system while studying the samples used
to prove Chicxulub’s impact origin in
1991. Hydrothermal overprinting of shock
metamorphic features was pervasive. Hy-
drothermal alteration was also detected
in core recovered by the International
Continental Scientific Drilling Program at
Yaxcopoil in 2001–2002, providing a
foundation for a petrogenetic model that
traced the cooling of the hydrothermal
system, and a thermal evolution model
that explored the subsurface extent and
duration of the hydrothermal system.
The Expedition 364 team found evi-
dence of subsurface streams of water
that were heated and driven upwards
toward the boundary between the crater
floor and the bottom of the Yucatán sea,
confirming the pre-expedition thermal
A three-dimensional cross-section of the hydrothermal system in the Chicxulub impact crater and its seafloor evolution model. Groundwater flow-
vents. Credit: Art by Victor O. Leshyk for the LPI.
ing through the crust toward the peak
ring may have been supplemented by
photosynthesis; acid rain) that drove organisms is suggested by phosphatic fossils smaller amounts of seawater drawn
many species to extinction. Low-frequen- of fish and crustaceans deposited within that down into the system. The groundwater
cy components of the impact’s acoustic same interval and potentially as rapidly as was saline, because it was derived from
energy radiated through the sea to the a few years. Trace fossils indicate the sea- basinal brines similar to those along the
farside of the world, where those anom- floor substrate was colonized by burrowing gulf coast today. The salinity of water
alous vibrations may have forewarned survivors within a few years of impact and may have been further enhanced by
life there of its impending doom. that a multi-tiered macrobenthic community subsurface boiling, particularly in the
existed within 700,000 years. Those data vicinity of the central melt sheet and
Recovery of indicate the crater was a more favorable a smaller volume of melt in the trough
site for biologic recovery than other marine between the peak ring and crater rim.
Life Within a settings around the world. Interestingly, an
impact-generated hydrothermal system (de- Heated water streaming around the
Crater-Filling Sea scribed in more detail below) may have had edges of the central melt sheet percolat-
an important role in that recovery by provid- ed through fractured rock in the peak ring
One might wonder how and when life ing nutrients and warm water to the seafloor and rose to the seafloor where it vented
returned to ground zero. The post-impact environment. In addition to that post-impact into the sea. The rock core recovered
sediment portion of the core obtained by recovery story, the new rock core is pro- from that peak ring is cross-cut by fossil
the new drilling effort reveals a fairly rapid viding a measure of Eocene environmental hydrothermal conduits that are lined with
recovery by the few species that survived changes, including those that occurred multi-colored minerals, some, appropri-
the global mass extinction event. In the sea during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Max- ately enough, a fiery red-orange color.
above the crater’s peak ring, a cyanobac- imum (PETM) about 56 million years ago Nearly two dozen minerals precipitated
terial bloom may have occurred within when global temperatures rose dramatically. from the fluids as they coursed through
months of the impact. A high-productivity Expedition samples are producing a rich the porous and permeable rocks of the
ecosystem with diverse benthic and plank- tapestry of life’s evolution in an area where peak ring, replacing the rock’s original
tonic foraminifera (single-celled organisms the biological slate was nearly wiped clean. minerals. Based on those observations,
with calcified shells) developed within it is easy to imagine black and white
30,000 years, although nannoplankton Submarine and “smoking” submarine vents throughout
were slower to recover. Over 60 species of the uplifted range of seafloor mountains
foraminifera lived near the seafloor above Subterranean Biome that form the ~90-kilometer-diameter
the crater where sources of organic material peak ring around the crater center. The
had recovered for feeding. A food chain Two key objectives of Expedition 364 hydrothermal system was spatially
that included larger, higher trophic-level were to test models of impact-generated extensive, chemically and mineralogical-
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F E AT U R E D S TO RY
ly modifying ~1.4 × 105 km3 of Earth’s Close inspection of the core revealed A search for other types of thermophilic
crust, a volume more than nine times another startling find: The submarine organisms and metabolic pathways in
that of the Yellowstone Caldera system. and subterranean hydrothermal system the hydrothermal system is underway.
harbored life. From 15,000 kilograms
Minerals identified in the new rock of rock recovered from the borehole, Implications for
core indicate the hydrothermal system tiny spheres of the mineral pyrite, only
was initially very hot with temperatures 10 millionths of a meter in diameter, the Hadean Earth
of 300° to 400°C. Such high initial were discovered nestled within low-
and Mars
“ Life in the system Because the Chicxulub impact crater is
our best proxy for impact basins that
extracted energy — or fed
covered Hadean and early Archean
Earth more than 3.8 billion years ago,
Expedition 364 findings have important
from — chemical reactions
implications for origin of life models.
Thousands of impact craters the size of
Chicxulub and larger covered Earth’s
that occurred in the
surface during that early epoch of
planetary evolution. Some of the largest
impact events vaporized surface waters,
fluid-filled rock system.”
turning potential subaerial and marine
ecosystems into uninhabitable waste-
lands. Studies of Chicxulub demonstrate,
however, that those same impact events
temperatures when plugged into a er-temperature hydrothermal mineral
thermal evolution model suggest the assemblages in the porous, permeable
hydrothermal system persisted for about impact breccias that cover the peak ring.
2 million years, which is supported by Isotopes of sulfur indicate the spheres of
two additional observations in the core. pyrite, called framboids, were formed
by a microbial ecosystem adapted to
Magnetic minerals that precipitated in the the hot mineral-laden fluid of a hydro-
hydrothermal system recorded changes thermal system that coursed through the
in Earth’s magnetic field, including a shattered rocks of the Chicxulub peak
change from reverse polarity when the ring. Cavities within the overlying suevite
crater formed to a period of normal po- had been transformed into microbi-
larity at some later time. That paleomag- al nurseries after the impact event.
netic clock indicates hydrothermal activity
remained at temperatures in excess of Life in the system extracted energy — or
the magnetic recording temperature of fed from — chemical reactions that
100° to 250°C temperature for at least occurred in the fluid-filled rock system.
150,000 years, when the next magneti- Microbes took advantage of sulfate in
cally normal period occurred, implying the fluid and its conversion to sulfide, pre-
it took at least 1.5 million years for the served as pyrite, to provide the energy
system to cool completely to ~50°C. needed to thrive. The sulfate-reducing,
hot-water (thermophilic) organisms were
Moreover, submarine venting of hydro- like some of the bacteria and archaea
thermal fluids on the seafloor deposited found at Yellowstone and other hydro-
manganese in post-impact sediments. thermal systems today. Similar sulfur
A biostratigraphically calibrated isotope signatures in overlying sediments
chronology of those core sediments imply sulfate-reducing organisms per-
indicates venting persisted for about sisted for at least 2.5 million years after Section of the Chicxulub core with the hydrother-
mal minerals dachiardite (bright orange), analcime
2.1 million years. As the hydrother- impact, potentially in both the subsurface
(colorless and transparent), and pyrite framboids
mal system aged, peak hydrothermal and in the water column above the crater (not visible because of their small sizes). The
activity migrated toward the center of floor. Those microbial communities may minerals partially fill cavities in the rock that were
the crater, where hydrothermal activity be the source of nutrients needed for niches for microbial ecosystems. This is a composite
illustration of core section 0077-63R-2 and a
may have persisted for a longer period larger organisms described above that
closeup image of a portion of that core recovered
of time over the central melt sheet. populated the crater soon after impact. from 685 meters below the sea floor.
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F E AT U R E D S TO RY
system within a melt sheet and underly- to better reconstruct the complex target
ing crater floor, and the return of life to rock assemblage, including the amounts
a central crater basin. Such a borehole of limestone and anhydrite as sources
could be drilled along the margins of of CO2 and SOx, respectively, that may
the central melt sheet on land (e.g., as have greatly influenced impact-generat-
in site 1 in the diagram of potential ed modification of the world’s climate.
future drilling sites) or at sea (site 2).
Finally, a deep borehole that penetrates
The astrobiological implications of the thickest part of the melt sheet in the
impact-generated hydrothermal sys- crater center would allow science teams
tems in planetary crusts throughout the to evaluate its thermal evolution, differ-
solar system prompted a borehole (site entiation, and would provide insights
3) in the peak ring on the farside of about basin-size impact melt sheets that
the Chicxulub crater from the Expedi- would complement observations at the
Potential future scientific drilling sites designed to tion 364 site. That core would make it Sudbury basin in Canada, which was
explore other attributes of the Chicxulub impact cra-
ter and its influence on the evolution of life on Earth.
possible to assess spatial variations in similar in size to Chicxulub before being
Site locations are for illustration purposes only and peak-ring hydrothermal activity. That eroded. Importantly, the borehole would
do not account for current land use, cultural issues, location would also target a different provide a measure of hydrothermal
and local geologic limitations. Credit: Background portion of uplifted basement target rocks, activity, seafloor venting, and how they
image produced from NASA MODIS satellite
observations in October 2004.
which could reveal lithological effects affected biologic systems above a melt
on peak-ring formation and post-impact sheet. To penetrate the melt sheet will
produced impact craters with porous, fluid flow, while also providing additional require a borehole at least 4 kilome-
permeable subsurface environments; that material to piece together the tectonic ters deep, which would make it among
such impact craters host vast subsurface evolution of the Yucatán Peninsula. the deepest scientific boreholes drilled
hydrothermal systems; and that those on Earth. The drilling location could
systems can, in turn, host microbial eco- A borehole that penetrates the ejec- be on land or at sea (sites 7 and 8).
systems. In the Chicxulub proxy for such ta blanket that covers the carbonate
ecosystems, microbial sulfate reduction platform shelf could be used to evaluate Each of these borehole locations has the
occurred, which is a metabolic pathway the volume and composition of ejecta potential to be as scientifically pro-
used as long ago as 3.52 billion years toward the suspected up-range side of ductive as the Expedition 364 drilling
ago in the Paleoarchean. Sulfate may not the crater and the recovery of life on the site. Collectively, that suite of borehole
have been available in the Hadean, but carbonate shelf adjacent to the impact locations would provide the first compre-
other metabolic reactions would have site. One wonders what the sea did with hensive assessment ever made of a large,
been available to provide the energy the chemical and biological potential well-preserved impact basin and would
yields required by life. Thus, the results of fresh rock surfaces generated by the guide our assessment of such structures
of Expedition 364 support the impact ejecta blanket. Such a borehole could be on planets throughout our solar system
origin of life hypothesis and promotes the drilled on land (site 4) or at sea (site 5). and among extrasolar planetary systems.
idea that life on Earth (and potentially
elsewhere in the solar system, such as To evaluate how water depth affected Conclusions
Mars) emerged from an impact crater. ejecta deposition and the recovery of
life, it would be useful to have a borehole The Chicxulub impact crater is one of
Future Prospects that penetrates the ejecta blanket and the most extraordinary scientific sites
the inner carbonate platform toward the in the world: It is the smoking gun of
Expedition 364 core illustrates how suspected downrange side of the crater, the impact mass extinction hypothesis
perfectly geologic, geochemical, geo- where there was a relatively shallow and at the center of an evolutionary
biological, and geophysical evidence is seaway between the crater and the radiation 66 million years ago that led
preserved in the buried Chicxulub impact coast. That borehole would have to be on to the origin of our own species, Homo
crater and suggests the immense and land (e.g., site 6). Excavated lithologies sapiens; it is the world’s best preserved
complex structure can be used to study in this borehole may differ from those peak-ring or multi-ring impact basin
a broad range of geologic and biologic in other boreholes and could be used on Earth and, thus, a model for such
processes. For several years, the commu-
nity has discussed the need for a bore-
hole into the central melt sheet to assess
chemical and mineralogical differentiation
“ The Chicxulub impact crater is one of
of that melt and its implications for early
planetary crustal growth, thermal erosion
the most extraordinary scientific sites
and metamorphism of the underlying in the world.”
crater floor, the nature of a hydrothermal
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F E AT U R E D S TO RY
structures throughout the solar system; LPI Online Resources Cockell, M. J. L. Coolen, L. Ferrière, S. Green,
and the Chicxulub crater illustrates K. Goto, H. Jones, C. M. Lowery, C. Mellett, R.
how such impact events can chemically Chicxulub Impact Event website Ocampo-Torres, L. Perez-Cruz, A. E. Pickersgill,
and thermally modify large volumes of with educational materials C. Rasmussen, H. Sato, J. Smit, S. M. Tikoo, N.
planetary crust and produce unique (https://www.lpi.usra.edu/ Tomioka, J. Urrutia-Fucugauchi, M. T. Whalen, L.
subterranean habitats for microbial science/kring/Chicxulub/) Xiao, and K. E. Yamaguchi (2018) Extraordinary
ecosystems that may be a proxy for Video simulations of impact events, including rocks from the peak ring of the Chicxulub impact
the earliest of life on our planet and a Chicxulub-sized impact event (https:// crater: P-wave velocity, density, and porosity
potentially elsewhere where impact www.lpi.usra.edu/exploration/training/ measurements from IODP/ICDP Expedition 364.
events modify hydrous planetary crust. resources/impact_cratering/) Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 495, 1–11.
Acknowledgments. This report is a celebration C. M. Lowery, T. J. Bralower, J. D. Owens, F. J.
of the 30th anniversary of the discovery of the Suggested Readings of Rodríguez-Tovar, H. Jones, J. Smit, M. T. Whalen,
Chicxulub crater. It is also designed to summarize Expedition Results P. Claeys, K. Farley, S. P. S. Gulick, J. V. Morgan,
recent studies of the crater that the lunar and S. Green, E. Chenot, G. L. Christeson, C. S.
planetary science community may find interesting. Cockell, M. J. L. Coolen, L. Ferrière, C. Gebhardt,
Those new results were produced by members of 2016 K. Goto, D. A. Kring, J. Lofi, R. Ocampo-Torres, L.
the IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 Science Party J. Morgan, S. Gulick, T. Bralower, E. Chenot, G. Perez-Cruz, A. E. Pickersgill, M. H. Poelchau, A.
and their collaborators, all of whom are gratefully Christeson, P. Claeys, C. Cockell, G. S. Collins, M. S. P. Rae, C. Rasmussen, M. Rebolledo-Vieyra,
acknowledged: I. Arenillas, N. Artemieva, J. A. J. L. Coolen, L. Ferrière, C. Gebhardt, K. Goto, H. U. Riller, H. Sato, S. M. Tikoo, N. Tomioka, J.
Arz, T. Bauersachs, P. A. Bland, M. E. Böttcher, T. J. Jones, D. A. Kring, E. Le Ber, J. Lofi, X. Long, C. Urrutia-Fucugauchi, J. Vellekoop, A. Wittmann, L.
Bralower, L. Brun, D. Burney, J. Carte, A. J. Cavosie, Lowery, C. Mellett, R. Ocampo-Torres, G. R. Osinski, Xiao, K. E. Yamaguchi, and W. Zylberman (2018)
B. Célérier, S. A. Chen, E. Chenot, S. Chernonozhkin, L. Perez-Cruz, A. Pickersgill, M. Pölchau, A. Rae, C. Rapid recovery of life at ground zero of the end-
G. Christeson, R. Christoffersen, P. Claeys, C. S. Rasmussen, M. Rebolledo-Vieyra, U. Riller, H. Sato, Cretaceous mass extinction. Nature, 558, 288–291.
Cockell, G. S. Collins, M. J. L. Coolen, J. Cosmidis, D. R. Schmitt, J. Smit, S. Tikoo, N. Tomioka, J. Urrutia-
M. A. Cox, X. Cui, T. M. Davison, S. J. deGraaff, T. Fucugauchi, M. Whalen, A. Wittmann, K. Yamaguchi, J. Lofi, D. Smith, C. Delahunty, E. Le Ber, L. Brun,
Déhais, C. Delahunty, T. Demchuk, F. Demory, N. J. and W. Zylberman (2016) The formation of peak G. Henry, J. Paris, S. Tikoo, W. Zylberman, Ph. A.
deWinter, M. Ebert, M. Elfman, T. M. Erickson, M. rings in large impact craters. Science, 354(6314), Pezard, B. Célérier, D. R. Schmitt, C. Nixon, and the
S. Fantle, K. Farley, J.-G. Feignon, L. Ferrière, K. H. 878–882, DOI: 10.1126/science/aah6561. Expedition 364 Scientists: S. Gulick, J. V. Morgan,
Freeman, J. Garbar, J. Gattacceca, C. Gebhardt, T. Bralowerv, E. Chenot, G. Christeson, P. Claeys, C.
S. Goderis, M. Gonzalez, K. Goto, S. L. Green, K. 2017 Cockell, M. J. L. Coolen, L. Ferrière, C. Gebhardt, S.
Grice, R. A. F. Grieve, S. P. S. Gulick, E. Hajek, B. D. A. Kring, P. Claeys, S. P. S. Gullick, J. V. Morgan, Green, K. Goto, H. Jones, D. A. Kring, X. Long, C.
Hall, P. J. Heaney, G. Henry, P. J. A. Hill, A. Ishikawa, G. S. Collins, and the IODP-ICDP Expedition Lowery, C. Mellett, R. Ocampo-Torres, L. Perez-Cruz,
D. M. Jarzen, H. L. Jones, S. Jung, P. Kaskes, C. 364 Science Party (2017) Chicxulub and the A. Pickersgill, M. Poelchau, A. Rae, C. Rasmussen,
Koeberl, D. A. Kring, P. Kristiansson, T. J. Lapen, exploration of large peak-ring impact craters M. Rebolledo-Vieyra, U. Riller, H. Sato, J. Smit, N.
E. LeBer, H. Leroux, L. Leung, J. Lofi, X. Long, F. J. through scientific drilling. GSA Today, 27(10), 4–8. Tomioka, J. Urrutia-Fucugauchi, M. Whalen, A.
Longstaffe, C. M. Lowery, S. L. Lyons, N. McCall, C. Wittmann, and K. E. Yamaguchi (2018) Drilling-
Mellett, H. J. Melosh, J. V. Morgan, C. R. Neal, C. induced and logging-related features illustrated from
Nixon, N. B. Nuñez Otaño, R. Ocampo-Torres, J. N. Artemieva, J. Morgan, and the Expedition IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 downhole logs and
M. K. O’Keefe, K. O’Malley, J. Ormö, G. R. Osinski, 364 Science Party (2017) Quantifying the borehole imaging tools. Scientific Drilling, 24, 1–13.
J. D. Owens, J. Paris, B. H. Passey, N. Patel, M. A. release of climate-active gases by large
Pearce, L. Pérez-Cruz, Ph. A. Pezard, A. E. Pickersgill, meteorite impacts with a case study of U. Riller, M. H. Poelchau, A. S.P. Rae, F. Schulte, H. J.
M. H. Poelchau, M. S. P. Pölchau, A. S. P. Rae, C. Chicxulub. Geophysical Research Letters, 44, Melosh, G. S. Collins, R. A. F. Grieve, J. V. Morgan,
Rasmussen, M. Rebolledo-Vieyra, U. Riller, F. J. 9 pp., DOI: 10.2002/2017GL074879. S. P. S. Gulick, J. Lofi, N. McCall, D. A. Kring, and
Rodríguez-Tovar, C. H. Ross, T. Salge, H. Sato, B. the IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 Science Party
Schaefer, M. Schmieder, D. R. Schmitt, B. Schmitz, (2018) Rock fluidization during peak-ring formation
F. M. Schulte, T. Schulz, L. Schwark, B. J. Shaulis, 2018 of large impact craters. Nature, 562, 511–518.
E. Sibert, S. L. Simpson, M. Sinnesael, J. Smit, D. M. Schmieder, B. J. Shaulis, T. J. Lapen, and
Smith, D. F. Stockli, R. E. Summons, S. M. Tikoo, N. D. A. Kring (2018) U-Th-Pb systematics
E. Timms, N. Tomioka, F. J. Tovar, G. Turner-Walker, in zircon and apatite from the Chicxulub 2019
J. Urrutia-Fucugauchi, V. Vajda, F. Vanhaecke, S. J. impact crater, Yucatán, Mexico. Geological C. Lowery, J. V. Morgan, S. P. S. Gulick, T. J.
M. Van Malderen, J. Vellekoop, C. M. Verhagen, Magazine, 155(6), 1330–1350. Bralower, G. L. Christeson, and the Expedition 364
S. Warny, M. T. Whalen, J. Wheeler, M. J. Scientists (2019) Ocean drilling perspectives on
Whitehouse, A. Wittmann, L. Xiao, K. E. Yamaguchi, G. L. Christeson, S. P. S. Gulick, J. V. Morgan, meteorite impacts. Oceanography, 32, 120–134.
J. C. Zachos, J. Zhao, and W. Zylberman. I thank C. Gebhardt, D. A. Kring, E. LeBer, J. Lofi, C.
Martin Schmieder, Dan Durda, Julie Tygielski, Linda Nixon, M. Poelchau, A. S. P. Rae, M. Rebolledo- J. Urrutia-Fucugauchi, L. Pérez-Cruz, J. Morgan,
Chappell, Delia Enriquez, Renée Dotson, and Paul Vieyra, U. Riller, D. R. Schmitt, A. Wittmann, S. Gulick, A. Wittmann, J. Lofi, and IODP-
Schenk for their assistance during production. T. J. Bralower, E. Chenot, Ph. Claeys, C. S. ICDP Expedition 364 Science Party (2019)
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Peering inside the peak ring of the Chicxulub granitoids and dykes from the Chicxulub impact S. Cockell, M. J. L. Coolen, F. J. Longstaffe, S. P. S.
impact crater — its nature and formation crater, Gulf of México: Implications for the assembly Gulick, J. V. Morgan, T. J. Bralower, E. Chenot, G. L.
mechanism. Geology Today, 35, 68–72. of Pangea. Gondwana Research, 82, 128–150. Christeson, Ph. Claeys, L. Ferrière, C. Gebhardt, K.
Goto, S. L. Green, H. Jones, J. Lofi, C. M. Lowery, R.
A. S. P. Rae, G. S. Collins, M. Poelchau, U. Riller, V. Smith, S. Warny, D. M. Jarzen, T. Demchuk, V. Ocampo-Torres, L. Perez-Cruz, A. E. Pickersgill, M. H.
T. M. Davison, R. A. F. Grieve, G. R. Osinski, Vajda, and the Expedition 364 Science Party Poelchau, A. S. P. Rae, C. Rasmussen, H. Sato, J. Smit,
J. V. Morgan, and IODP-ICDP Expedition (2020) Palaeocene-Eocene miospores from the N. Tomioka, J. Urrutia-Fucugauchi, M. T. Whalen,
364 Scientists (2019) Stress-strain evolution Chicxulub impact crater, Mexico. Part 1: Spores and L. Xiao, and K. E. Yamaguchi (2020) Probing
during peak-ring formation: A case study of gymnosperm pollen. Palynology, 44(3), 473–487. the hydrothermal system of the Chicxulub impact
the Chicxulub impact structure. Journal of crater. Science Advances, 6, 9 pp., eaaz3053.
Geophysical Research–Planets, 124, 396–417. V. Smith, S. Warny, K. Grice, B. Schaefer, M. T.
Whalen, J. Vellekoop, E. Chenot, S. P. S. Gulick, M. A. Cox, T. M. Erickson, M. Schmieder, R.
C. Rasmussen, D. F. Stockli, C. H. Ross, A. Pickersgill, I. Arenillas, J. A. Arz, T. Bauersachs, T. Bralower, Christoffersen, D. K. Ross, A. J. Cavosie, P. A. Bland,
S. P. Gulick, M. Schmieder, G. L. Christeson, F. Demory, J. Gattacceca, H. Jones, J. Lofi, C. M. D. A. Kring, and the IODP-ICDP Expedition 364
A. Wittmann, D. A. Kring, J. V. Morgan, and Lowery, J. Morgan, N. B. Nuñez Otaño, J. M. K. Scientists (2020) High-resolution microstructural
the IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 Science Party O’Keefe, K. O’Malley, R. J. Rodríguez-Tovar, L. analysis of shock deformation in apatite from the
(2019) Age preservation in Chicxulub’s peak Schwark, and the IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 peak ring of the Chicxulub impact crater. Meteoritics
ring — applying U-Pb depth profiling to shocked Scientists (2020) Life and death in the Chicxulub and Planetary Science, 55, 1715–1733.
zircon. Chemical Geology, 525, 356–367. impact crater: A record of the Paleocene-Eocene
Thermal Maximum. Climate of the Past, 16, S. L. Simpson, G. R. Osinski, F. J. Longstaffe, M.
A. S. P. Rae, G. S. Collins, J. V. Morgan, T. 1889–1899, DOI: 10.5194/cp-16-1889-2020. Schmieder, and D. A. Kring (2020) Hydrothermal
Salge, G. L. Christeson, L. Leung, J. Lofi, S. P. S. alteration associated with the Chicxulub impact
Gulick , M. Poelchau, U. Riller, C. Gebhardt, G. R. Osinski, R. A. F. Grieve, P. J. A. Hill, S. L. crater upper peak-ring breccias. Earth and
R. A. F. Grieve, G. R. Osinski, and IODP-ICDP Simpson, C. Cockell, G. L. Christeson, M. Ebert, S. Planetary Science Letters, 547, 116425.
Expedition 364 Scientists (2019) Impact-induced Gulick, H. J. Melosh, U. Riller, S. M. Tikoo, and A.
porosity and microfracturing at the Chicxulub Wittmann (2020) Explosive interaction of impact melt T. Bralower, J. Cosmidis, M. S. Fantle, C. M. Lowery,
impact structure. Journal of Geophysical and seawater following the Chicxulub impact event. B. H. Passey, S. P. S. Gulick, J. V. Morgan, V.
Research–Planets, 124, 1960–1978. Geology, 48, 108–112, DOI: 10.1130/G46783.1. Vajda, M. T. Whalen, A. Wittmann, N. Artemieva,
K. Farley, S. Goderis, E. Hajek, D. A. Kring, S.
S. P. S. Gulick, T. Bralower, J. Ormö, B. Hall, K. B. Schaefer, K. Grice, M. J. L. Coolen, R. E. Summons, L. Lyons, C. Rasmussen, E. Sibert, F. J. Tovar,
Grice, B. Schaefer, S. Lyons, K. Freeman, J. Morgan, X. Cui, T. Bauersachs, L. Schwark, M. E. Böttcher, G. Turner-Walker, J. C. Zachos, J. Carte, S. A.
N. Artemieva, P. Kaskes, S. de Graaff, M. Whalen, T. J. Bralower, S. L. Lyons, K. H. Freeman, C. S. Chen, C. Cockell, M. Coolen, K. H. Freeman, J.
G. Collins, S. Tikoo, C. Verhagen, G. Christeson, Ph. Cockell, S. P.S. Gulick, J. V. Morgan, M. T. Whalen, Garbar, M. Gonzalez, K. Grice, P. J. Heaney, H.
Claeys, M. Coolen, S. Goderis, K. Goto, R. Grieve, C. M. Lowery, and V. Vajda (2020) Microbial L. Jones, B. Schaefer, J. Smit, and S. M. Tikoo
N. McCall, G. Osinski, A. Rae, U. Riller, J. Smit, life in the nascent Chicxulub crater. Geology, (2020) The habitat of the nascent Chicxulub
V. Vajda, A. Wittmann, and Expedition Scientists, 48, 328–332, DOI: 10.1130/G46799.1. crater. AGU Advances, 1, e2020AV000208.
“The First Day of the Cenozoic,” Proc. National
Academy of Sciences 116(39), 19342–19351. M. Ebert, M. H. Poelchau, T. Kenkmann, and B. M. T. Whalen, S. P. S. Gulick, C. M. Lowery, T. J.
Schuster (2020) Tracing shock-wave propagation Bralower, J. V. Morgan, K. Grice, B. Schaefer, J.
N. E. Timms, M. A. Pearce, T. M. Erickson, A. J. in the Chicxulub crater: Implications for the Smit, J. Ormö, A. Wittmann, D. A. Kring, S. Lyons,
Cavosie, A. S. P. Rae, J. Wheeler, A. Wittmann, L. formation of peak rings. Geology, 48, 814–818. S. Goderis, F. J. Rodríguez-Tovar, and the IODP
Ferrière, M. H. Poelchau, N. Tomioka, G. S. Collins, Expedition 364 Scientists (2020) Winding down
S. P. S. Gulick, C. Rasmussen, J. V. Morgan, and F. J. Rodríguez-Tovar, C. M. Lowery, T. J. the Chicxulub impact: The transition between
IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 Scientists (2019) New Bralower, S. P. S. Gulick, and H. L. Jones impact and normal marine sedimentation at
shock microstructures in titanite (CaTiSiO5) from the (2020) Rapid microbenthic diversification and ground zero. Marine Geology, 430, 106368.
peak ring of the Chicxulub impact structure, Mexico. stabilization after the end-Cretaceous mass
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 174, 38 extinction event. Geology 48, 1048–1052. J.-G. Feignon, L. Ferrière, H. Leroux, and C.
(23 pp.), DOI: 10.1007/s00410-019-1565-7. Koeberl (2020) Characterization of shocked
G. S. Collins, N. Patel, T. M. Davison, A. S. P. quartz grains from Chicxulub peak ring granites
Rae, J. V. Morgan, S. P. S. Gulick, and the IODP- and shock pressure estimates. Meteoritics
2020 ICDP Expedition 364 Science Party (2020) A and Planetary Science, 55, 2206–2223.
J. Zhao, L. Xiao, S. P. S. Gulick, J. V. Morgan, D. A. steeply-inclined trajectory for the Chicxulub
Kring, J. Urrutia-Fucugauchi, M. Schmieder, S. J. impact. Nature Communications, 11, 1480, 10
de Graaff, A. Wittmann, C. H. Ross, Ph. Claeys, A. pp., DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15269-x. 2021
Pickersgill, P. Kaskes, S. Goderis, C. Rasmussen, V. D. A. Kring, M. J. Whitehouse, and M. Schmieder
Vajda, L. Ferriere, J.-G. Feignon, E. Chenot, L. Perez- D. A. Kring, S. M. Tikoo, M. Schmieder, U. Riller, (2021) Microbial sulfur isotope fractionation in
Cruz, H. Sato, K. Yamaguchi (2020) Geochemistry, M. Rebolledo-Vieyra, S. L. Simpson, G. R. Osinski, the Chicxulub hydrothermal system. Astrobiology,
geochronology and petrogenesis of Maya Block J. Gattacceca, A. Wittmann, C. M. Verhagen, C. 21, 103–114, DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2286.
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F. M. Schulte, A. Wittmann, S. Jung, J. V. Morgan, S. A. Wittmann, and J. V. Morgan (2021) Evidence Van Malderen, T. J. Bralower, S. P. S. Gulick, D.
P. S. Gulick, D. A. Kring, R. A. F. Grieve, G. R. Osinski, of carboniferous arc magmatism preserved in the A. Kring, C. M. Lowery, J. V. Morgan, J. Smit, M.
U. Riller, and the IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 Science Chicxulub impact structure. GSA Bulletin, in press. T. Whalen, and the IODP-ICDP Expedition 364
Party (2021) Ocean resurge-induced impact melt Scientists (2021) Globally distributed iridium layer
dynamics on the peak-ring of the Chicxulub impact S. Goderis, H. Sato, L. Ferrière, B. Schmitz, D. preserved within the Chicxulub impact structure.
structure, Mexico. International Journal of Earth Burney, P. Kaskes, J. Vellekoop, A. Wittmann, Science Advances, 7, 13 pp., eabe3647.
Sciences, DOI: 10.1007/s00531-021-02008-w. T. Schulz, S. Chernonozhkin, Ph. Claeys, S.
J. de Graaff, T. Déhais, N. J. de Winter, M.
C. H. Ross, D. F. Stockli, C. Rasmussen, S. P. S. Elfman, J.-G. Feignon, A. Ishikawa, C. Koeberl,
Gulick, S. J. de Graaff, Ph. Claeys, J. Zhao, L. P. Kristiansson, C. R. Neal, J. D. Owens, M.
Xiao, A. E. Pickersgill, M. Schmieder, D. A. Kring, Schmieder, M. Sinnesael, F. Vanhaecke, S. J. M.
CHICXULUB
CRATER
10 Issue 164 April 2021 © Copyright 2021 Lunar and Planetary InstituteF ROM T H E D ES K
O F LO R I G L A Z E
HONORING
INGENUITY
Lori S. Glaze
Director, NASA’s Planetary Science Division, April 2021
When last I wrote, we were still antic- helicopter had to be small. To fly in Mars’ to go well, we are anticipating Ingenuity’s
ipating the landing of the Mars 2020 atmosphere (with a density just 1% of first flight no earlier than April 11. This will
Perseverance Rover on Mars. Since then, Earth’s), it had to be lightweight. To survive be a real “Wright brothers’ moment” — in
as the whole world knows, Perseverance the incredibly cold nights on Mars, it needs fact, Ingenuity carries a very small amount
safely touched down in Jezero Crater enough power for its internal heaters. Yet of material from the Wrights’ famous Flyer
where it will search for the evidence of the engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion wings as a tribute to the birth of aviation
past life on Mars. But before the rover Laboratory (JPL) rose to these challenges in 1903. With Ingenuity we are writing the
begins exploring Jezero Crater in earnest, and we are poised to make the first con- next chapter in the history of flight.
we will perform an important and historic trolled, powered flight on another planet
technology demonstration with the with Ingenuity. As a technology demonstration, there are
Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. no scientific instruments on Ingenuity itself
At the time of writing it was confirmed that — its sole objective is to conduct flight
Ingenuity — a 1.8-kilogram (4-pound) Ingenuity passed a major milestone — by tests in the thin atmosphere of Mars and
rotorcraft — has now been successfully surviving its first night on Mars after its collect important engineering data. The
lowered to the surface of Mars from the separation from Perseverance. Ingenuity scientific instruments and communication
underbelly of Perseverance and is currently is now sitting squarely within the 10 x 10 capabilities of Perseverance, however,
proceeding through a series of pre-flight meter “airfield” that has been chosen for will be vital to the success of Ingenuity.
activities. To say that our helicopter’s its flat nature and lack of obstructions. In Perseverance will be used to relay the
name — provided by Tuscaloosa County the coming days, several further checkouts flight instructions, and the precise time of
High School student Vaneeza Rupani and events will occur. For example, the the first flight will be determined based
last year through the “Name the Rover” restraints that have been holding the rotor on several factors, including modeling of
contest — is apt is a major understatement. blades together since before launch will be local wind patterns and measurements
Ingenuity is the complete embodiment of released, and subsequent low-speed and from the Mars Environmental Dynamics
cleverness, originality, and inventiveness. high-speed spin tests of the blades and Analyzer (MEDA) instrument. If all goes
To be accommodated on Perseverance, the motors will be undertaken. If all continues to plan, we expect Ingenuity to climb at
11 Issue 164 April 2021 © Copyright 2021 Lunar and Planetary InstituteF R O M T H E D E S K O F LO R I G L A Z E
about 1 meter per second, hover about ensure the scientific integrity of our mission, and go” maneuver. The samples of Bennu
3 meters above the surface for up to 30 but I am also thrilled that Ingenuity — a will arrive back on Earth in September
seconds, and then safely descend and technology demonstration experiment — 2023, when — thanks to the ingenuity of
touch back down on Mars. After the first could be incorporated into the Mars 2020 the mission’s engineers and operators —
flight, there should be the opportunity to mission. Experiments like this are vital if scientists will get to work unraveling the
conduct up to four more flights during the we are to continue to push the envelope secrets of our solar system contained within.
30-sol “Month of Ingenuity.” of possibility in our robotic exploration of
the solar system. When the Sojourner rover After more than a year of pandemic per-
Of course, we will also be using landed on Mars in 1997, it opened up a severance, I am so grateful to be honoring
Perseverance’s cameras to keep a close brand-new way to explore the surface of the Wright brothers, Jacob van Zyl (and
eye on the Ingenuity flights, and we expect Mars — a method that we now take almost his JPL colleagues), and Vaneeza Rupani
to obtain plenty of high-definition images for granted. By making bold steps with our — embodying the past, present, and future
and videos. The rover will be positioned technology, we can expand our horizons spirit of ingenuity — as part of the Mars
away from the helicopter at a location we and broaden the scope of science from 2020 mission. In the words of Vaneeza,
have named the Van Zyl Overlook — for future missions. “the ingenuity and brilliance of people
our much-missed colleague Jakob van working hard to overcome the challenges
Zyl who passed away unexpectedly last During the Month of Ingenuity another of interplanetary travel are what allow us
year. Jakob served in many crucial roles of our ongoing missions will also pass all to experience the wonders of space
at JPL for more than 30 years, including as through a major event. Before starting its exploration.” I could not have summed
director for the Solar System Exploration journey back to Earth in May, OSIRIS-REx up the importance of Ingenuity, and the
Directorate. His leadership saw the success made one final flyby of Bennu on April lessons it will teach us, better.
of many NASA missions and projects, 7. This flyby provided the opportunity to
including Ingenuity. obtain new images of the asteroid, and
specifically, to characterize how the sur-
As Director of NASA’s Planetary Science face at the Nightingale sampling site was
Division my foremost responsibility is to altered during October’s successful “touch
12 Issue 164 April 2021 © Copyright 2021 Lunar and Planetary InstituteMEETING HIGHLIGHTS
THE 52ND LUNAR AND PLANETARY
SCIENCE CONFERENCE
The 52nd Lunar and Planetary Science important to young scientists, with student a half days of virtual sessions, including the
Conference (LPSC) was held virtually participation at approximately 36% of following topics:
and was co-chaired by Lisa Gaddis total attendance. The meeting organi-
(Lunar and Planetary Institute) and Eileen zation was provided by the Lunar and • Initial Results from the Mars 2020
Stansbery (NASA Johnson Space Center). Planetary Institute. Perseverance Rover Mission —
Attendance was the highest in the history NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance
of the conference, with 2,217 attendees LPSC began with a successful and enjoy- rover, the first mission in a multi-mis-
from 53 countries. Submitted abstracts able welcome event on Sunday afternoon sion campaign to return Mars samples
totaled 1,781 abstracts from 46 countries. in Gather.town. Beginning on Monday back to Earth, landed in Jezero
LPSC continues to be accessible and morning, the conference featured four and crater on February 18, 2021. This
session covered initial scientific results
from the first month of operations
of the Perseverance rover on Mars.
Presentations reviewed the geologic
setting of Perseverance’s landing site
observed from orbiter data and in situ
images and radar data, as well as
initial geochemical, mineralogic, and
atmospheric results.
• Fulfilling Apollo Goals and Preparing
for Artemis — Special samples
returned during Apollo have been
stored under unique conditions. These
samples include a soil core sealed on
the lunar surface in a Core Sample
Vacuum Container (CSVC) and frozen
samples. The Apollo Next Generation
Sample Analysis (ANGSA) initiative
simulates a new and inexpensive
lunar sample-return mission that fulfills
The main lobby in the virtual conference environment. some of the goals of Apollo and offers
13 Issue 164 April 2021 © Copyright 2021 Lunar and Planetary InstituteMEETING HIGHLIGHTS
new perspectives on lunar volatile
reservoirs and processes shaping
the Moon. The results of this initiative
will provide a fundamental reference
point for Artemis with respect to the
collection, curation, and analysis of
volatile-bearing lunar samples. The
ANGSA teams reported on new infor-
mation from these samples, including
geologic context; Preliminary
Examination Team results; stratigra-
phy and dynamics of lunar landslide
deposits; and mineralogy, geochem-
istry, chronology, organic, and stable
isotopic data.
• Scientific Exploration of the Lunar
South Pole: Scientific studies of the The Masursky Lecture with John Grotzinger.
lunar south polar environment are
being pursued at a frenzied pace
to provide information for robotic and astrobiology. The Galileo and and exotic traverses. This session
missions starting in 2021 and human Cassini missions provided the first covered the next two decades of
missions in 2024. The session cap- observations indicating oceans Ocean Worlds exploration, high-
tured those fast-paced research results beyond Earth. This perspective was lighting planned, proposed, and
in terms of remote sensing, modeling, broadened by the Dawn and New potential future science investiga-
and sample analysis; dispersed them Horizons missions to Ceres and tions, mission concepts, instruments,
to the community; and sparked addi- Pluto, respectively. Today, NASA and technologies.
tional scientific studies that have the is planning the Flagship-class • The complete program and abstracts
benefit of ensuring the best science is Clipper mission to Europa and New are available at www.hou.usra.edu/
accomplished when surface opera- Frontiers-class Dragonfly mission meetings/lpsc2021/program/.
tions commence. to Titan, while ESA is planning the
• The Next Two Decades of Ocean L-class JUICE mission to Jupiter’s The plenary session on Monday afternoon
Worlds Exploration: Ocean Worlds ocean worlds. Future in situ explo- featured the Masursky Lecture, “The Early
have emerged as a priority class ration may target icy surfaces, Aqueous Environment of Mars Inferred
of targets in planetary science planetary oceans, plume samples, from Mission Lifetime Results by the
Curiosity Rover at Gale Crater,” by John
Grotzinger. During the Thursday NASA
Headquarters Briefing and daily Meet-
and-Greet Sessions, representatives from
the Planetary Science Division of NASA’s
Science Mission Directorate addressed
meeting attendees.
In the virtual LPSC environment, post-
ers were accessible throughout the
conference via iPosters. Pre-recorded
presentations and recordings of all live
presentations were available as on-de-
mand content for 30 days after the end
of LPSC. As a first all-virtual LPSC, the
week offered attendees many opportu-
nities to share science and interact with
each other in the virtual environment.
The LPSC 2021 Twitter wall in the virtual conference environment.
— Text provided by Jamie Shumbera (Lunar and Planetary Institute)
14 Issue 164 April 2021 © Copyright 2021 Lunar and Planetary InstituteN E WS FROM S PAC E
TOUCHDOWN! NASA’S MARS
PERSEVERANCE ROVER SAFELY
LANDS ON RED PLANET
The largest, most advanced rover NASA
has sent to another world touched
down on Mars on February 18, 2021,
after a 203-day journey traversing
472 million kilometers (293 million
miles). Confirmation of the success-
ful touchdown was announced in
mission control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Southern California at
3:55 p.m. EST (12:55 p.m. PST).
The Mars 2020 mission launched
July 30, 2020, from Cape Canaveral
Space Force Station in Florida, packed
with groundbreaking technology. The
Perseverance rover mission marks an
ambitious first step in the effort to collect
Mars samples and return them to Earth.
“This landing is one of those pivotal
moments for NASA, the United States, and
space exploration globally — when we
know we are on the cusp of discovery and This image was captured while NASA’s Perseverance rover drove on Mars for the first time on March 4, 2021.
sharpening our pencils, so to speak, to One of Perseverance’s Hazard Avoidance Cameras (Hazcams) captured this image as the rover completed a
rewrite the textbooks,” said acting NASA short traverse and turned from its landing site in Jezero Crater. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Administrator Steve Jurczyk. “The Mars
2020 Perseverance mission embodies our of ancient microbial life. To that end, the monumental — including that life might
nation’s spirit of persevering even in the Mars Sample Return campaign, being have once existed beyond Earth.”
most challenging of situations, inspiring planned by NASA and ESA (European
and advancing science and exploration. Space Agency), will allow scientists Some 45 kilometers (28 miles) wide,
The mission itself personifies the human on Earth to study samples collected by Jezero Crater sits on the western
ideal of persevering toward the future and Perseverance to search for definitive signs edge of Isidis Planitia, a giant impact
will help us prepare for human explo- of past life using instruments too large basin just north of the martian equa-
ration of the Red Planet in the 2030s.” and complex to send to the Red Planet. tor. Scientists have determined that 3.5
billion years ago, the crater had its own
About the size of a car, the 1,026-kilo- “Because of today’s exciting events, river delta and was filled with water.
gram (2,263-pound) robotic geologist the first pristine samples from carefully
and astrobiologist will undergo several documented locations on another The power system that provides elec-
weeks of testing before it begins its two- planet are another step closer to tricity and heat for Perseverance
year science investigation of Mars’ Jezero being returned to Earth,” said Thomas through its exploration of Jezero
Crater. While the rover will investigate Zurbuchen, associate administrator for Crater is a Multi-Mission Radioisotope
the rock and sediment of Jezero’s ancient science at NASA. “Perseverance is Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG).
lakebed and river delta to characterize the first step in bringing back rock and The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
the region’s geology and past climate, a regolith from Mars. We don’t know provided it to NASA through an ongo-
fundamental part of its mission is astro- what these pristine samples from Mars ing partnership to develop power
biology, including the search for signs will tell us. But what they could tell us is systems for civil space applications.
15 Issue 164 April 2021 © Copyright 2021 Lunar and Planetary InstituteYou can also read
