Overview of the Mars2020 mission an main results from SuperCam

Abstract

The Perseverance rover landed on Mars, at Jezero Crater, in February 2021. The rover carries SuperCam [1,2], which is the second instrument using the LIBS technique for planetary science. As a heritage from the ChemCam instrument onboard the MSL/Curiosity rover [3,4], SuperCam not only uses the LIBS technique, but also four other techniques (see Figure 1): two vibrational spectroscopic techniques (Raman and the VISIR spectroscopies) in order to get information about the mineralogical and molecular composition of targets; a microphone, to study the atmospheric properties of Mars, as well as to get some information concerning the rock hardness when used in combination with the LIBS; a color camera in order to visualize the point analyses performed on each target of interest. Since February 2021, the rover has driven more than 39 km and several parts of the Jezero crater have been explored: the crater floor, the delta front and top, the margin unit with Neretva Vallis, and is now exploring the crater rim (see Figure 2). SuperCam has analyzed more than 1000 targets using the LIBS technique, representing more than 320 000 laser shots (i.e., individual spectra). We will present an overview of the main findings from SuperCam, as well as highlight the key role of the LIBS technique in this mission, to help characterize the geological settings of the samples to collect for potential Earth return, and also how the synergy with the other spectroscopic techniques is of particular importance for planetary science.