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Applying Earth’s Mineral Association Rules to Predict Martian Mineral Occurrences in Gale Crater

Session: Advancing Mineral Science and Exploring Planetary Surfaces: In Honor of MSA Dana Medalist, Elizabeth B. Rampe, Part I

Presenting Author:

Forest Yee

Authors:

Yee, Forest¹, Hendrickson, Kate², Morrison, Shuanna³, Prabhu, Anirudh⁴

(1) Trinity School, New York, New York, USA, (2) Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA, (3) Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA, (4) Carnegie Institution For Science, Washington, DC, USA,

Abstract:

The study of martian mineralogy is essential for understanding the planet's geologic history, environmental evolution, and potential habitability. Minerals act as natural records of the physical and chemical conditions under which they formed, providing crucial insights into Mars’ volcanic, hydrothermal, and aqueous processes dating as far back as 4.5 billion years. Understanding martian mineral diversity enables us to compare processes with those on Earth, highlighting the unique absence of plate tectonics on Mars. As such, mineralogical studies not only reconstruct past geologic environments but also guide future missions for human exploration.

Recently, Morrison et al. (2023) used mineral association analysis (MAA) to predict previously unknown localities of uranium and REE mineral species by analyzing patterns in large terrestrial mineralogical datasets. This approach has shown real-world utility: predicted mineral occurrences of economic minerals and at Mars analog sites like Tecopa Basin, California, which were later confirmed through fieldwork. Although Earth’s mineral association rules have not been applied to Mars prior to this study, the shared physical and chemical principles of mineral formation across the planets support their viability, with some careful interpretation related to the distinctions in geologic history between bodies.

In this study, we use Earth’s mineral association rules on the Gale crater CheMin dataset through February 2023. Our objective is to apply mineral association rules to predict previously unknown mineral occurrences. By analyzing patterns of mineral co-occurrence, we are able to infer undiscovered minerals at specific sites and additional localities for martian minerals.