The SuperCam instrument onboard Perseverance rover has remote imaging (RMI), VISIR, LIBS, Raman and Time-Resolved Luminescence (TRL) capabilities. RMI images of the rocks at the Octavia Butler landing site have revealed important granular texture diversities. VISIR raster point observations have revealed important differences in the 2.10-2.50 µm infrared range (metal-hydroxides); many include water features at 1.40±0.04 and 1.92±0.02 µm [1]. LIBS observations on the same points analyzed by VISIR revealed important differences in the concentrations of major elements, suggesting mineral grain sizes larger than the laser beam (300-500 µm). LIBS and VISIR show coherent results in some rock surfaces that are consistent with an oxy-hydroxide (e.g., ferrihydrite) [1]. LIBS elemental compositions are consistent with pyroxenes, feldspars, and more often feldspar-like glass, often enriched in silica. Olivine compositions [1, 2] have been observed so far in LIBS data (up to Sol 140) exclusively in rounded regolith pebbles. They have not yet been observed in the rocks themselves, which are MgO-poor compared to regolith and are consistent with FeO bearing pyroxenes (e.g., hedenbergite, ferrosilite). A 3x3 LIBS and VISIR raster (9x9 mm) acquired on a low-standing rock on sol 90 exemplifies these finding. A dark L-shaped filled void sampled by points 1 and 2 with possible ferrihydrite (H seen in LIBS and VISIR spectra). Point 5 contains abundant silica and alkali elements but is Al-depleted relative to feldspars, consistent with dacitic glass composition. Point 7 has TiO2 content consistent with ilmenite. Comparisons to (igneous) Martian meteorites are potentially useful, e.g. [3], to explain the presence of several minerals, although most Martian meteorites are olivine-rich, e.g., more mafic than the rocks at the landing site. In summary, the bedrock at Octavia Butler landing site can be interpreted as showing evidence for relatively coarse-grained weathered pyroxenes, iron and titanium oxides and feldspars, while the local soil contains pebbles from a different source (richer in MgO) incorporating olivine grains. References: [1] Mandon et al. 2021 Fall AGU, New Orleans, LA, 13-17 Dec. ; [2] Beyssac et al. 2021 Fall AGU, New Orleans, LA, 13-17 Dec. ; [3] Garcia-Florentino et al.(2021), Talanta, 224, 121863.

The Perseverance rover, Mars 2020 mission, landed on the surface of the Jezero Crater, on February, 18th 2021. This Martian crater is suspected to have hosted a paleolake as evidenced by the numerous detections of aqueously-altered phases and thus is a promising candidate for the search for past Martian life. The SuperCam instrument, elaborated by a consortium of American and European laboratories, plays a leading role in this investigation thanks to its highly versatile payload providing rapid, synergistic, fine-scale mineralogy, chemistry, and color imaging. After its landing, the first measurements of Martian targets with the infrared spectrometer of SuperCam (IRS) showed new instrumental behaviors that had to be characterized and calibrated to derive unbiased science data. The IRS radiometric response has thus been calibrated using periodic observations of the Aluwhite SuperCam Calibration Target (SCCT). Parasitic effects were understood and mitigated, and the instrumental dark and noise are characterized and modeled. The reflectance calibrated data products, provided periodically on the NASA Planetary Data System, are corrected from the main instrumental features.

The SuperCam instrument [1,2] onboard Mars2020 disposes of a variety of active and passive techniques, including passive spectroscopy in the 0.40-0.85 (VIS) and 1.3 to 2.6 microns (IR, [3,4]) wavelength ranges. Since the landing on Mars of Perseverance in February 2021, Supercam has acquired numerous observations of its near and distant environment, exploring the geological and mineralogical context of Jezero crater. In addition, several measurements were devoted to probing the atmosphere surrounding the Perseverance rover. The technique of using sky spectra in passive mode, known as “passive sky”, has already been demonstrated with ChemCam on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover [4]. SuperCam provides a superset of the ChemCam capabilities used in [4], and in particular adds a near-infrared component that includes absorption and scattering characteristics of key gases and aerosols/clouds. “Passive sky” measurements have typically been performed every other week to allow a consistent monitoring of the seasonal evolution of the main quantities (CO2, O2, H2O, CO, aerosols/clouds). Particular attention was given to joint measurements of O2 and CO, as they appear as key components of the Martian chemical cycle and have never been measured together at the same time on the surface of Mars. As the 2 μm wavelength region is used for the first time at the surface of Mars, it enables the detection of CO (around 2.35 μm). CO possesses a small absorption that has made it difficult to identify in SuperCam spectra so far. An overview of SuperCam’s progress to date in its attempt to characterize the Martian atmosphere at Jezero will be presented. References : [1] Wiens, R.C., et al. , 2021. Space Sci Rev 217, 4, [2] Maurice, S., et al., 2021. Space Sci Rev 217, 47, [3] Royer, C., et al.., 2020. Review of Scientific Instruments 91, 063105, [4] Fouchet, T., et al., 2021, Icarus, submitted. [5] McConnochie T. H et al., 2018. Icarus 307, 294