This image is a combined product from two imagers on the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover, which is collecting some of the highest ever resolution images of the planet’s surface. The two imagers, ACI (Autofocus Context Imager) and WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering), are part of the SHERLOC instrument.
Credit: S. Sharma, JPL/Caltech
The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover has a diverse scientific payload that enables the search for possible signs of ancient life on the Martian surface from the meter to the (tens of) micron scale.
Credit: S. Sharma, JPL/Caltech, MSSS, ASU
SHERLOC is one of several scientific instruments aboard the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover. It is capable of mapping organic molecules and minerals within Martian rocks, which can improve our understanding of how these molecules have been formed, transported, or preserved. It collects two types of spectra, which are signals generated from laser light interaction with the rock surface: Raman and Fluorescence.
Credit: JPL/Caltech, S. Sharma
SHERLOC has multiple subsystems: a grayscale high resolution context imager, a color imager called WATSON, and a spectrometer capable of deep UV Raman and Fluorescence spectroscopy.
Credit: Bhartia et al 2021 (Space Science Reviews), JPL/Caltech
These are colorized context images acquired by SHERLOC on ten different rock targets across the Crater Floor region of Jezero Crater.
Credit: S. Sharma, JPL/Caltech/MSSS
SHERLOC can perform several different scan types, each of which has a different focus and strength. The smallest scan is about the size of a pencil eraser, giving the most detailed view of Martian rocks to date.
Credit: S. Sharma, JPL/Caltech
Deep UV excitation, used by the SHERLOC laser, is particularly useful for the search for organics in mineral matrices. It allows for a natural spectral separation between the Raman region and Fluorescence region, meaning that there is minimal interference of the stronger fluorescence on the Raman region. Additionally, most mineral luminescence is beyond the SHERLOC detector range, increasing the likelihood that fluorescence detected by SHERLOC is due to organic molecules.
Credit: S. Sharma, JPL/Caltech