Tanezrouft salt flat deposits (Sahara Desert): a priority target for a Mars Sample Return mission

Space exploration responds to the deeply rooted desire of humankind to answer compelling questions about the life origins on Earth and its possible presence on other planets, to go beyond the limits of modem knowledge, and eventually expand human presence in the Solar System. At present, the world’s major space agencies are involved in space exploration, having as their main objectives the search for life and the understanding of planetary evolution, laying the foundations for Mars Sample Return (MSR) and human/robotic missions, and developing understanding of space resources potential. The key to the preparation of these complex endeavours is scientific study, aid training of procedures and operational sequences in appropriate planetary field analogues (PFA). Based on orbital observations and data interpretation, the study of relevant PFA are essential during all steps of a space mission such as planning and definition phase, development of space hardware and instrumentation, during in situ operations, understanding geological processes, defining the diversity and limits of life on Earth, refine life detection strategies. Brines and evaporites are today regarded as key exploration targets for the ongoing astrobiological exploration of Mars, and for fiiture MSR programs and space resources exploitation. Mars hosts salt deposits as identified firom orbital imagery, including deposits in settings resembling terrestrial evaporitic sabkhas. These sites are extraordinarily well suited for MSR: they are favourable for landing and for drill-based sampling, preserve samples reflecting flie chemistry of their parent water bodies, including dissolved atmosphere, contain potential biological remains, and have an enormous economic potential. The AZALEA project seeks to carry out a detailed study of the Tanezrouft Basin (TB) PFA in the context of a simulated MSR-like mission. The TB and its sabkha are remote hyperarid, salty areas of the Sahara Desert (Algeria). AZALEA will be articulated as follow: 1) remote sensing and mapping of the site with the objective of reconstructing the local geology and identifying outcrops (sabkha) of interest for the mission (e.g. astrobiology, MSR, human exploration); 2) fleldwork to study outcrops and sample collection for further analysis. Sampling will be conducted both in a simulated robotic mission setting (including field measurements) and width standard expert approach to fieldwork. This study will integrate data from remote sensing and Earth based observations, which will result in a comparative satellite and field maps of the study area, and from geological materials that will be analysed in the field and in lab., i.e., MSR-like mission protocols. AZALEA will develop methodologies to identify promising habitable sites to be used for future MSR missions and expand the frontiers of human space exploration. AZALEA will also contribute to the geological knowledge of the TB, one of the most remote and extreme places on Earth.