BEFORE THE CURIOSITY MISSION AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE NOACHIAN METEORITE BRECCIA NORTHWEST AFRICA 7034 AND PAIRED METEORITES IT WAS INFERRED THAT THE MARTIAN SURFACE WAS MOSTLY BASALTIC. SINCE THE CURIOSITY ROVER LANDED IN GALE CRATER A DIVERSE RANGE OF COMPOSITIONS HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED IN IGNEOUS FLOAT ROCKS SEDIMENTARY ROCKS AND IGNEOUS CLASTS WITHIN SEDIMENTARY ROCKS THAT HAD NOT BEEN PREVIOUSLY OBSERVED IN SITU ON MARS. THESE ROCKS EXHIBIT A VARIETY OF TEXTURES AND MINERALOGIES AND HAVE BULK COMPOSITIONS RANGING FROM MAFIC TO FELSIC WITH A RANGE OF ALKALI ENRICHMENTS. THESE RECENTLY OBSERVED COMPOSITIONS PROVIDE EVIDENCE THAT THE CRUST OF MARS IS NOT EXCLUSIVELY BASALTIC BUT ALSO DISPLAYS FELSIC AND ALKALINE COMPOSITIONS. ON EARTH THESE COMPOSITIONS ARE MOSTLY ASSOCIATED WITH PLATE TECTONICS BUT CAN ALSO FORM AT SMALLER SCALES THROUGH INTRAPLATE MAGMATIC PROCESSES INVOLVING EXTENSIVE MAGMA FRACTIONAL CRYSTALLIZATION AND/OR VARIOUS DEGREES OF PARTIAL MELTING. THE PRESENCE OF FELSIC AND ALKALINE COMPOSITIONS ON MARS INDICATES THAT THESE MAGMATIC PROCESSES LIKELY OCCURRED IN THE MARTIAN INTERIOR AND THUS MARS MIGHT BE GEOLOGICALLY MORE SIMILAR TO EARLY AND MODERN EARTH THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT. HOWEVER THE MAGMATIC PROCESSES THAT COULD HAVE FORMED THE MARTIAN FELSIC AND ALKALINE COMPOSITIONS HAVE NOT BEEN WELL CONSTRAINED. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO USE THERMODYNAMICAL MODELING TO RECONSTRUCT THE COMBINATION OF MAGMATIC PROCESSES AND CONDITIONS SUCH AS MAGMA SOURCES PARENT MAGMAS PARTIAL MELTING AND FRACTIONAL CRYSTALLIZATION THAT FORMED THE ALKALINE AND FELSIC IGNEOUS ROCKS OBSERVED IN GALE CRATER AND COMPARE THEM TO SIMILAR COMPOSITIONS PREVIOUSLY ANALYZED AT THE MARTIAN SURFACE METEORITES RECOVERED ON EARTH AND TERRESTRIAL IGNEOUS ROCKS. ULTIMATELY THE PROPOSED STUDY WILL HELP BETTER CONSTRAIN THE FORMATION OF FELSIC AND ALKALINE ROCKS OBSERVED AT GALE CRATER AND MORE BROADLY ON MARS OVERALL AND HOW THEY RELATE TO SIMILAR TERRESTRIAL COMPOSITIONS. CONSTRAINING THESE MAGMATIC PROCESSES WILL PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF THE MARTIAN CRUST (PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT TO BE ONLY BASALTIC) AND MANTLE AS WELL AS CONTRASTING THE CRUSTAL EVOLUTION OF MARS WITH OUR OWN PLANET IN ORDER TO ELUCIDATE PLANETARY PROCESSES THAT RESULTED IN CRUSTAL EVOLUTION.