Posted on 01/13/2005 11:43:47 AM PST by Fitzcarraldo
NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover has come across an interesting object -- perhaps a meteorite sitting out in the open at Meridiani Planum. Initial data taken by the robot’s Mini-Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) is suggestive that the odd-looking “rock” is made of metal.
The curious-looking object stands out in the parking-lot like landscape of Meridiani Planum.
“We're curious about it too. We have Mini-TES data on it now, and they suggest that it may actually be made of metal,” said Steve Squyres, lead scientist on the Mars Exploration Rover mission from Cornell University.
“So we are beginning to suspect that it may be a meteorite. I stress that this is very preliminary!”, Squyres told SPACE.com.
Opportunity has been busy at work inspecting entry debris -- hardware that fell to Mars during the robot’s entry, descent, and landing over a year ago.
Not too distant from the debris field, the odd-looking rock sits alone atop the sandy terrain.
Squyres cautioned that it is too early to identify the rock as a meteorite.
The next step by rover scientists is to carefully examine the object with Opportunity’s Instrument Deployment Device, or IDD. This robot arm is tipped with scientific instruments.
Once extended out to the object, the arm-mounted devices can study the object’s structure in great detail. The instruments on the IDD are the Microscopic Imager, the Mössbauer Spectrometer, the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer, and a Rock Abrasion Tool.
“We're going to look at it carefully with the IDD instruments next, and that should enable us to determine for sure what it is,” Squyres said.
Barry Bonds' 600th home run ball.
It looks like - "SPOCKS BRAIN"!!!
It looks a bit like some of the pics of meteorites I've seen, wonder when the next data on it comes in?
A gall bladder?
Looks like an iron meteorite to me, judging from the reflectivity and the rather melted looking profile. But how did it get there on the surface? Could have been buried, but eroded out into the open.
Fascinating.
TS
It's GOOOOOOLD! GOLD I tells ye!
SpongeBob?
since the rovers are going ang going why not send them over to cydonia to get a good look at 'the face'
I was going to say that too.. looks like metal.. But if it fell from space it would have left more of a hole in the ground? Unless thats just a tip of a bigger peice in the ground.
Here lies the remains of the MARS OBSERVER
Oh my,,a rock. Amazing.
Looks like a rock to me.
"I was going to say that too.. looks like metal.. But if it fell from space it would have left more of a hole in the ground? Unless thats just a tip of a bigger peice in the ground.
"
Well, not necessarily. Most meteorites and meteorite fragments here on Earth are discovered on the surface. Most often, they were buried on impact, but reappeared when erosion exposed them, either wind or water erosion.
I know a place in Baja California where iron meteorite fragments litter the surface of several acres. Since these particular ones are not rare, they're not valuable enough for mass collection and sale, so they're still there, just sitting on the surface of a sandy place.
Pretty easy to explain, really.
Oh look, a rock....
Cydonia does not have a "face"
It was due to the low resolution of the Viking cameras.
High res photos from Mars Observer just show it to be an eroded mesa.
It's the stand for the flag our astronauts left behind .. just ask Sheila Jackson Lee.
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