Sunday, January 23, 2005
Mars Rover finds a meteorite
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Rover finds a meteorite on Mars:
The US space agency's (Nasa) robotic Mars rover Opportunity has discovered the first meteorite ever seen on the surface of the Red Planet.
Earlier this year, mission scientists spotted the pitted rock near to the remains of the rover's heat shield, which is lying on Meridiani Planum. Analysis showed it was made of iron and nickel, confirming it was not Martian, and instead fell from space.
Only 2% of meteorites on Earth are this metal-rich; most are rockier.
'This is a huge surprise, though maybe it shouldn't have been,' said Dr Steve Squyres of Cornell University in Ithaca, US, the principal investigator for the rover science payload.
The rock was identified as being metal rich in data from the rover's Mini-Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-Tes) instrument. Over the weekend, Opportunity drove to the rock extended its instrument arm and used its Ma�ssbauer and alpha particle X-ray spectrometers to confirm it was not Martian.
The meteorite sits near debris from Opportunity's heat shield, which protected it during its entry into the Martian atmosphere nearly one year ago.".............
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The US space agency's (Nasa) robotic Mars rover Opportunity has discovered the first meteorite ever seen on the surface of the Red Planet.
Earlier this year, mission scientists spotted the pitted rock near to the remains of the rover's heat shield, which is lying on Meridiani Planum. Analysis showed it was made of iron and nickel, confirming it was not Martian, and instead fell from space.
Only 2% of meteorites on Earth are this metal-rich; most are rockier.
'This is a huge surprise, though maybe it shouldn't have been,' said Dr Steve Squyres of Cornell University in Ithaca, US, the principal investigator for the rover science payload.
The rock was identified as being metal rich in data from the rover's Mini-Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-Tes) instrument. Over the weekend, Opportunity drove to the rock extended its instrument arm and used its Ma�ssbauer and alpha particle X-ray spectrometers to confirm it was not Martian.
The meteorite sits near debris from Opportunity's heat shield, which protected it during its entry into the Martian atmosphere nearly one year ago.".............
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