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Spirit Rover Spies Two Possible Iron Meteorites on Mars



 
 
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Old June 12th 06, 07:20 PM posted to sci.space.news
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Default Spirit Rover Spies Two Possible Iron Meteorites on Mars

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/mer/images.cfm?id=1962

Possible Meteorite in 'Columbia Hills' on Mars
June 9, 2006

The rock in the center foreground of this picture is suspected of being
an iron meteorite. The panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration
Rover
Spirit took this image during the rover's 809th Martian day (April 12,
2006). The foreground rock, informally named "Allan Hills," and a
similar rock called "Zhong Shan," just out of the field of view to the
left, have a smoother texture and lighter tone than other rocks in the
area.

The texture and glossiness of this pair reminded some members of the
rover science team of a rock called "Heat Shield Rock," which was
observed by Opportunity, Spirit's twin, in the Meridiani region of Mars
more than a year ago. Examination of that rock's composition confirmed
it to be an iron meteorite (see PIA07269
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07269.)

Observations of Allan Hills and Zhong Shan with Spirit's miniature
thermal emission spectrometer indicate that they are very reflective,
like Heat Shield Rock. They are the first likely meteorites found by
Spirit.

Rocks in the vicinity of Spirit's winter station are being assigned
informal names honoring Antarctic research stations. Zhong Shan is an
Antarctic base established by China in 1989. Allan Hills is a site
where
meteorites are frequently collected because they are relatively easy to
see as dark rocks on the bright Antarctic ice. The most famous Allan
Hills meteorite from Antarctica actually came from Mars and landed on
Earth. If the Zhong Chang and Allan Hills rocks seen by Spirit do turn
out to be iron-rich meteorites, they may have originated from an
asteroid and landed on Mars.

This view is an approximately true-color rendering that combines images
taken through the panoramic camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and
432-nanometer filters. It is a portion of an image previously released
(see PIA08095 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08095).

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell

 




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