Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Title:
Outer Appearances Can Be Deceiving
Original Caption Released with Image:
This graph shows the chemical composition of the rock at Gusev Crater dubbed "Mazatzal" after it was brushed and ground by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's rock abrasion tool. The data, taken by the rover's alpha particle X-ray spectrometer over the last few sols, show that the amount of chlorine and sulfur tri-oxide in Mazatzal first increased after brushing, then diminished after grinding. The interior of the rock appears to have the same chemical make-up as other volcanic or basalt rocks studied in the Gusev Crater area ("Adirondack" and "Humphrey"). Its outer coating or rind, on the other hand, appears to be of a different constitution. Scientists are still puzzling out the implications of these data.

The larger symbols on the graph represent inferred rock compositions, while the smaller symbols are actual data points. Observations were made at the target dubbed "New York" on Mazatzal.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Cornell/Max Planck Institute
Produced By:
JPL
Mission:
Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
Spacecraft:
Spirit
Target Name:
Mars
Is a satellite of:
Sol (our sun)
Instrument:
Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT)
Instrument:
Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer
Product Size:
720 samples x 540 lines
facet_what:
Sun
facet_what:
Crater
facet_what:
Spectrometer
facet_what:
Spirit
facet_what:
Mars
facet_what:
Planck
facet_what:
Rock Abrasion Tool
facet_what:
RAT
facet_what:
Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer
facet_what:
Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
facet_where:
Mars
facet_where:
New York
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Image #:
PIA05674
UID:
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA05674
orignial url:

Outer Appearances Can Be Deceiving