Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Title:
A Rainbow of Martian Elements
Original Caption Released with Image:
This graph or spectrum taken by the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the variety of elements present in the soil at the rover's landing site. In agreement with past missions to Mars, iron and silicon make up the majority of the martian soil. Sulfur and chlorine were also observed as expected. Trace elements detected for the first time include zinc and nickel. These latter observations demonstrate the power of the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer to pick up the signatures of elements too faint to be seen before. The alpha particle X-ray spectrometer uses alpha particles and X-rays to measure the presence and abundance of all major rock-forming elements except hydrogen.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Max-Planck- Institute for Chemistry
Produced By:
JPL
Mission:
Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
Spacecraft:
Spirit
Target Name:
Mars
Is a satellite of:
Sol (our sun)
Instrument:
Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer
Product Size:
720 samples x 486 lines
facet_what:
Sun
facet_what:
Spectrometer
facet_what:
Spirit
facet_what:
Mars
facet_what:
TRACE
facet_what:
Planck
facet_what:
Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer
facet_what:
Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
facet_where:
Mars
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Image #:
PIA05114
UID:
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA05114
orignial url:

A Rainbow of Martian Elements