PIA05223: First Grinding of a Rock on Mars


First Grinding of a Rock on Mars

Caption:

The round, shallow depression in this image resulted from history's first grinding of a rock on Mars. The rock abrasion tool on NASA's Spirit rover ground off the surface of a patch 45.5 millimeters (1.8 inches) in diameter on a rock called Adirondack during Spirit's 34th sol on Mars, Feb. 6, 2004. The hole is 2.65 millimeters (0.1 inch) deep, exposing fresh interior material of the rock for close inspection with the rover's microscopic imager and two spectrometers on the robotic arm. This image was taken by Spirit's panoramic camera, providing a quick visual check of the success of the grinding. The rock abrasion tools on both Mars Exploration Rovers were supplied by Honeybee Robotics, New York, N.Y.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
Instrument Host Spirit (MER-A)
Host Type Rover
Instrument Panoramic Camera (Pancam) Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT)
Detector
Extra Keywords Grayscale
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2004-02-08
Date in Caption 2004-02-06
Image Credit NASA/JPL/Cornell
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05223
Identifier PIA05223