PIA05647: 'Punaluu' Under the Microscope


‘Punaluu’ Under the Microscope

Caption:

This three-centimeter by three-centimeter (1.2-inch by 1.2-inch) image of the soil target, informally called "Punaluu" after the black sand beaches of Hawaii, was taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's microscopic imager during the rover's "Eagle Crater" soil survey. The largest particles are similar to those seen in the crater outcrop. There are also some smaller, more irregular rounded particles that have likely been transported by wind. The Moessbauer spectrometer's study of this target pushed some of the particles into the surrounding fine-grained sand.

For mosaic of related microscopic images, see PIA05651 .

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
Instrument Host Opportunity (MER-B)
Host Type Rover
Instrument Microscopic Imager (MI) Moessbauer Spectrometer (MB)
Detector
Extra Keywords Crater, Grayscale
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2004-03-27
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL/Cornell/USGS
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05647
Identifier PIA05647