PIA05674: Outer Appearances Can Be Deceiving


Outer Appearances Can Be Deceiving

Caption:

This graph shows the chemical composition of the rock at Gusev Craterdubbed "Mazatzal" after it was brushed and ground by the Mars ExplorationRover Spirit's rock abrasion tool. The data, taken by the rover's alphaparticle X-ray spectrometer over the last few sols, show that the amountof chlorine and sulfur tri-oxide in Mazatzal first increased afterbrushing, then diminished after grinding. The interior of the rock appears tohave the same chemical make-up as other volcanic or basalt rocks studiedin the Gusev Crater area ("Adirondack" and "Humphrey"). Its outer coatingor 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 madeat the target dubbed "New York" on Mazatzal.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)
Instrument Host Spirit (MER-A) Curiosity Rover
Host Type Rover
Instrument Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT)
Detector
Extra Keywords Color, Crater, Volcano
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2004-04-01
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL/Cornell/Max Planck Institute
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05674
Identifier PIA05674