- Original Caption Released with Image:
-
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has been analyzing sulfur-rich rocks
and surface materials in the "Columbia Hills" in Gusev Crater on Mars.
This image shows rocky debris and dust, which planetary scientists call
"regolith" or "soil," that has been churned up by the rover wheels. This
40-centimeter-wide (16-inch-wide) patch of churned-up dirt, nicknamed
"Paso Robles," contains brighter patches measured to be high in sulfur by
Spirit's alpha particle X-ray Spectrometer. Spirit's panoramic camera took
this false-color image on martian day, or sol, 400 (Feb. 16, 2005), using
filters at wavelengths of 750, 530, and 430 nanometers. Darker red hues
in the image correspond to greater concentrations of oxidized soil and
dust. Whiter and bluer hues correspond to sulfur-rich deposits that are
not as heavily coated with soils or are not as highly oxidized.
- Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL/Cornell
Image Addition Date:
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2005-03-07
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