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PIA05550: Hematite Abundance Map at Echo
This image shows the hematite abundance map for a portion of the Meridiani Planum rock outcrop called 'Echo' near where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity landed. Portions of the inner crater wall in this region appear rich in hematite (red).
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Exploration Rover (MER) 
 Spacecraft:  Opportunity
 Instrument:  Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer 
 Product Size:  1024 x 1184 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  JPL 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA05550.tif (1.67 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA05550.jpg (138.7 kB)  

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:
This image shows the hematite abundance map for a portion of the Meridiani Planum rock outcrop near where the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity landed. It was acquired by the rover's miniature thermal emission spectrometer instrument from a spot called "Echo." Portions of the inner crater wall in this region appear rich in hematite (red). The sharp boundary from hematite-rich to hematite-poor (yellow and green) surfaces corresponds to a change in the surface texture and color. The hematite-rich surfaces have ripple-like forms suggesting wind transported hematite to these surfaces. The bounce marks produced during landing at the base of the slope on the left are low in hematite (blue). The hematite grains that originally covered the surface were pushed below the surface by the lander, exposing a soil that has less hematite.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Cornell/ASU

Image Addition Date:
2004-03-12