PIA05675: What's on the Inside Counts
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
 Spacecraft:  Spirit
 Instrument:  Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer 
Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) 
 Product Size:  720 x 540 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA05675.tif (142 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA05675.jpg (35.16 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 graph shows the chemical composition of the rock at Gusev Crater dubbed "Mazatzal" after it was brushed and ground by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's rock abrasion tool. The data, taken by the rover's alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, show that Mazatzal's interior possesses approximately the same quantities of magnesium oxide and sulfur tri-oxide as other basalt rocks in the Gusev Crater area ("Adirondack and "Humphrey"). It's exterior coating or rind, on the other hand, appears to be of a different chemical composition than the previously studied rocks. Concentrations of magnesium oxide were observed to increase first with brushing, then grinding. Also represented on the graph is soil found near Mazatzal, which appears to have a different make-up from the rock itself. 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 made at the target dubbed "New York" on Mazatzal.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Cornell/Max Planck Institute

Image Addition Date:
2004-04-01