PDS logoPlanetary Data System
PDS Information
Find a Node - Use these links to navigate to any of the 8 publicly accessible PDS Nodes.

This bar indicates that you are within the PDS enterprise which includes 6 science discipline nodes and 2 support nodes which are overseen by the Project Management Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Each node is led by an expert in the subject discipline, supported by an advisory group of other practitioners of that discipline, and subject to selection and approval under a regular NASA Research Announcement.
Click here to return to the Photojournal Home Page Click here to view a list of Photojournal Image Galleries Photojournal_inner_header
Latest Images  |  Spacecraft & Technology  |  Animations  |  Space Images App  |  Feedback  |  Photojournal Search  

PIA05679: 'Mazatzal's' Sparkly Self
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
 Spacecraft:  Spirit
 Instrument:  Microscopic Imager
Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) 
 Product Size:  982 x 982 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA05679.tif (2.897 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA05679.jpg (332 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 enhanced-color image taken by the microscopic imager on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 79 shows the rock dubbed "Mazatzal" after a portion of its surface was brushed clean by the rover's rock abrasion tool. The reddish material on the left side of the image is the original dust coating. The darker, grayer surface on the right side was exposed after brushing. The crack in the rock may have once contained fluids from which minerals precipitated along its walls. The color in this image was created by combining pictures taken with the microscopic imager's orange-tinted dust cover in both its open and closed positions.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/USGS/Cornell

Image Addition Date:
2004-04-02