PIA06773: The Call of the Dark Rocks
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
 Spacecraft:  Spirit
 Instrument:  Panoramic Camera
 Product Size:  1024 x 1024 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  Cornell University 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA06773.tif (3.15 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA06773.jpg (217.9 kB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:

This false-color image taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows a group of darker rocks dubbed "Toltecs," lying to the southeast of the rover's current position. The rocks are believed to be basaltic, or volcanic, in composition because their color and spectral properties resemble those of basaltic rocks studied so far at Gusev Crater. Scientists hope to use these presumably unaltered rocks as a geologic standard for comparison to altered rocks in the area, such as "Clovis." This image was taken by the 750-, 530- and 430-nanometer filters of rover's panoramic camera on sol 220 (August 15, 2004).

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Cornell

Image Addition Date:
2004-08-18