Planum

I Mercilon (Organon)-comb. Planum (Menarini)-comb. Practil (Organon)-comb. Securgin (Menarini)-comb. USA Desogen (Organon)... 

Norkotral (Desitin) -Planum /-mite (Pharmacia Upjohn)... 

Fig. 3.14 Left. NASA Mars-Exploration-Rover (artist view courtesy NASA, JPL, Cornell). On the front side of the Rover the robotic arm carrying the Mossbauer spectrometer and other instruments can be seen in stowed position. Right, robotic arm before placement on soil target at Victoria crater rim, Meridian Planum, Mars. The Mossbauer instrument MIMOS II with its circular contact plate can be seen, pointing towards the rover camera. See also Sect. 8.3...

MIMOS II has three temperature sensors one on the electronics board and two on the SH. One temperature sensor in the SH is mounted near the internal reference absorber, and the measured temperature is associated with the reference absorber and the internal volume of the SH. The other sensor is mounted outside the SH at the contact ring assembly. It gives the approximate analysis temperature for the sample on the Martian surface. This temperature is used to route the Mossbauer data to the different temperature intervals (maximum of 13, with the temperature width software selectable) assigned in memory areas. Shown in Fig. 3.21 are the data of the three temperature sensors taken on Mars (rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum) in January 2004 between 12 10 PM on Sol 10 (10 Martian days after landing) and 11 30 AM on Sol 11. The temperature of the electronics board inside the rover is much higher than the temperatures inside the SH and the contact plate sensor, which are nearly identical and at ambient Martian temperature. 

Fig. 8.30 The Instrument Deployment Device (IDD) above the surface of Mars, showing all the four in situ instruments left) the MIMOS II with its contact ring can be seen in the front picture taken at Meridiani Planum, Mars right) MIMOS II is located on the left side picture taken at Gusev Crater, Mars...

Mbssbauer spectra measured by the Opportunity rover at the Meridiani Planum landing site (see Fig. 8.35) revealed four mineralogical components in Meridiani Planum at Eagle crater jarosite- and hematite-rich outcrop (see Eig. 8.34), hematite-rich soil, olivine-bearing basaltic soil, and a variety of rock fragments such as... 

Fig. 8.34 Lefty, outcrop rocks found at the crater wall of Eagle Crater, where the rover Opportunity landed on 24 January 2004. Clearly, the sedimentary structure is seen. Right) in the spectrum, taken on sol 33 (sol = Martian day) of the mission, the mineral Jarosite, an Fe -sulfate, could be identified at the Meridiani Planum landing site. It forms only under aqueous conditions at low pH (< 3 ) and is therefore clear mineralogical evidence for aqueous processes on Mars...

Meteorites on Mars. Meridiani Planum is the first Iron meteorite discovered on the surface of another planet, at the landing site of the Mars Exploration rover Opportunity [359]. Its maximum dimension is 30 cm (Fig. 8.38). Meteorites on the surface of solar system bodies can provide natural experiments for monitoring weathering processes. On Mars, aqueous alteration processes and physical alteration by Aeolian abrasion, for example, may have shaped the surface of the meteorite, which therefore has been investigated intensively by the MER instruments. Observations at mid-infrared wavelengths with the Mini-TES... 

Fig. 8.37 Left, spectrum of an accumulation of hematite rich spherules (Blueberries) on top of basaltic soil (Sol 223-228 of the mission 1 Sol = 1 Martian day). The spectrum is dominated by the hematite signal. Estimations based on area ratios (bluebeiries/soil) and APXS data indicate that the blueberries as composed mainly of hematite. Right MI picture (3x3 cm ) of hematitic spherules (blueberries) on basaltic soil at Meridiani Planum...

Fig. 8.38 (Left) The Mossbauer spectrum of the rock called Heat Shield rock, clearly shows with high intensity the mineral Kamacite, an Fe-Ni alloy with about 6-7% Ni (Right) The iron-nickel meteorite Meridiani Planum (originally called Heat Shield Rock ) at Opportunity landing site, close to the crater Endurance. The meteorite is about 30 cm across (Courtesy NASA, JPL, Cornell University)...

Klingelhofer, G. et al. 2004. Jarosite and Hematite at Meridiani Planum from Opportunity s Mossbauer Spectrometer. Science, 306, 1740-1745. 

Morris, R.V. et al. 2006b. Mossbauer mineralogy of rock, soil, and dust at Meridiani Planum, Mars Opportunity s journey across sulfate-rich outcrop, basaltic sand and dust, and hematite lag deposits. Journal of Geophysical Research, 111, E12S15, doi 10.1029/2006JE002791. 

Although the rocks in Meridiani Planum analyzed by the Opportunity rover are fascinating (see below), they are unusual. Therefore, we will focus on the rocks and soils in Gusev crater analyzed by the Spirit rover, which are spectrally similar to the bulk of the Martian crust. We will compare these compositions with those of Martian meteorites and Bounce Rock in Meridiani, which is similar to shergottites. We will also consider orbital geochemical data obtained by GRS. 

Clark, . C. plus 23 coauthors (2005) Chemistry and mineralogy of outcrops at Meridiani Planum. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 240, 73-94. 

Rieder, R., Gellert, R., Anderson, R. C. et al. (2004) Chemistry of rocks and soils at Meridiani Planum from the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer. Science, 306, 1746-1749. 

The structure of polyclinal (171), an aromatic sulfate from a Californian specimen of Polyclinum planum, was determined by X-ray crystallography [167]. 

F. A. Carey and R. J. Sundberg, Advanced Organic Chemistry, Part A, 3rd ed., Planum Press, New York, 1990. 

Squyres SW, Athena Science Team (2004) Initial results from the MER Athena science investigation at Gusev Crater and Meridiani Planum. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference XXXV. Houston, TX. Abstract 2187... 

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