Martian rocks and

outcrops An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth and other terrestrial planets. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most p ...

have been studied ''in-situ'' by various landers and rovers. While many of the rocks identified on the Martian surface are similar to each other, some have been considered scientifically important or otherwise notable and have been subjected to more extensive study or public interest. Names for Mars

rocks In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...

are largely unofficial designations used for ease of discussion purposes, as the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

's official Martian naming system declares that objects smaller than are not to be given official names. Because of this, some less significant rocks seen in photos returned by Mars rovers have been named more than once, and others have even had their names changed later due to conflicts or even matters of opinion among researchers. Often rocks are named after the children or family members of astronauts or NASA employees. The rocks at the landing site of the ''

Sojourner A sojourner is a person who resides temporarily in a place. Sojourner may also refer to: People * Sojourner Truth (1797–1883), abolitionist and women's rights activist * Albert Sojourner (1872–1951), member of the Mississippi House of Rep ...

'' rover were given names of cartoon characters. Among them were Pop Tart, Ender, mini-Matterhorn, Wedge, Baker's Bench, Scooby Doo, Yogi, Barnacle Bill, Pooh Bear, Piglet, the Lamb, the Shark, Ginger, Souffle, Casper, Moe, and Stimpy. A dune was called Mermaid Dune, and a pair of hills were named Twin Peaks.

Sojourner rover The robotic ''Sojourner'' rover reached Mars on July 4, 1997 as part of the ''Mars Pathfinder'' mission. ''Sojourner'' was operational on Mars for 92 sols (95 Earth days), and was the first wheeled vehicle to operate on an astronomical object ...

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Mars Pathfinder ''Mars Pathfinder'' was an American robotic spacecraft that landed a base station with a rover (space exploration), roving probe on Mars in 1997. It consisted of a Lander (spacecraft), lander, renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, and a ligh ...

1997): *

Barnacle Bill Barnacle Bill may refer to: * Barnacle Bill (theme tune), the theme tune of the BBC children's TV programme ''Blue Peter'' *William Bernard (sailor), subject of the song *Barnacle Bill (Martian rock), a 40-cm rock on Mars in Ares Vallis *Barnacle ...

Yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297–299, 331 ...

Spirit rover ''Spirit'', also known as MER-A (Mars Exploration Rover – A) or MER-2, is a Mars rover, Mars robotic rover, active from 2004 to 2010. ''Spirit'' was operational on Mars for Timekeeping on Mars#Sols, sols or 3.3 Martian years ( days; '). It ...

(

Mars Exploration Rover NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission was a robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, ''Spirit (rover), Spirit'' and ''Opportunity (rover), Opportunity'', exploring the planet Mars. It began in 2003 with the launch of the two rove ...

, 2004 – 2010): * Adirondack *

Home Plate A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

* Pot of Gold

Opportunity rover ''Opportunity'', also known as MER-B (Mars Exploration Rover – B) or MER-1, and nicknamed Oppy, is a Robotics, robotic rover (space exploration), rover that was active on Mars from 2004 until 2018. ''Opportunity'' was operational on Mars for ...

(

, 2004 - 2018): *

Block Island Block Island is an island of the Outer Lands coastal archipelago in New England, located approximately south of mainland Rhode Island and east of Long Island's Montauk Point. The island is coterminous with the town of New Shoreham, Rhode Isl ...

* Bounce *

El Capitan El Capitan (; ) is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granite monolith is about from base to summit alo ...

Heat Shield In engineering, a heat shield is a component designed to protect an object or a human operator from being burnt or overheated by dissipating, reflecting, and/or absorbing heat. The term is most often used in reference to exhaust heat management a ...

* Last Chance *

Mackinac Island Mackinac Island ( , ; ; ; ) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac and "Mitchimakinak" in Ojibwemowin, meaning "Great Turtle". It is located in ...

Oileán Ruaidh Oileán Ruaidh (), anglicised as Island Roy, also called Oileán an Bhráighe (), is a small island in Mulroy Bay, County Donegal, Ireland.

Curiosity rover ''Curiosity'' is a car-sized Mars rover Space exploration, exploring Gale (crater), Gale crater and Mount Sharp on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. ''Curiosity'' was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ...

(

Mars Science Laboratory Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic spacecraft, robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed ''Curiosity (rover), Curiosity'', a Mars rover, in Gale (crater), Gale Crater on Augus ...

, 2012 - present): *

Bathurst Inlet Bathurst Inlet, officially Kiluhiqtuq, is a deep inlet located along the northern coast of the Canadian mainland, at the east end of Coronation Gulf, into which the Burnside and Western rivers empty. The name, or its native equivalent ''Kingo ...

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, approximately south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters patent by Queen Victor ...

* Hottah * Jake Matijevic * Rocknest 3 * Tintina

Perseverance rover ''Perseverance'' is a car-sized Mars rover designed to explore the Jezero (crater), Jezero crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission. It was manufactured by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched on July 30, 2020, at 11:50 Coordin ...

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Mars 2020 Mars 2020 is a NASA mission that includes the rover ''Perseverance (rover), Perseverance'', the now-retired small robotic helicopter ''Ingenuity (helicopter), Ingenuity'', and associated delivery systems, as part of the Mars Exploration Progra ...

, 2020 - present): *

Cheyava Falls Cheyava Falls is a rock discovered on Mars by NASA's ''Perseverance (rover), Perseverance'' rover during its exploration of the Jezero Crater. This rock, named after a Grand Canyon waterfall, has drawn significant attention due to its potential as ...

References

External links

Mars - Geologic Map
(

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...

, 2014)
original
/

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. In other words, a crop is a plant or plant product that is grown for a specific purpose such as food, Fiber, fibre, or fuel. When plants of the same spe ...

/ full
video (00:56)
.
Rocks on Mars (Geology.com)

Named Rocks on Mars (ppt file)

NASA – Mars Exploration Program
{{Geography of Mars * *

See also

References

External links