Rocknest is a
sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...
patch on the surface of
Aeolis Palus, between
Peace Vallis and
Aeolis Mons (Mount Sharp), in
Gale crater
Gale is a crater, and probable dry lake, at in the northwestern part of the Aeolis quadrangle on Mars. It is in diameter and estimated to be about 3.5–3.8 billion years old. The crater was named after Walter Frederick Gale, an amateur ast ...
on the planet
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
. The patch was encountered by the
''Curiosity'' rover on the way from
Bradbury Landing
Bradbury Landing is the August 6, 2012, landing site within Gale crater on planet Mars of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) ''Curiosity'' rover. On August 22, 2012, on what would have been his 92nd birthday, NASA named the site for author Ra ...
to
Glenelg Intrigue on September 28, 2012. The approximate site coordinates are: .
The sand patch is downhill from a cluster of dark rocks.
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
determined the patch to be the location for the first use of the
scoop
Scoop, Scoops or The scoop may refer to:
Objects
* Scoop (tool), a shovel-like tool, particularly one deep and curved, used in digging
* Scoop (machine part), a component of machinery to carry things
* Scoop stretcher, a device used for casualt ...
on the arm of the Mars ''Curiosity'' rover.
The Rocknest patch is about by .
Discovery and material analysis
On October 7, 2012, a mysterious bright object (
image), discovered in the sand at Rocknest, drew scientific interest. Several close-up pictures
close-up 1close-up 2 were taken of the object and preliminary interpretations by scientists suggest the object to be "debris from the spacecraft".
Nonetheless, further images in the nearby sand have detected other bright particles
imageclose-up 1. These newly discovered objects are presently thought to be native Martian material.
On October 17, 2012 at Rocknest, the first
X-ray diffraction analysis of
Martian soil
Martian soil is the fine regolith (a blanket of unconsolidated, loose, heterogeneous superficial deposits covering solid rock) found on the surface of Mars. Its properties can differ significantly from those of terrestrial soil, including its to ...
was performed. The results from the rover's
CheMin analyzer revealed the presence of several minerals, including
feldspar
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) felds ...
,
pyroxenes and
olivine
The mineral olivine () is a magnesium iron silicate with the chemical formula . It is a type of nesosilicate or orthosilicate. The primary component of the Earth's upper mantle, it is a common mineral in Earth's subsurface, but weathers quickl ...
, and suggested that the Martian soil in the sample was similar to the weathered
basaltic soils of
Hawaiian volcanoes.
On September 26, 2013, NASA scientists reported the
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
''Curiosity'' rover detected "abundant, easily accessible"
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...
(1.5 to 3 weight percent) in
soil samples at the Rocknest region of
Aeolis Palus in
Gale Crater
Gale is a crater, and probable dry lake, at in the northwestern part of the Aeolis quadrangle on Mars. It is in diameter and estimated to be about 3.5–3.8 billion years old. The crater was named after Walter Frederick Gale, an amateur ast ...
.
In addition, NASA reported the rover found two principal soil types: a fine-grained
mafic type and a locally derived, coarse-grained
felsic type.
The mafic type, similar to other
martian soil
Martian soil is the fine regolith (a blanket of unconsolidated, loose, heterogeneous superficial deposits covering solid rock) found on the surface of Mars. Its properties can differ significantly from those of terrestrial soil, including its to ...
s and
martian dust, was associated with hydration of the amorphous phases of the soil.
Also,
perchlorates, the presence of which may make detection of life-related
organic molecules difficult, were found at the ''Curiosity'' rover landing site (and earlier at the more polar site of the
''Phoenix'' lander) suggesting a "global distribution of these salts".
NASA also reported that
Jake M rock, a rock encountered by ''Curiosity'' on the way to
Glenelg, was a
mugearite
Mugearite () is a type of oligoclase-bearing basalt, comprising olivine, apatite, and opaque oxides. The main feldspar in mugearite is oligoclase.
Mugearite is a sodium-rich member of the alkaline magma series. In the TAS classification of vol ...
and very similar to terrestrial mugearite rocks.
Images
Image:PIA16239 High-Resolution Self-Portrait by Curiosity Rover Arm Camera unedited.jpg, ''Curiosity'' rover self-portrait on the planet Mars at Rocknest (October 31, 2012).
Image:Wheel Scuff Mark at 'Rocknest'.JPG, ''Curiosity'' rover wheel marks in the sand patch at the ''"Rocknest"'' site (October 3, 2012).
Image:PIA16193-MarsCuriosityRover-ScoffmarkInSand-2011004.jpg, Sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...
on Mars – scoffmark made by ''Curiosity'' ( MAHLI, October 4, 2012).
Image:PIA16225-MarsCuriosityRover-ScooperTest-20121008.jpg, First use of the ''Curiosity'' rover scooper as it sifts a load of sand at ''"Rocknest"'' (October 7, 2012).
Image:PIA16225-MarsCuriosityRover-ScooperTest&MysteryObject-20121008a.jpg, ''Curiosity'' finds a "bright object" in the sand at Rocknest (October 7, 2012)
close-up
.
Image:PIA16226-MarsCuriosityRover-FirstScoopOfSoil-20121007.jpg, First use of the ''Curiosity'' rover scooper as it sifts a load of sand at Rocknest (October 7, 2012).
Image:PIA16231-MarsCuriosityRover-Tray-20121015.jpg, ''Curiosity''s scoop "bite marks" in the sand patch at the Rocknest site (October 15, 2012).
Image:PIA16232-MarsCuriosityRover-Tray-20121016.jpg, ''Curiosity'' rover scoops soil sample onto an observation tray at the Rocknest site (October 16, 2012).
Image:PIA16174-MarsCuriosityRover-Sand-Rocknest-20121030.jpg, Sand at Rocknest used for the first X-ray analysis of Martian soil (''Curiosity'' rover, October 30, 2012)X-ray
An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
view of Martian soil (''Curiosity'' at Rocknest, October 17, 2012).ChemCam
Chemistry and Camera complex (ChemCam) is a suite of remote sensing instruments on Mars for the ''Curiosity'' rover. As the name implies, ChemCam is actually two different instruments combined as one: a laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIB ...
and APSX target (''Curiosity'', October 5, 2012) ( white-balanced image).
Image:PIA16451-MarsCuriosityRover-Rocknest3Rock-RMI-20121003.jpg, " Rocknest 3" rock – ChemCam and APSX target (''Curiosity'' rover, October 3, 2012).
See also
*
Aeolis quadrangle
The Aeolis quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Aeolis quadrangle is also referred to as MC-23 (Mars Chart-23).
The Aeolis quadrangle c ...
*
Bedrock
*
Composition of Mars
The composition of Mars covers the branch of the geology of Mars that describes the make-up of the planet Mars.
Elemental composition
Mars is differentiated, which—for a terrestrial planet—implies that it has a central core made up of me ...
*
Geology of Mars
The geology of Mars is the scientific study of the surface, crust, and interior of the planet Mars. It emphasizes the composition, structure, history, and physical processes that shape the planet. It is analogous to the field of terrestrial geo ...
*
List of rocks on Mars
This is an alphabetical list of named rocks (and meteorites) found on Mars, by mission. This list is a sampling of rocks viewed, and is not an exhaustive listing. A more complete listing may be found on the various NASA mission web sites. This lis ...
*
Martian soil
Martian soil is the fine regolith (a blanket of unconsolidated, loose, heterogeneous superficial deposits covering solid rock) found on the surface of Mars. Its properties can differ significantly from those of terrestrial soil, including its to ...
*
Rock outcrop
An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth.
Features
Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficia ...
*
Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory
The Mars Science Laboratory and its rover, ''Curiosity'', were launched from Earth on November 26, 2011. As of , , ''Curiosity'' has been on the planet Mars for sols ( total days; ') since landing on August 6, 2012. ''(See Current statu ...
*
Water on Mars
Almost all water on Mars today exists as ice, though it also exists in small quantities as vapor in the atmosphere. What was thought to be low-volume liquid brines in shallow Martian soil, also called recurrent slope lineae, may be grains of ...
References
External links
Curiosity Rover - Official SiteNASA - Mars Exploration ProgramVolcanic rock classification
{{Mars
Aeolis quadrangle
Mars Science Laboratory
Rocks on Mars
