Rocknest (Mars)

Rocknest is a sand patch on the surface of Aeolis Palus, between Peace Vallis and Aeolis Mons (Mount Sharp), in Gale crater on the planet Mars. The patch was encountered by the ''Curiosity'' rover on the way from Bradbury Landing to Glenelg Intrigue on September 28, 2012. The approximate site coordinates are: .

The sand patch is downhill from a cluster of dark rocks. NASA determined the patch to be the location for the first use of the scoop 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
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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
image

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. 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 was performed. The results from the rover's CheMin analyzer revealed the presence of several minerals, including feldspar, pyroxenes and olivine, 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 ''Curiosity'' rover detected "abundant, easily accessible" water (1.5 to 3 weight percent) in soil samples at the Rocknest region of Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater. 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 soils 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 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 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)
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.
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)
Image:PIA16217-MarsCuriosityRover-1stXRayView-20121017.jpg, First X-ray view of Martian soil (''Curiosity'' at Rocknest, October 17, 2012).
Image:PIA16452-MarsCuriosityRover-Rocknest3Rock-20121005.jpg, " Rocknest 3" rock - ChemCam 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
*Bedrock
* Composition of Mars
*Geology of Mars
* List of rocks on Mars
*Martian soil
* Rock outcrop
*Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory
*Water on Mars

References

External links

Curiosity Rover - Official SiteNASA - Mars Exploration ProgramVolcanic rock classification

{{Mars

Aeolis quadrangle
Mars Science Laboratory
Rocks on Mars