Mossbauer investigation of "Bounce Rock" at Meridiani Planum on Mars - Indications for the first shergottite on Mars

Citation

Rodionov DS, Schröder C, Klingelhöfer G, Morris R, Bernhardt B, de Souza PA, Yen A, Renz F, Wdowiak TJ & Squyres SW (2004) Mossbauer investigation of "Bounce Rock" at Meridiani Planum on Mars - Indications for the first shergottite on Mars. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 39 (S8), pp. A91-A91.

Abstract
During the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) 2003 mission, an isolated rock lying on top of the plains at Meridiani Planum was analyzed by the Athena instrument suite. Remote sensing instruments noticed its distinct appearance. Several areas on the untreated rock surface and one that was ground with the rock abrasion tool (RAT) were analyzed by the Mössbauer (MB) spectrometer Mimos II, the microscopic imager, and alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS). Results of all analyses revealed a close compositional relationship of this rock with known basaltic shergottites.

Journal
Meteoritics and Planetary Science: Volume 39, Issue S8

People

Dr Christian Schroeder

Senior Lecturer, Biological and Environmental Sciences