X-ray Diffraction Results from Mars Science Laboratory: Mineralogy of Rocknest at Gale Crater
Abstract
The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity scooped samples of soil from the Rocknest aeolian bedform in Gale crater. Analysis of the soil with the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) x-ray diffraction (XRD) instrument revealed plagioclase (~An57), forsteritic olivine (~Fo62), augite, and pigeonite, with minor K-feldspar, magnetite, quartz, anhydrite, hematite, and ilmenite. The minor phases are present at, or near, detection limits. The soil also contains 27 ± 14 weight percent x-ray amorphous material, likely containing multiple Fe^(3+)- and volatile-bearing phases, including possibly a substance resembling hisingerite. The crystalline component is similar to the normative mineralogy of certain basaltic rocks from Gusev crater on Mars and of martian basaltic meteorites. The amorphous component is similar to that found on Earth in places such as soils on the Mauna Kea volcano, Hawaii.
Additional Information
© 2013 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Received 9 April 2013; accepted 1 August 2013. Support from the NASA Mars Science Laboratory Mission is gratefully acknowledged. Some of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. XRD data presented here are archived in the Planetary Data System (PDS, pds.nasa.gov).Attached Files
Supplemental Material - Bish-SM.pdf
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Additional details
- Alternative title
- Curiosity at Gale Crater
- Eprint ID
- 41554
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20130930-110010639
- NASA/JPL/Caltech
- Created
-
2013-09-30Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-10Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences