Two Years of Chemical Sampling on Meridiani Planum by the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer Onboard the Mars Exploration Rover OpportunityFor over two terrestrial years, the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has been exploring the martian surface at Meridiani Planum using the Athena instrument payload [1], including the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS). The APXS has a small sensor head that is mounted on the robotic arm of the rover. The chemistry, mineralogy and morphology of selected samples were investigated by the APXS along with the Moessbauer Spectrometer (MB) and the Microscopic Imager (MI). The Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) provided the possibility to dust and/or abrade rock surfaces down to several millimeters to expose fresh material for analysis. We report here on APXS data gathered along the nearly 6-kilometers long traverse in craters and plains of Meridiani.
Document ID
20080026156
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Bruckner, J. (Max-Planck-Inst. for Chemical Physics and Solids Germany)
Gellert, R. (Guelph Univ. Ontario, Canada)
Clark, B.C. (Lockheed Martin Corp. Denver, CO, United States)
Dreibus, G. (Max-Planck-Inst. for Chemical Physics and Solids Germany)
Rieder, R. (Max-Planck-Inst. for Chemical Physics and Solids Germany)
Wanke, H. (Max-Planck-Inst. for Chemical Physics and Solids Germany)
d'Uston, C. (Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements Toulouse, France)
Economou, T. (Chicago Univ. Chicago, IL, United States)
Klingelhofer, G. (Mainz Univ. Germany)
Lugmair, G. (California Univ. San Diego, CA, United States)
Ming, D.W. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Squyres, S.W. (Cornell Univ. Ithaca, NY, United States)
Yen, A. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Zipfel, J. (Forschungsinstitut Senckenburg Frankfurt, Germany)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
March 13, 2006
Subject Category
Geophysics
Meeting Information
Meeting: 37th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference