Meteorites on Mars observed with the Mars Exploration Rovers

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Read Full Article (file size: 2060512 bytes) Cited by JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 113, E06S22, doi:10.1029/2007JE002990, 2008 Meteorites on Mars observed with the Mars Exploration Rovers C. Schröder Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA D. S. Rodionov Institut für Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany T. J. McCoy National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C., USA B. L. Jolliff Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA R. Gellert Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada L. R. Nittler Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D. C., USA W. H. Farrand Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colorado, USA J. R. Johnson U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA S. W. Ruff School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA J. W. Ashley School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA D. W. Mittlefehldt Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA K. E. Herkenhoff U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA I. Fleischer Institut für Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany A. F. C. Haldemann ESA-ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands G. Klingelhöfer Institut für Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany D. W. Ming Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA R. V. Morris Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA P. A. de Souza Jr. Vallourec Research Center, Aulnoye-Aymeries, France S. W. Squyres Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA C. Weitz Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, Arizona, USA A. S. Yen Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA J. Zipfel Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Senckenberg, Frankfurt am Main, Germany T. Economou Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Research, Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA Abstract Reduced weathering rates due to the lack of liquid water and significantly greater typical surface ages should result in a higher density of meteorites on the surface of Mars compared to Earth. Several meteorites were identified among the rocks investigated during Opportunity's traverse across the sandy Meridiani plains. Heat Shield Rock is a IAB iron meteorite and has been officially recognized as “Meridiani Planum.” Barberton is olivine-rich and contains metallic Fe in the form of kamacite, suggesting a meteoritic origin. It is chemically most consistent with a mesosiderite silicate clast. Santa Catarina is a brecciated rock with a chemical and mineralogical composition similar to Barberton. Barberton, Santa Catarina, and cobbles adjacent to Santa Catarina may be part of a strewn field. Spirit observed two probable iron meteorites from its Winter Haven location in the Columbia Hills in Gusev Crater. Chondrites have not been identified to date, which may be a result of their lower strengths and probability to survive impact at current atmospheric pressures. Impact craters directly associated with Heat Shield Rock, Barberton, or Santa Catarina have not been observed, but such craters could have been erased by eolian-driven erosion. Received 14 August 2007; accepted 21 December 2007; published 18 April 2008. Keywords: Mars Exploration Rover; meteorite accumulation on Mars; impact cratering. Index Terms: 6240 Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects: Meteorites and tektites (1028, 3662); 6225 Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects: Mars; 1028 Geochemistry: Composition of meteorites (3662, 6240); 3662 Mineralogy and Petrology: Meteorite mineralogy and petrology (1028, 6240). Read Full Article (file size: 2060512 bytes) Cited by Citation: Schröder, C., et al. (2008), Meteorites on Mars observed with the Mars Exploration Rovers, J. Geophys. Res., 113, E06S22, doi:10.1029/2007JE002990. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.

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