[meteorite-list] Students Uncover Baffling Martian Boulders

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:41:11 2004
Message-ID: <200102221627.IAA28047_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Contact: Gia Scafidi (818) 354-0372

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 21, 2001

STUDENTS UNCOVER BAFFLING MARTIAN BOULDERS

       In a case of beginner's luck, a group of international students, who
won the chance to image Mars with a NASA spacecraft camera, have stumbled
upon a surprising cluster of dark-colored boulders situated in the middle of
light-colored terrain.

       The students' discovery has so far baffled veteran Mars scientists.
The mystery boulders, found in images captured by NASA's Mars Global
Surveyor spacecraft, managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena,
Calif., cover one of three Martian sites targeted by the young scientists.
How the boulders got there and what geological history they represent on
Mars are questions scientists still need to answer.

       "It's puzzling," said Michael Carr of the U.S. Geological Survey. "I
looked at a few pictures around [the area] and couldn't find anything to
explain it. Very puzzling! These are huge boulders. There are no indications
of any outcrops that could shed such boulders."

       "The location and nature of these boulders is unusual, but their
shape and distribution -- in respect to the slope upon which they sit -- is
consistent with a boulder shattered by weathering. The fall to their present
location could also have broken the boulders apart. The mystery is why so
much of the rest of the slope is smooth and devoid of blocks," said Dr.
Michael Malin, of Malin Space Science Systems, which operates the Mars
Orbiter Camera aboard the Global Surveyor spacecraft.

       Images of the two other sites chosen by the students revealed an
equatorial Martian region with layers of sediment, possibly deposited by
flowing water, and layered terrain of a Martian polar cap.

       The students, all members of the Planetary Society's week-long Red
Rover Goes to Mars Training Mission, range in age from 10 to 16. Under the
supervision of scientists at Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego,
Calif., they studied imaging data from Global Surveyor and selected
interesting areas that coincided with the spacecraft's current orbital
position around the red planet. They also selected a candidate landing site
for a possible sample return mission, to be imaged sometime in the next five
months when Global Surveyor's orbit takes it past the target area.

       "This kind of opportunity makes me wish I were a student again," said
Michelle Viotti, lead for the Mars Public Engagement Program at JPL. "For
those who are still in school, we hope to open up many more opportunities in
the near future for students to participate personally in the exploration of
Mars."

       Images of the students' three sites, a close-up of the mystery
boulders and information on the students and their training mission are
available at http://planetary.org . The fledgling scientists were chosen
through an essay contest from more than 10,000 entrants worldwide. The four
girls and five boys represent Brazil, Hungary, India, Poland, Taiwan and the
United States.

       The Planetary Society's Red Rover Goes to Mars project is conducted
in cooperation with NASA and JPL. JPL manages NASA's Mars Global Surveyor
mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C., and Malin
Space Science Systems built and operates the Mars Orbiter Camera. JPL is a
division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

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Received on Thu 22 Feb 2001 11:27:00 AM PST