[meteorite-list] Meteorite In Situ On Mars

From: Pete Pete <rsvp321_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Jun 2009 23:35:19 -0400
Message-ID: <BAY141-W237F14011D5AAAD07ECEE1F8480_at_phx.gbl>

Hi, Eric and List,
 
Any speculation for Libyan glass-type objects, moldavites, or tektites being found on Mars any time soon?
The conditions would be ideal for their creation, eh? (minus the atmosphere influence on the tektites, of course!)
 
Cheers,
 
Pete
 


----------------------------------------
> From: lintonius at earthlink.net
> To: eric at meteoritesusa.com
> Date: Thu, 4 Jun 2009 11:44:03 -0700
> CC: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Meteorite In Situ On Mars
>
> Hey, that's pretty cool, Eric. Thanks for sharing.
> You can leave the metal detector home. All you need
> is the space suit and a couple other little things. ;^)
> Linton
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Meteorites USA"
> To:
> Sent: Thursday, June 04, 2009 10:38 AM
> Subject: [meteorite-list] Meteorite In Situ On Mars
>
>
> Hi List,
>
> Here's a cool article on NewScientist.com showing a photo taken by
> Opportunity Rover of a possible meteorite about 800 meters south of
> Victoria Crater.
>
> http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/cms/dn17254/dn17254-1_300.jpg
>
> ARTICLE: Fist-sized stones scattered around Victoria Crater on Mars
> appear to be meteorites ? and might be fragments of the object that
> punched out the crater, researchers say. Because the rocks contain iron,
> which rusts in the presence of water, they could provide a sensitive
> gauge of how much weathering has affected the region in recent times.
>
> The rovers Spirit and Opportunity have previously found three iron
> meteorites, whose shiny, metallic appearance makes them stand out
> against the dusty Martian surface.
>
> Now, Opportunity has turned up six other candidates on a Martian plain
> called Meridiani Planum, all of which appear to be related to each
> other. Instruments on the rover, including its M?ssbauer spectrometer,
> show the rocks are stony, but also contain iron-bearing minerals present
> in meteorites found on Earth, such as kamacite and troilite.
>
> "I've been very excited ? about the prospects of finding meteorites at
> the Opportunity landing site because it is the perfect setting for it ?
> an ancient surface with very few Mars rocks," says James Ashley of
> Arizona State University in Tempe. "In this sense, it is similar to
> Antarctic meteorite fields where few Earth rocks are to be found."
>
> http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17254-rusty-space-rocks-could-flag-up-mars-water.html
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> In an old article linked from this one is another describing two iron
> meteorites found by Spirit rover in April of 2006.
>
> IRON METEORITES: Two iron meteorites have been spotted by the Mars rover
> Spirit, mission scientists have announced. The finds are the first
> meteorites identified by Spirit, although its twin, Opportunity,
> discovered a similar space rock on the other side of the planet in
> January 2005.
>
> Spirit photographed the rocks in April 2006, just after it parked at Low
> Ridge Haven, a northern-tilting slope that is serving as its home for
> the six-month-long Martian winter.
>
> The rocks appear smoother and lighter in tone than surrounding rocks.
> They resemble the glossy, pitted meteorite - dubbed "Heat Shield Rock" -
> that Opportunity found near its discarded heat shield.
>
> Observations of that rock with Opportunity's miniature thermal emission
> spectrometer (Mini-TES) showed it was very reflective - a telltale sign
> of an iron meteorite (see Metal chunk on Mars confirmed as meteorite).
> Now, observations by the Mini-TES on Spirit reveal the two suspect rocks
> are similarly reflective.
>
> "They're very good reflectors," says mission member Ray Arvidson of
> Washington University in St Louis, US. "We're seeing the heat of the sky
> being reflected to Mini-TES. I don't know how that can happen unless
> it's a metal."
>
> http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9324-mars-rover-spirit-finds-metallic-meteorites.html
>
>
> --
> Regards,
> Eric Wichman
> Meteorites USA
> http://www.meteoritesusa.com
> 904-236-5394
>
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Received on Thu 04 Jun 2009 11:35:19 PM PDT