Welcome to the new version of CaltechAUTHORS. Login is currently restricted to library staff. If you notice any issues, please email coda@library.caltech.edu
Published September 27, 2013 | Supplemental Material
Journal Article Open

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

Files

Bish-SM.pdf
Files (214.6 kB)
Name Size Download all
md5:5ca6e88a22a6db28bdeddab8104fc198
214.6 kB Preview Download

Additional details

Created:
August 22, 2023
Modified:
October 24, 2023