Water-Signature Mineral Found by Spirit
Caption:
This spectrum, taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's Moessbauer spectrometer, shows the presence of an iron-bearing mineral called goethite in a rock called "Clovis" in the "Columbia Hills" of Mars. Goethite contains water in the form of hydroxyl as a part of its structure. By identifying this mineral, the examination of Clovis produced strong evidence for past water activity in the area that Spirit is exploring.
Cataloging Keywords:
Name |
Value |
Additional Values |
Target |
Mars |
|
System |
|
|
Target Type |
Planet |
|
Mission |
Mars Exploration Rover (MER) |
|
Instrument Host |
Spirit (MER-A) |
|
Host Type |
Rover |
|
Instrument |
Moessbauer Spectrometer (MB) |
|
Detector |
|
|
Extra Keywords |
Color, Water |
Acquisition Date |
|
Release Date |
2004-12-13 |
Date in Caption |
|
|
Image Credit |
NASA/JPL/University of Mainz |
Source |
photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07104 |
Identifier |
PIA07104 |