from Part III - Mineralogy and Remote Sensing of Rocks, Soil, Dust, and Ices
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 December 2009
ABSTRACT
The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was a mast-mounted instrument on the Mars Pathfinder (MPF) lander which landed on Mars' Ares Vallis floodplain on July 4, 1997. During the 83 sols of MPF landed operations, the IMP collected over 16 600 images. Multispectral images were collected using 12 narrowband filters at wavelengths between 400 and 1000 nm in the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) range. The IMP provided VNIR spectra of the materials surrounding the lander including rocks, bright soils, dark soils, and atmospheric observations. During the primary mission, only a single primary rock spectral class, “Gray Rock,” was recognized; since then, “Black Rock” has been identified. The Black Rock spectra have a stronger absorption at longer wavelengths than do Gray Rock spectra. A number of coated rocks have also been described, the Red and Maroon Rock classes, and perhaps indurated soils in the form of the Pink Rock class. A number of different soil types were also recognized with the primary ones being Bright Red Drift, Dark Soil, Brown Soil, and Disturbed Soil. Examination of spectral parameter plots indicated two trends which were interpreted as representing alteration products formed in at least two different environmental epochs of the Ares Vallis area. Subsequent analysis of the data and comparison with terrestrial analogs have supported the interpretation that the rock coatings provide evidence of earlier Martian environments.
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