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4 - Mars Exploration Rovers: chemical composition by the APXS

from Part II - Elemental Composition: Orbital and in situ Surface Measurements

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2009

J. Brückner
Affiliation:
Geochemistry Department, Max Planck Institut für Chemie, PO Box 3060, Mainz D-55020, Germany
G. Dreibus
Affiliation:
Cosmochemistry Deparment, Max Planck Institut für Chemie, PO Box 3060, Mainz D-55020, Germany
R. Gellert
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Guelph Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
S. W. Squyres
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, 428 Space Sciences Building, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
H. Wänke
Affiliation:
Abteilung Kosmochemie Max Planck Institut für Chemie, PO Box 3060, Mainz D-55020, Germany
A. Yen
Affiliation:
JPL/Caltech 4800 Oak Grove Road M/S 183-501 Pasadena, CA 91109-8099, USA
J. Zipfel
Affiliation:
Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Senckenberg Frankfurt/Main, D-60325, Germany
Jim Bell
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
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Summary

ABSTRACT

The Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometers (APXSs) on board the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) determine the elemental compositions of Martian samples. Improvements to the version of the instrument flown on the Mars Pathfinder (MPF) mission allow, for the first time, in situ detection and quantification of trace elements such as nickel, zinc, and bromine. The APXS measurements are performed by placing the sensor head against or immediately above the sample surface. A wealth of compositional diversity has been discovered at the two MER landing sites. At Gusev crater, fresh rock surfaces in the plains resemble primitive basalts, while rocks in the Columbia Hills are significantly weathered and enriched in mobile elements such as phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, and bromine. Sandstones cemented by sulfates as well as evidence for clay formation have also been found in the Columbia Hills. At Meridiani Planum, the layered sedimentary rocks were found to consist primarily of sulfates mixed with siliciclastic debris. Iron-rich spherules and their fragments, confirmed to be hematitic by the Mössbauer spectrometer (MB), are found armoring the soil bedforms as well as embedded in the outcrop rocks. A variety of unusual objects, including an iron-nickel meteorite and a likely ejecta fragment similar to a Martian meteorite, have also been discovered. The elemental compositions of soils analyzed at both sites are remarkably similar, indicative of global-scale homogenization or the similarity of the soil precursors.

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  • Mars Exploration Rovers: chemical composition by the APXS
    • By J. Brückner, Geochemistry Department, Max Planck Institut für Chemie, PO Box 3060, Mainz D-55020, Germany, G. Dreibus, Cosmochemistry Deparment, Max Planck Institut für Chemie, PO Box 3060, Mainz D-55020, Germany, R. Gellert, Department of Physics, University of Guelph Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada, S. W. Squyres, Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, 428 Space Sciences Building, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA, H. Wänke, Abteilung Kosmochemie Max Planck Institut für Chemie, PO Box 3060, Mainz D-55020, Germany, A. Yen, JPL/Caltech 4800 Oak Grove Road M/S 183-501 Pasadena, CA 91109-8099, USA, J. Zipfel, Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Senckenberg Frankfurt/Main, D-60325, Germany
  • Edited by Jim Bell, Cornell University, New York
  • Book: The Martian Surface
  • Online publication: 10 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511536076.005
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  • Mars Exploration Rovers: chemical composition by the APXS
    • By J. Brückner, Geochemistry Department, Max Planck Institut für Chemie, PO Box 3060, Mainz D-55020, Germany, G. Dreibus, Cosmochemistry Deparment, Max Planck Institut für Chemie, PO Box 3060, Mainz D-55020, Germany, R. Gellert, Department of Physics, University of Guelph Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada, S. W. Squyres, Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, 428 Space Sciences Building, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA, H. Wänke, Abteilung Kosmochemie Max Planck Institut für Chemie, PO Box 3060, Mainz D-55020, Germany, A. Yen, JPL/Caltech 4800 Oak Grove Road M/S 183-501 Pasadena, CA 91109-8099, USA, J. Zipfel, Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Senckenberg Frankfurt/Main, D-60325, Germany
  • Edited by Jim Bell, Cornell University, New York
  • Book: The Martian Surface
  • Online publication: 10 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511536076.005
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Mars Exploration Rovers: chemical composition by the APXS
    • By J. Brückner, Geochemistry Department, Max Planck Institut für Chemie, PO Box 3060, Mainz D-55020, Germany, G. Dreibus, Cosmochemistry Deparment, Max Planck Institut für Chemie, PO Box 3060, Mainz D-55020, Germany, R. Gellert, Department of Physics, University of Guelph Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada, S. W. Squyres, Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, 428 Space Sciences Building, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA, H. Wänke, Abteilung Kosmochemie Max Planck Institut für Chemie, PO Box 3060, Mainz D-55020, Germany, A. Yen, JPL/Caltech 4800 Oak Grove Road M/S 183-501 Pasadena, CA 91109-8099, USA, J. Zipfel, Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Senckenberg Frankfurt/Main, D-60325, Germany
  • Edited by Jim Bell, Cornell University, New York
  • Book: The Martian Surface
  • Online publication: 10 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511536076.005
Available formats
×