Curiosity at Gale Crater, Mars: Characterization and analysis of the rocknest sand shadow

MSL Science Team

doi:10.1126/science.1239505

Curiosity at Gale Crater, Mars: Characterization and analysis of the rocknest sand shadow

MSL Science Team

Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

330 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Rocknest aeolian deposit is similar to aeolian features analyzed by the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) Spirit and Opportunity. The fraction of sand <150 micrometers in size contains ∼55% crystalline material consistent with a basaltic heritage and ∼45% x-ray amorphous material. The amorphous component of Rocknest is iron-rich and silicon-poor and is the host of the volatiles (water, oxygen, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and chlorine) detected by the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument and of the fine-grained nanophase oxide component first described from basaltic soils analyzed by MERs. The similarity between soils and aeolian materials analyzed at Gusev Crater, Meridiani Planum, and Gale Crater implies locally sourced, globally similar basaltic materials or globally and regionally sourced basaltic components deposited locally at all three locations.

Original language	English
Article number	1239505
Journal	Science
Volume	341
Issue number	6153
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1239505
State	Published - Jan 1 2013

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10.1126/science.1239505

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@article{8c2e7cde6047470c88df960158d8aa74,

title = "Curiosity at Gale Crater, Mars: Characterization and analysis of the rocknest sand shadow",

abstract = "The Rocknest aeolian deposit is similar to aeolian features analyzed by the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) Spirit and Opportunity. The fraction of sand <150 micrometers in size contains ∼55\% crystalline material consistent with a basaltic heritage and ∼45\% x-ray amorphous material. The amorphous component of Rocknest is iron-rich and silicon-poor and is the host of the volatiles (water, oxygen, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and chlorine) detected by the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument and of the fine-grained nanophase oxide component first described from basaltic soils analyzed by MERs. The similarity between soils and aeolian materials analyzed at Gusev Crater, Meridiani Planum, and Gale Crater implies locally sourced, globally similar basaltic materials or globally and regionally sourced basaltic components deposited locally at all three locations.",

author = "\{MSL Science Team\} and Blake, \{D. F.\} and Morris, \{R. V.\} and G. Kocurek and Morrison, \{S. M.\} and Downs, \{R. T.\} and D. Bish and Ming, \{D. W.\} and Edgett, \{K. S.\} and D. Rubin and W. Goetz and Madsen, \{M. B.\} and R. Sullivan and R. Gellert and I. Campbell and Treiman, \{A. H.\} and McLennan, \{S. M.\} and Yen, \{A. S.\} and J. Grotzinger and Vaniman, \{D. T.\} and Chipera, \{S. J.\} and Achilles, \{C. N.\} and Rampe, \{E. B.\} and D. Sumner and Meslin, \{P. Y.\} and S. Maurice and O. Forni and O. Gasnault and M. Fisk and M. Schmidt and P. Mahaffy and Leshin, \{L. A.\} and D. Glavin and A. Steele and C. Freissinet and R. Navarro-Gonz{\'a}lez and Yingst, \{R. A.\} and Kah, \{L. C.\} and N. Bridges and Lewis, \{K. W.\} and Bristow, \{T. F.\} and Farmer, \{J. D.\} and Crisp, \{J. A.\} and Stolper, \{E. M.\} and \{Des Marais\}, \{D. J.\} and P. Sarrazin and Blake, \{D. F.\} and Morris, \{R. V.\} and G. Kocurek and Morrison, \{S. M.\} and Downs, \{R. T.\} and D. Bish and Ming, \{D. W.\} and Edgett, \{K. S.\} and D. Rubin and W. Goetz and Madsen, \{M. B.\} and R. Sullivan and R. Gellert and I. Campbell and Treiman, \{A. H.\} and McLennan, \{S. M.\} and Yen, \{A. S.\} and J. Grotzinger and Vaniman, \{D. T.\} and Chipera, \{S. J.\} and Achilles, \{C. N.\} and Rampe, \{E. B.\} and D. Sumner and Meslin, \{P. Y.\} and S. Maurice and O. Forni and O. Gasnault and M. Fisk and M. Schmidt and P. Mahaffy and Leshin, \{L. A.\} and D. Glavin and C. Freissinet and R. Navarro-Gonz{\'a}lez and Yingst, \{R. A.\} and Kah, \{L. C.\} and N. Bridges and Lewis, \{K. W.\} and Bristow, \{T. F.\} and Farmer, \{J. D.\} and Crisp, \{J. A.\} and Stolper, \{E. M.\} and \{Des Marais\}, \{D. J.\} and P. Sarrazin and Christophe Agard and Verdasca, \{Jos{\'e} Alexandre Alves\} and Robert Anderson and Ryan Anderson and Doug Archer and Carlos Armiens-Aparicio and Ray Arvidson and Evgeny Atlaskin and Sushil Atreya and Andrew Aubrey and Burt Baker and Michael Baker and Tonci Balic-Zunic and David Baratoux and Julien Baroukh and Bruce Barraclough and Keri Bean and Luther Beegle and Alberto Behar and James Bell and Steve Bender and Mehdi Benna and Jennifer Bentz and Gilles Berger and Jeff Berger and Daniel Berman and Avalos, \{Juan Jose Blanco\} and Diana Blaney and Jen Blank and Hannah Blau and Lora Bleacher and Eckart Boehm and Oliver Botta and Stephan B{\"o}ttcher and Thomas Boucher and Hannah Bower and Nick Boyd and Bill Boynton and Elly Breves and John Bridges and William Brinckerhoff and David Brinza and Claude Brunet and Anna Brunner and Will Brunner and Arnaud Buch and Mark Bullock and S{\"o}nke Burmeister and Michel Cabane and Fred Calef and James Cameron and Bruce Cantor and Michael Caplinger and Rodr{\'i}guez, \{Javier Caride\} and Marco Carmosino and Bl{\'a}zquez, \{Isa{\'i}as Carrasco\} and Antoine Charpentier and David Choi and Benton Clark and Sam Clegg and Timothy Cleghorn and Ed Cloutis and George Cody and Patrice Coll and Pamela Conrad and David Coscia and Agn{\`e}s Cousin and David Cremers and Alain Cros and Frank Cucinotta and Claude d{\textquoteright}Uston and Scott Davis and Mackenzie Day and \{de la Torre Juarez\}, Manuel and Lauren DeFlores and Dorothea DeLapp and Julia DeMarines and William Dietrich and Robert Dingler and Christophe Donny and Darrell Drake and Gilles Dromart and Audrey Dupont and Brian Duston and Jason Dworkin and Dyar, \{M. Darby\} and Lauren Edgar and Christopher Edwards and Laurence Edwards and Bethany Ehlmann and Bent Ehresmann and Jen Eigenbrode and Beverley Elliott and Harvey Elliott and Ryan Ewing and C{\'e}cile Fabre and Alberto Fair{\'e}n and Ken Farley and Caleb Fassett and Laurent Favot and Donald Fay and Fedor Fedosov and Jason Feldman and Sabrina Feldman and Mike Fitzgibbon and Greg Flesch and Melissa Floyd and Lorenzo Fl{\"u}ckiger and Abby Fraeman and Raymond Francis and Scott VanBommel",

year = "2013",

month = jan,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1126/science.1239505",

language = "English",

volume = "341",

journal = "Science",

issn = "0036-8075",

number = "6153",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Curiosity at Gale Crater, Mars

T2 - Characterization and analysis of the rocknest sand shadow

AU - MSL Science Team

AU - Blake, D. F.

AU - Morris, R. V.

AU - Kocurek, G.

AU - Morrison, S. M.

AU - Downs, R. T.

AU - Bish, D.

AU - Ming, D. W.

AU - Edgett, K. S.

AU - Rubin, D.

AU - Goetz, W.

AU - Madsen, M. B.

AU - Sullivan, R.

AU - Gellert, R.

AU - Campbell, I.

AU - Treiman, A. H.

AU - McLennan, S. M.

AU - Yen, A. S.

AU - Grotzinger, J.

AU - Vaniman, D. T.

AU - Chipera, S. J.

AU - Achilles, C. N.

AU - Rampe, E. B.

AU - Sumner, D.

AU - Meslin, P. Y.

AU - Maurice, S.

AU - Forni, O.

AU - Gasnault, O.

AU - Fisk, M.

AU - Schmidt, M.

AU - Mahaffy, P.

AU - Leshin, L. A.

AU - Glavin, D.

AU - Steele, A.

AU - Freissinet, C.

AU - Navarro-González, R.

AU - Yingst, R. A.

AU - Kah, L. C.

AU - Bridges, N.

AU - Lewis, K. W.

AU - Bristow, T. F.

AU - Farmer, J. D.

AU - Crisp, J. A.

AU - Stolper, E. M.

AU - Des Marais, D. J.

AU - Sarrazin, P.

AU - Blake, D. F.

AU - Morris, R. V.

AU - Kocurek, G.

AU - Morrison, S. M.

AU - Downs, R. T.

AU - Bish, D.

AU - Ming, D. W.

AU - Edgett, K. S.

AU - Rubin, D.

AU - Goetz, W.

AU - Madsen, M. B.

AU - Sullivan, R.

AU - Gellert, R.

AU - Campbell, I.

AU - Treiman, A. H.

AU - McLennan, S. M.

AU - Yen, A. S.

AU - Grotzinger, J.

AU - Vaniman, D. T.

AU - Chipera, S. J.

AU - Achilles, C. N.

AU - Rampe, E. B.

AU - Sumner, D.

AU - Meslin, P. Y.

AU - Maurice, S.

AU - Forni, O.

AU - Gasnault, O.

AU - Fisk, M.

AU - Schmidt, M.

AU - Mahaffy, P.

AU - Leshin, L. A.

AU - Glavin, D.

AU - Freissinet, C.

AU - Navarro-González, R.

AU - Yingst, R. A.

AU - Kah, L. C.

AU - Bridges, N.

AU - Lewis, K. W.

AU - Bristow, T. F.

AU - Farmer, J. D.

AU - Crisp, J. A.

AU - Stolper, E. M.

AU - Des Marais, D. J.

AU - Sarrazin, P.

AU - Agard, Christophe

AU - Verdasca, José Alexandre Alves

AU - Anderson, Robert

AU - Anderson, Ryan

AU - Archer, Doug

AU - Armiens-Aparicio, Carlos

AU - Arvidson, Ray

AU - Atlaskin, Evgeny

AU - Atreya, Sushil

AU - Aubrey, Andrew

AU - Baker, Burt

AU - Baker, Michael

AU - Balic-Zunic, Tonci

AU - Baratoux, David

AU - Baroukh, Julien

AU - Barraclough, Bruce

AU - Bean, Keri

AU - Beegle, Luther

AU - Behar, Alberto

AU - Bell, James

AU - Bender, Steve

AU - Benna, Mehdi

AU - Bentz, Jennifer

AU - Berger, Gilles

AU - Berger, Jeff

AU - Berman, Daniel

AU - Avalos, Juan Jose Blanco

AU - Blaney, Diana

AU - Blank, Jen

AU - Blau, Hannah

AU - Bleacher, Lora

AU - Boehm, Eckart

AU - Botta, Oliver

AU - Böttcher, Stephan

AU - Boucher, Thomas

AU - Bower, Hannah

AU - Boyd, Nick

AU - Boynton, Bill

AU - Breves, Elly

AU - Bridges, John

AU - Brinckerhoff, William

AU - Brinza, David

AU - Brunet, Claude

AU - Brunner, Anna

AU - Brunner, Will

AU - Buch, Arnaud

AU - Bullock, Mark

AU - Burmeister, Sönke

AU - Cabane, Michel

AU - Calef, Fred

AU - Cameron, James

AU - Cantor, Bruce

AU - Caplinger, Michael

AU - Rodríguez, Javier Caride

AU - Carmosino, Marco

AU - Blázquez, Isaías Carrasco

AU - Charpentier, Antoine

AU - Choi, David

AU - Clark, Benton

AU - Clegg, Sam

AU - Cleghorn, Timothy

AU - Cloutis, Ed

AU - Cody, George

AU - Coll, Patrice

AU - Conrad, Pamela

AU - Coscia, David

AU - Cousin, Agnès

AU - Cremers, David

AU - Cros, Alain

AU - Cucinotta, Frank

AU - d’Uston, Claude

AU - Davis, Scott

AU - Day, Mackenzie

AU - de la Torre Juarez, Manuel

AU - DeFlores, Lauren

AU - DeLapp, Dorothea

AU - DeMarines, Julia

AU - Dietrich, William

AU - Dingler, Robert

AU - Donny, Christophe

AU - Drake, Darrell

AU - Dromart, Gilles

AU - Dupont, Audrey

AU - Duston, Brian

AU - Dworkin, Jason

AU - Dyar, M. Darby

AU - Edgar, Lauren

AU - Edwards, Christopher

AU - Edwards, Laurence

AU - Ehlmann, Bethany

AU - Ehresmann, Bent

AU - Eigenbrode, Jen

AU - Elliott, Beverley

AU - Elliott, Harvey

AU - Ewing, Ryan

AU - Fabre, Cécile

AU - Fairén, Alberto

AU - Farley, Ken

AU - Fassett, Caleb

AU - Favot, Laurent

AU - Fay, Donald

AU - Fedosov, Fedor

AU - Feldman, Jason

AU - Feldman, Sabrina

AU - Fitzgibbon, Mike

AU - Flesch, Greg

AU - Floyd, Melissa

AU - Flückiger, Lorenzo

AU - Fraeman, Abby

AU - Francis, Raymond

AU - VanBommel, Scott

PY - 2013/1/1

Y1 - 2013/1/1

N2 - The Rocknest aeolian deposit is similar to aeolian features analyzed by the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) Spirit and Opportunity. The fraction of sand <150 micrometers in size contains ∼55% crystalline material consistent with a basaltic heritage and ∼45% x-ray amorphous material. The amorphous component of Rocknest is iron-rich and silicon-poor and is the host of the volatiles (water, oxygen, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and chlorine) detected by the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument and of the fine-grained nanophase oxide component first described from basaltic soils analyzed by MERs. The similarity between soils and aeolian materials analyzed at Gusev Crater, Meridiani Planum, and Gale Crater implies locally sourced, globally similar basaltic materials or globally and regionally sourced basaltic components deposited locally at all three locations.

AB - The Rocknest aeolian deposit is similar to aeolian features analyzed by the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) Spirit and Opportunity. The fraction of sand <150 micrometers in size contains ∼55% crystalline material consistent with a basaltic heritage and ∼45% x-ray amorphous material. The amorphous component of Rocknest is iron-rich and silicon-poor and is the host of the volatiles (water, oxygen, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and chlorine) detected by the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument and of the fine-grained nanophase oxide component first described from basaltic soils analyzed by MERs. The similarity between soils and aeolian materials analyzed at Gusev Crater, Meridiani Planum, and Gale Crater implies locally sourced, globally similar basaltic materials or globally and regionally sourced basaltic components deposited locally at all three locations.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84885616694

U2 - 10.1126/science.1239505

DO - 10.1126/science.1239505

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84885616694

SN - 0036-8075

VL - 341

JO - Science

JF - Science

IS - 6153

M1 - 1239505

ER -

Curiosity at Gale Crater, Mars: Characterization and analysis of the rocknest sand shadow

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