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Press Release Images: Opportunity
24-Mar-2010
Mars Rover Examines Odd Material at Small, Young Crater
Press Release
Rock with Odd Coating Beside a Young Martian Crater, False Color
Rock with Odd Coating Beside a Young Martian Crater, False Color

This image from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a rock called "Chocolate Hills," which the rover found and examined at the edge of a young crater called "Concepción."

The rover used the tools on its robotic arm to examine the texture and composition of target areas on the rock with and without the dark coating. The rock is about the size of a loaf of bread. Initial analysis was inconclusive about whether the coating on the rock is material that melted during the impact event that dug the crater.

This view is presented in false color, which makes some differences between materials easier to see. It combines three separate images taken through filters admitting wavelengths of 750 nanometers, 530 nanometers and 430 nanometers. Opportunity took the image during the 2,147nd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Feb. 6, 2010).

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University
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Rock with Odd Coating Beside a Young Martian Crater
Rock with Odd Coating Beside a Young Martian Crater

This image from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a rock called "Chocolate Hills," which the rover found and examined at the edge of a young crater called "Concepción."

The rover used the tools on its robotic arm to examine the texture and composition of target areas on the rock with and without the dark coating. The rock is about the size of a loaf of bread. Initial analysis was inconclusive about whether the coating on the rock is material that melted during the impact event that dug the crater.

This view is presented in approximately true color, combining three separate images taken through filters admitting wavelengths of 750 nanometers, 530 nanometers and 430 nanometers. Opportunity took the image during the 2,147th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Feb. 6, 2010).

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University
Browse Image | Medium (143 kB) | Large (402 kB)
Image Analyzed by Mars Rover for Selection of Target
Coating on Rock Beside a Young Martian Crater

This image from the microscopic imager on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows details of the coating on a rock called "Chocolate Hills," which the rover found and examined at the edge of a young crater called "Concepción."

The rover took this image during the 2,150th Martian day, or sol, of its mission on Mars (Feb. 9. 2010). This target patch on Chocolate Hills is called "Aloya."

The view covers an area about 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) across. The color comes from imaging the same area with the panoramic camera and is false color to highlight differences in materials.

The coating includes a layer in which peppercorn-size spheres nicknamed "blueberries" are packed densely.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University
Browse Image | Medium Image (143 kB) | Large (624 kB)

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