Back At Larry's Lookout |
Back At Larry's Lookout |
Guest_Sunspot_* |
May 18 2005, 06:29 PM
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#1
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Guests |
Some pretty complex driving by the look of it:
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/fo...E0P1214R0M1.JPG Now this is odd: http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/na...E0P0617R0M1.JPG It looks like some of the rocks have slid down the dune |
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May 21 2005, 03:39 PM
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#2
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Member Group: Members Posts: 320 Joined: 19-June 04 Member No.: 85 |
Yes, I also agree that it's a hardened layer of duricrust that was disturbed in some way by the rover. Duritcrust was previously observed at Opportunity, Pathfinder and Viking landing sites.
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all...03P2584L7M1.JPG This paper describes the process involved and you can also read a summary on my site under the "Duricrust" heading. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2004/pdf/2188.pdf Cheers, Aldo. -------------------- |
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May 21 2005, 08:47 PM
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#3
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2488 Joined: 17-April 05 From: Glasgow, Scotland, UK Member No.: 239 |
The paper on the duricrust posits some very credible processes, and when one considers the Viking 2 images of hoar frost at the landing site then a ready source of water is apparant.
I'm reminded of the 'mineralisation' process which occurs in sandstone used for buildings (a big chunk of Glasgow, where I live, is built of Old Red Sandstone from the north-west of Scotland) and which often preserves 400 MYO bedding planes etc in the facades of houses. I wonder whether the aeon-long formation of duricrust would eventually give us rocks comparable to terrestrial sandstone, or whether it would always remain rather more friable and delicate? The exhumation of buried features we see from orbital imagery suggests that there are episodes of harder/softer rock deposition, which may be linked to relative abundance of water (eg a nice big impact could create a briefly wet Mars with well mineralised rocks, with a gradual return to the fairy-cake stuff as time wears on). Ah, the ghost of Tommy Gold beckons! -------------------- Remember: Time Flies like the wind - but Fruit Flies like bananas!
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