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ZL2VAL > ROVERS 16.04.04 13:37l 62 Lines 2117 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 130755ZL2VAL
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Subj: Rock similar to meteorite
Path: DB0FHN<DB0FOR<DB0MRW<OK0PPL<DB0RES<ER3KAZ<UR6IUG<WB0TAX<W7NTF<ZL2TZE<
ZL2AB
Sent: 040416/1126Z @:ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC #:38967 [New Plymouth] FBB7.00g
From: ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
To : ROVERS@WW
April 15, 2004
Mars rock similar to meteorite on Earth
BY CHRIS KRIDLER
FLORIDA TODAY
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A rock in Mars' Meridiani Planum shares a mineral
"fingerprint" not with other Mars rocks that probes have seen, but with
a meteorite that smashed into Antarctica millennia ago.
NASA's Opportunity rover has been roaming a plain where a salty sea once
flowed. Bounce Rock, named because the rover bounced by it during its
airbag-softened landing, is exotic partly because there are hardly any
rocks in the vicinity.
The rover did some grinding on the rock and found it was even more
strange, scientists said Wednesday, and not at all like the outcrop
Opportunity studied for weeks.
"Looking at the interior, we confirmed this is a very different rock
than we have seen thus far at Meridiani," said Jason Soderblom of
Cornell University, who is working with the science team at the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in California.
Mineral analysis showed that Bounce Rock closely resembled the meteorite
EETA79001, which fell in Antarctica probably 10,000 or more years ago,
said rover scientist Benton Clark of Lockheed Martin.
In the past, this meteorite convinced some scientists that it held
organic compounds, indicative of life on Mars. Other scientists say the
evidence has earthly origins. The space rock also held pockets of gases
that resembled the Martian atmosphere.
On Mars, it's possible that Bounce Rock blew out of a crater-causing
impact about 30 miles away from its current location. The 79001
meteorite might have come from a similar area on Mars, scientists say.
The $820 million twin rovers just successfully completed a software
update that will help them drive, conserve power and manage glitches better.
=========================
73 de Alan, (Sysop ZL2AB).
AX25:ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
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Message timed: 23:02 on 2004-Apr-16 (NZT)
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Points to ponder
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Rural wisdom
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Keep skunks, lawyers and bankers at a distance.
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