Rocknest (Mars)

On October 7, 2012, a mysterious bright object (image), discovered in the sand at Rocknest, drew scientific interest. Several close-up pictures (close-up 1) (close-up 2) were taken of the object and preliminary interpretations by scientists suggest the object to be "debris from the spacecraft". Nonetheless, further images in the nearby sand have detected other bright particles (image) (close-up 1). These newly discovered objects are presently thought to be native Martian material. On October 17, 2012, at Rocknest, the first X-ray diffraction analysis of Martian soil was performed. The results from the rover's CheMin analyzer revealed the presence of several minerals, including feldspar, pyroxenes and olivine, and suggested that the Martian soil in the sample was similar to the weathered basaltic soils of Hawaiian volcanoes. On September 26, 2013, NASA scientists reported the Mars Curiosity rover detected "abundant, easily accessible" water (1.5 to 3 weight percent) in soil samples at the Rocknest region of Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater. In addition, NASA reported the rover found two principal soil types: a fine-grained mafic type and a locally derived, coarse-grained felsic type. The mafic type, similar to other martian soils and martian dust, was associated with hydration of the amorphous phases of the soil. == Images ==

Image:PIA16239 High-Resolution Self-Portrait by Curiosity Rover Arm Camera unedited.jpg|Curiosity rover self-portrait on the planet Mars at Rocknest (October 31, 2012). Image:Wheel Scuff Mark at 'Rocknest'.JPG|Curiosity rover wheel marks in the sand patch at the "Rocknest" site (October 3, 2012). Image:PIA16193-MarsCuriosityRover-ScoffmarkInSand-2011004.jpg|Sand on Mars – scoffmark made by Curiosity (MAHLI, October 4, 2012). Image:PIA16225-MarsCuriosityRover-ScooperTest-20121008.jpg|First use of the Curiosity rover scooper as it sifts a load of sand at "Rocknest" (October 7, 2012). Image:PIA16225-MarsCuriosityRover-ScooperTest&MysteryObject-20121008a.jpg|Curiosity finds a "bright object" in the sand at Rocknest (October 7, 2012) (close-up). Image:PIA16226-MarsCuriosityRover-FirstScoopOfSoil-20121007.jpg|First use of the Curiosity rover scooper as it sifts a load of sand at Rocknest (October 7, 2012). Image:PIA16231-MarsCuriosityRover-Tray-20121015.jpg|Curiositys scoop "bite marks" in the sand patch at the Rocknest site (October 15, 2012). Image:PIA16232-MarsCuriosityRover-Tray-20121016.jpg|Curiosity rover scoops soil sample onto an observation tray at the Rocknest site (October 16, 2012). Image:PIA16174-MarsCuriosityRover-Sand-Rocknest-20121030.jpg|Sand at Rocknest used for the first X-ray analysis of Martian soil (Curiosity rover, October 30, 2012) Image:PIA16217-MarsCuriosityRover-1stXRayView-20121017.jpg|First X-ray view of Martian soil (Curiosity at Rocknest, October 17, 2012). Image:PIA16452-MarsCuriosityRover-Rocknest3Rock-20121005.jpg|"Rocknest 3" rock - ChemCam and APSX target (Curiosity, October 5, 2012) (white-balanced image). Image:PIA16451-MarsCuriosityRover-Rocknest3Rock-RMI-20121003.jpg|"Rocknest 3" rock – ChemCam and APSX target (Curiosity rover, October 3, 2012). ==See also==