Aeolis Mons and Aeolis Palus meteorites on Mars registered in Meteoritical Bulletin Database

21/11/2017 18:20 · by karmaka · in iron, Mars, martian

Aeolis Mons 001 -4.70156176, 137.3560462

Mars

Find: 2016 Oct 30

Classification: Iron meteorite

History: The MSL rover Curiosity observed a very small rock informally named Egg Rock (Henceforth Aeolis Mons 001), on sol 1505. The rock was about 2.5 m from the rover, which was close enough to interrogate with Mastcam and ChemCam (LIBS chemical analysis and RMI). Aeolis Mons 001 is small (4-5 cm) rounded, and apparently hemispherical. It was seen only from one side. Another small fragment in the same rover location appears in MastCam imagery, identified by multispectral analysis (Wellington et al., 2017) but was not further investigated.

Physical characteristics: Aeolis Mons 001 has a lustrous blue-gray color and contains oval shaped depressions consistent with regmaglypts as well as elongated hollows that could result from ablation during entry or in situ differential erosion of less-resistant inclusions. At high resolution, the surface is smooth. The mass of the meteorite is estimated to be ~250 g.

Geochemistry: Mastcam color images reveal the presence of subtle surface patches on the surface, consistent with ferric materials, while other regions have reflectance spectra consistent with laboratory spectra of fresh iron meteorites (Johnson et al. 2016, Wellington et al. 2017). Chemistry and mineralogy consistent with iron meteorites are inferred from ChemCam analyses. Aeolis Mons 001 was interrogated using a 3×3 ChemCam Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) raster with accompanying Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) images. The ChemCam elemental spectra show both iron and nickel peaks at all nine points (Meslin et al., 2017). Comparison of these spectra with spectra measured on several iron meteorites with a replica of ChemCam in the laboratory at the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP) indicate that Aeolis Mons 001 is mostly made of kamacite and contains ~8 wt. % Ni. One point (#9) along the edge of an elongated cavity also exhibits P peaks and is enriched in Ni (Fig. 3). The colocation of Fe, Ni, and P in point #9 suggests the presence of schreibersite, (Fe,Ni)3P on the rim of this cavity.

Classification: Iron meteorite

Specimens: Left in situ on Mars

Aeolis Mons 002 -4.70767125, 137.3580139

Mars

Find: 2017 Jan 18

Classification: Iron meteorite

History: The MSL rover Curiosity observed a very small piece, informally named Ames Knob (henceforth Aeolis Mons 002), on sol 1577. The rock was about 3.4 m from the rover, and observed with Mastcam and ChemCam (LIBS chemical analysis and RMI). The Aeolis Mons 002 location is approximately 350 m south of Aeolis Mons 001 (Egg Rock).

Physical characteristics: The meteorite is a small (7.5 × 8.0 cm), irregularly shaped fragment seen only from one side. It has a blue-gray color, an overall massive appearance, with slight pitting, and without clear, well-preserved regmaglypts. The mass of the meteorite is estimated to be ~1.8 kg.

Geochemistry: The meteorite was probed with a 1×3 ChemCam Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) raster with accompanying Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) images. The LIBS spectra show prominent Fe and Ni peaks. The Fe and Ni peak intensities were nearly constant over the three probed points, which were spaced 14 mm apart across the raster. The Ni/Fe peak ratios for all three points are similar to Chinga, an ataxite with 16.7 wt.% Ni analyzed with a replica of ChemCam in the laboratory at the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP) (Wiens et al. 2017).

Classification: Iron meteorite.

Specimens: Left in situ on Mars

Aeolis Palus 001 -4.6408, 137.3986

Mars

Find: 2014 May 9

Classification: Iron meteorite

History: The MSL rover Curiosity observed 3 rocks, informally named Littleton (henceforth Aeolis Palus 001), Lebanon (henceforth Aeolis Palus 002), and Lebanon-B (henceforth Aeolis Palus 003), on Sol 634 and imaged them on Sols 637-641 using Mastcam and the Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) on ChemCam. Aeolis Palus 002 and 003 were observed from as close as ~11 m, and Aeolis Palus 001 from ~34.5 m. Aeolis Palus 001 and Aeolis Palus 002 are large (>1 m) boulders separated by ~20 m; Aeolis Palus 003 is a smaller (0.3 m) piece next to Aeolis Palus 002.

Physical characteristics: The Aeolis Palus 002 and 003 fragments are partially buried in the surrounding soil. The rocks have a lustrous blue-gray color and contain mm- to cm-sized irregularly shaped holes likely created by differential weathering. At high resolution, the surfaces are smooth with mm-scale, intermittent pockmarks. The mass of the Aeolis Palus 001 above ground is estimated to be ~3300 kg.

Geochemistry: All pieces/rocks exhibit surface textures and visible/near-infrared spectra (445-1012 nm) consistent with iron meteorites, similar to those observed by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) missions. Aeolis Palus 002 (at ~12 m distance) and Aeolis Palus 001 (at ~36 m distance) were imaged with Mastcam at 3 times of day. This included multispectral images of Aeolis Palus 002 along with a 6-frame RMI mosaic and a single position on Aeolis Palus 001. Mastcam reflectance spectra of these rocks are red-sloped, with variations <550 nm related to specular reflections, similar to laboratory spectra of iron meteorites (and MER spectra of similar rocks) (Johnson et al., 2014; Schröder et al., 2008). The Aeolis Palus 001 and 002 rocks do not exhibit the patchy coatings associated with meteorites observed by MER. Classification: Iron meteorite. Specimens: Left in situ on Mars. [su_divider top="no"] Aeolis Palus 002 -4.6408, 137.3986 Mars Find: 2014 May 9 Classification: Iron meteorite History: The MSL rover Curiosity observed 3 rocks, informally named Littleton (henceforth Aeolis Palus 001), Lebanon (henceforth Aeolis Palus 002), and Lebanon-B (henceforth Aeolis Palus 003), on Sol 634 and imaged them on Sols 637-641 using Mastcam and the Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) on ChemCam. Aeolis Palus 002 and 003 were observed from as close as ~11 m, and Aeolis Palus 001 from ~34.5 m. Aeolis Palus 001 and Aeolis Palus 002 are large (>1 m) boulders separated by ~20 m; Aeolis Palus 003 is a smaller (0.3 m) piece next to Aeolis Palus 002.

Geochemistry: All pieces/rocks exhibit surface textures and visible/near-infrared spectra (445-1012 nm) consistent with iron meteorites, similar to those observed by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) missions. Aeolis Palus 002 (at ~12 m distance) and Aeolis Palus 001 (at ~36 m distance) were imaged with Mastcam at 3 times of day. This included multispectral images of Aeolis Palus 002 along with a 6-frame RMI mosaic and a single position on Aeolis Palus 001. Mastcam reflectance spectra of these rocks are red-sloped, with variations <550 nm related to specular reflections, similar to laboratory spectra of iron meteorites (and MER spectra of similar rocks) (Johnson et al., 2014; Schröder et al., 2008). The Aeolis Palus 001 and 002 rocks do not exhibit the patchy coatings associated with meteorites observed by MER. Classification: Iron meteorite. Specimens: Left in situ on Mars. [su_divider top="no"] Aeolis Palus 003 -4.6408, 137.3986 Mars Find: 2014 May 9 Classification: Iron meteorite History: The MSL rover Curiosity observed 3 rocks, informally named Littleton (henceforth Aeolis Palus 001), Lebanon (henceforth Aeolis Palus 002), and Lebanon-B (henceforth Aeolis Palus 003), on Sol 634 and imaged them on Sols 637-641 using Mastcam and the Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) on ChemCam. Aeolis Palus 002 and 003 were observed from as close as ~11 m, and Aeolis Palus 001 from ~34.5 m. Aeolis Palus 001 and Aeolis Palus 002 are large (>1 m) boulders separated by ~20 m; Aeolis Palus 003 is a smaller (0.3 m) piece next to Aeolis Palus 002.