Spirit Sol 77 Daily Image Caption
Release Date:  
March 22, 2004
Image File Name:  
x_pubeng_mazatzal_nav.tif
x_pubeng_mazatzal_nav.tif
Source File Name: 

Summary Information: 
Nav cam image of Bonneville crater rim rock target Mazatzal acquired on sol 76 by Mars Exploration Rover Spirit.
Submitter:
Dave Des Marais
Institution: 
 Theme/Team/Group:  
Sol of Observation:
76
Earth Date of Observation:
03-21-04

“Mazatzal” 

Spirit took this Navigation camera image of the 2-meter wide (6.6 feet) rock called “Mazatzal” on sol 76, March 21, 2004. Scientists intend to aggressively analyze this target with the microscopic imager, Moessbauer spectrometer and alpha particle X-ray spectrometer before brushing and “digging in” with the rock abrasion tool on upcoming sols  

Mazatzal stood-out to scientists because of its large size, light-tone and sugary surface texture.   It is the largest rock the team has seen at the Bonneville crater rim, and lighter-toned than previous rock targets Adirondack and Humphrey.   Its scalloped pattern may be a result of wind sculpting; a very slow process in which wind transported silt and sand abrade the rock’s surface creating depressions.  This feature leads scientists to believe that Mazatzal has been exposed to the wind in this location for an extremely long time.   

The name “Mazatzal” comes from a mountain range and rock formation that was deposited around 1.2 billion years ago in the Four Peaks area of Arizona. 

Email:  david.j.desmarais@nasa.gov
Cell:  650-996-1431

<br> USERNAME: shlieven