MRPS #81000 (Sol 4) Sojourner's APXS studies Barnacle Bill
Creator:
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Description:
Sojourner's first analysis of a rock on Mars began on Sol 3 with the study of Barnacle Bill, a nearby rock named for its rough surface. The Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) will be used to determine the elements that make up the rocks and soil on Mars. A full study using the APXS takes approximately ten hours, and can measure all elements except hydrogen at any time of the Martian day or night. The APXS will conduct its studies by bombarding rocks and soil samples with alpha particle radiation - - charged particles equivalent to the nucleus of a helium atom, consisting of two protons and two neutrons. The image was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) after its deployment on Sol 3. Mars Pathfinder was developed and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The IMP was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Date:
7/7/97
Identifier:
P-48842
Year:
1997
Contributor:
JPL Archives
What:
Mars
What:
Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer
What:
Spectrometer
What:
Imager for Mars Pathfinder
Where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Where:
Arizona
Image ID:
124550
Resolution Size:
3
Format:
JPEG
Media Type:
Image
File Name:
p48842.jpg
Width:
448
Height:
270
MRPS #81000 (Sol 4) Sojourner's APXS studies Barnacle Bill
