Object photographed by Mars rover

[Easy]

On sol 61 of it's mission the Opportunity rover sent back some photos of an unusual object, have a look at the images on the NASA site
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/opportunity_m061.html

[Nereid]

Welcome to Physics Forums Easy!

From the other infomation available from the Opportunity rover website(s), can you tell us please what the Microsopic Imager was looking at at the time.

[aychamo]

Wow ... What is this?

At first guess, I would say that it is something that came from earth? Or .... .....

[zoobyshoe]

That's an exceptionally regular and uniform shape, isn't it.

I, too, wonder exactly how big it is.

[wolram]

rovers imager stats.
Location End of Robotic Arm
Image size 1024 x 1024 pixels
Field of View 31 x 31 millimeters
(at optimal working distance of 63 millimeters from the front of the lens barrel to the target)
Depth of Field plus or minus 3 millimeters
Resolution 30 microns/pixel
(at optimal working distance)
Spectral Range 480-680 nanometers
Filters None

[aychamo]

Is it possibly something that broke off from earlier attempts to put things on Mars?

[aychamo]

In the part of the circle, there are smaller circles, .. They look like philips screw heads.

[Kurdt]

Yes they do look like screw heads. I presume it was just part of the rover that accidentally touched the surface and left a print.

[wolram]

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/rover-images/apr-14-2004/captions/image-5.html

see any similarities?

[Dayle Record]

I just assumed that was the grinder tools effect on the rock surface, with an unequal application of force; one sided contact. I have seen some other things in those images though, including something that looked like a lizard fossil. I see organic imagery all through the microscopic images from Opportunity. I have seen a number of things that look like tiny skeletal remains, or trilobites yesterdays images had what looked like a seashell edge. Let me find that.
Well I can't copy and paste into here, and I will have to find the images of interest. But last night, I was looking at a martian image, that looked like seashell edge, and barnacles everywhere. I know that all life is not like life here, but we are close neighbors.

Here is the image from yesterday, in the lower left quadrant is an edge of some ruffled item, that emerges from rock. There are other raised looking things in that area, with central openings, (barnacles).
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/2/m/099/2M135153004EFF2700P2959M2M1.JPG

[Nereid]

At work in the plains of Meridiani (http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/gallery/press/opportunity/20040329a.html) is the title of the Opportunity PR for 29 March. "Opportunity observed the spot ['a bright patch of soil dubbed "Mont Blanc"'] with its Moessbauer and alpha particle X-ray spectrometers, also located on the arm."

You can see the same image here (http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/opportunity.html): just select Front Hazcam, sol61.

The image which Easy posted seems to show an object resting on/in the Martian sands; in fact, it's a depression in the "Mt Blanc" soil, made by the Moessbauer spectrometer (http://athena.cornell.edu/the_mission/ins_moss.html) (click on the top right image), or maybe the APXS (http://athena.cornell.edu/the_mission/ins_apxs.html) (or both?). Pancam's view of the 'object' (http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/p/061/1P133607981EFF0832P2559R1M1.JPG); and Opportunity's "neck and head" (http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/mission/spacecraft_rover_neck.html), for your viewing pleasure.