Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

One Strange Mars Rock

Opportunity has come upon another big rock on Mars. But what is it? Another meteorite? A big clump of ejecta from an old impact? There’s lots of other debris scattered around this area as well. The rock has been named “Marquette Island,” staying with the island theme for the other meteorites Oppy has come across, and the rover may take the “opportunity” to get closer to this rock and check it out, given the sand dunes surrounding it don’t provide too much of an obstacle. So maybe next week we’ll find out what it is. But in the meantime, enjoy these color and 3-D images (see more below) of the rock via Stu Atkinson from Unmannedspaceflight.com. Check out more great looks at Marquette Island at Stu’s blog about Oppy’s travels, Road to Endeavour.

Oh, and rumor has it that the extrication process may have begun to free the Spirit rover. Latest images show she has moved every so slightly. More as it becomes available….

Marquette Island, from a distance. Credit: NASA/JPL, color by Stu Atkinson
Marquette Island, from a distance. Credit: NASA/JPL, color by Stu Atkinson
Marquette Island in 3-D. Credit: NASA/JPL, 3-D by Stu Atkinson
Marquette Island in 3-D. Credit: NASA/JPL, 3-D by Stu Atkinson

10 Replies to “One Strange Mars Rock”

  1. I believe they are going to spend some time near this rock because the current in Opportunity’s gimpy wheel is on the rise again. So expect Oppy to hang around here for a week or two.

  2. Obviously its a black monolith predicted by 2001 Odyssey. Except that someone misplaced it on Mars instead of Moon. :O

  5. Good news about Spirit.

    Can’t wait for the crackpots to wave their arms in the air and shriek that Mars is inhabited because the rock looks a little bit like a hunched over ape-like creature. If they can “spot” mile-long glass worms and flocks of grazing plesiosaurs…

  6. Once again, Mars rocks.

    @ Nexus: Ape-like? Clearly I have to check out my frogeidolia at an optician.

  7. Hopefully its not MRO or one of our orbital assets at Mars 🙂

    Seriously, I hope MRO gets over its bout of flu

  8. It might be that a bolide thermally exploded above this site and littered the area with these. This does look like what the geologists might call “suspect terrain,” for it looks out of place with the sedimentary light colored rock.

    LC

  10. I’ll get more excited about a martian rock, when they come accross some which have seemingly been worn smooth by water.

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