HiRISE image of the Martian crater Eagle – the dot in the middle of the crater is the lander.
The name is a triple reference: in honor of the first crewed spacecraft to land on the Moon in 1969; in honor of the launching country, the United States, whose symbol is an eagle; and in reference to the golf term eagle, referring to sinking a ball two strokes under par. The third reference extended the golf metaphor begun with a description of landing in the crater as "a hole in one".
Mission scientists were intrigued by the abundance of rock outcrops dispersed throughout the crater, as well as the crater's soil, which appeared to be a mixture of coarse gray grains and fine reddish grains. Upon closer, in-situ examination of the outcrops, whose layers are no thicker than a finger, it was confirmed that Meridiani Planum was once the location of an ancient, somewhat acidic and salty sea,[3] though much more information on the history of this area would start being collected more than three months later, when Opportunity visited the much larger crater Endurance to the east.
Spherules still in their originating strata.
The hematite observed from orbit, whose presence decided the landing site in the first place, was found to be encased in millions of tiny hematite spherules, nicknamed "blueberries", by mission scientists, due to their shape, although they are actually much smaller than real blueberries. These concretions were found soon to be covering not just the outcrops in Eagle crater, but covered the plains beyond as well. The origin of the blueberries was quickly discovered. They appeared to be being eroded out of the outcrops by wind. Images from the rover's microscope discovered blueberries at several stages of this process, with most completely separated, but some still attached by a thin "stalk".
A number of rocks and outcrops were investigated with Opportunity's Instrument Deployment Device (IDD). They were given informal names by mission scientists. These include:
Berry Bowl, an outcrop rich in Martian spherules
Carousel, a layered outcrop most likely to have been formed in a wet environment
Cookies 'N' Cream, a dark soil target near Carousel
The locations of these rocks and outcrops can be seen in the panorama below:
This panoramic image, showing the locations of rocks and outcrops at the northwestern rim of Eagle crater, was taken with Opportunity still on its lander. These layered rocks measure only 10 centimeters (4 inches) tall and were thought at that time to be either volcanic ash deposits or sediments carried by water or wind. Click here for a version of this image without annotations. (Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech)
^ ab(PDF). NASA/JPL. 24 October 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
^"Eagle (Meridiani Planum crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
^"Reports Detail Rover Discoveries of Wet Martian History" (2 Dec 2004) JPL. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
Further readingEdit
Squyres; et al. (2004). "In Situ Evidence for an Ancient Aqueous Environment at Meridiani Planum, Mars" (PDF). Science. 306 (5702): 1709–1714. Bibcode:2004Sci...306.1709S. doi:10.1126/science.1104559. PMID 15576604. S2CID 16785189.
Squyres; et al. (2004). "Soils of Eagle Crater and Meridian Planum at the Opportunity Rover Landing Site" (PDF). Science. 306 (5702): 1723–1726. Bibcode:2004Sci...306.1723S. doi:10.1126/science.1105127. PMID 15576606. S2CID 5693765.
Squyres; et al. (2004). "The Opportunity Rover's Athena Science Investigation at Meridiani Planum, Mars". Science. 306 (5702): 1698–1703. Bibcode:2004Sci...306.1698S. doi:10.1126/science.1106171. PMID 15576602. S2CID 7876861.
External linksEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eagle Crater.
eagle, meridiani, planum, crater, eagle, metre, long, impact, crater, located, meridiani, planum, extraterrestrial, plain, situated, within, margaritifer, sinus, quadrangle, portion, planet, mars, opportunity, rover, came, rest, inside, eagle, crater, when, la. Eagle is a 22 metre long impact crater located on the Meridiani Planum extraterrestrial plain situated within the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle MC 19 portion of the planet Mars The Opportunity rover came to rest inside Eagle crater when it landed in 2004 Scientists were delighted that the rover landed there as the crater contains rocky outcroppings that helped prove that Meridiani was once an ocean floor EaglePlanetMarsRegionMeridiani PlanumCoordinates1 57 S 354 28 E 1 95 S 354 47 E 1 95 354 47QuadrangleMargaritifer SinusDiameter22 m 1 Depth3 m 1 DiscovererOpportunity roverEponymSee list belowThis crater should not be confused with the other much larger Martian crater Eagle which was officially named by IAU s Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature in 1976 2 Contents 1 Name 2 Discoveries in the crater 3 Rocks and outcrops in the crater 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksName Edit nbsp HiRISE image of the Martian crater Eagle the dot in the middle of the crater is the lander The name is a triple reference in honor of the first crewed spacecraft to land on the Moon in 1969 in honor of the launching country the United States whose symbol is an eagle and in reference to the golf term eagle referring to sinking a ball two strokes under par The third reference extended the golf metaphor begun with a description of landing in the crater as a hole in one Discoveries in the crater Edit nbsp The crater with Opportunity lander as seen by Opportunity rover Mission scientists were intrigued by the abundance of rock outcrops dispersed throughout the crater as well as the crater s soil which appeared to be a mixture of coarse gray grains and fine reddish grains Upon closer in situ examination of the outcrops whose layers are no thicker than a finger it was confirmed that Meridiani Planum was once the location of an ancient somewhat acidic and salty sea 3 though much more information on the history of this area would start being collected more than three months later when Opportunity visited the much larger crater Endurance to the east nbsp Spherules still in their originating strata The hematite observed from orbit whose presence decided the landing site in the first place was found to be encased in millions of tiny hematite spherules nicknamed blueberries by mission scientists due to their shape although they are actually much smaller than real blueberries These concretions were found soon to be covering not just the outcrops in Eagle crater but covered the plains beyond as well The origin of the blueberries was quickly discovered They appeared to be being eroded out of the outcrops by wind Images from the rover s microscope discovered blueberries at several stages of this process with most completely separated but some still attached by a thin stalk Rocks and outcrops in the crater EditSee also List of rocks on Mars nbsp Approximate true color photo of Last Chance A number of rocks and outcrops were investigated with Opportunity s Instrument Deployment Device IDD They were given informal names by mission scientists These include Berry Bowl an outcrop rich in Martian spherules Carousel a layered outcrop most likely to have been formed in a wet environment Cookies N Cream a dark soil target near Carousel El Capitan another layered outcrop Last Chance another layered outcropThe locations of these rocks and outcrops can be seen in the panorama below nbsp This panoramic image showing the locations of rocks and outcrops at the northwestern rim of Eagle crater was taken with Opportunity still on its lander These layered rocks measure only 10 centimeters 4 inches tall and were thought at that time to be either volcanic ash deposits or sediments carried by water or wind Click here for a version of this image without annotations Courtesy NASA JPL Caltech See also EditGeography of Mars List of craters on MarsReferences Edit a b NASA Facts Mars Exploration Rover PDF NASA JPL 24 October 2004 Archived from the original PDF on 27 March 2009 Retrieved 26 March 2009 Eagle Meridiani Planum crater Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature USGS Astrogeology Research Program Reports Detail Rover Discoveries of Wet Martian History 2 Dec 2004 JPL Retrieved 22 August 2011 Further reading EditSquyres et al 2004 In Situ Evidence for an Ancient Aqueous Environment at Meridiani Planum Mars PDF Science 306 5702 1709 1714 Bibcode 2004Sci 306 1709S doi 10 1126 science 1104559 PMID 15576604 S2CID 16785189 Squyres et al 2004 Soils of Eagle Crater and Meridian Planum at the Opportunity Rover Landing Site PDF Science 306 5702 1723 1726 Bibcode 2004Sci 306 1723S doi 10 1126 science 1105127 PMID 15576606 S2CID 5693765 Squyres et al 2004 The Opportunity Rover s Athena Science Investigation at Meridiani Planum Mars Science 306 5702 1698 1703 Bibcode 2004Sci 306 1698S doi 10 1126 science 1106171 PMID 15576602 S2CID 7876861 External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eagle Crater Official Mars Rovers website Geology of Eagle Crater Lion King Panorama of Eagle Crater NASA Portal nbsp Solar System Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eagle Meridiani Planum crater amp oldid 1079480386, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
