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Science 6 August 2004:
Vol. 305. no. 5685, pp. 807 - 810
DOI: 10.1126/science.1099849
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Reports

Surficial Deposits at Gusev Crater Along Spirit Rover Traverses

J. A. Grant,1* R. Arvidson,2 J. F. Bell, III,3 N. A. Cabrol,4 M. H. Carr,5 P. Christensen,6 L. Crumpler,7 D. J. Des Marais,8 B. L. Ehlmann,2 J. Farmer,6 M. Golombek,9 F. D. Grant,6 R. Greeley,6 K. Herkenhoff,10 R. Li,11 H. Y. McSween,12 D. W. Ming,13 J. Moersch,12 J. W. Rice, Jr.,6 S. Ruff,6 L. Richter,14 S. Squyres,3 R. Sullivan,3 C. Weitz15

The Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has traversed a fairly flat, rock-strewn terrain whose surface is shaped primarily by impact events, although some of the landscape has been altered by eolian processes. Impacts ejected basaltic rocks that probably were part of locally formed lava flows from at least 10 meters depth. Some rocks have been textured and/or partially buried by windblown sediments less than 2 millimeters in diameter that concentrate within shallow, partially filled, circular impact depressions referred to as hollows. The terrain traversed during the 90-sol (martian solar day) nominal mission shows no evidence for an ancient lake in Gusev crater.

1 Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA.
2 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
3 Department of Astronomy, Space Sciences Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
4 NASA Ames/SETI Institute, Space Science Division, MS 245-3, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
5 U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA.
6 Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
7 New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, 1801 Mountain Road NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104, USA.
8 NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
9 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
10 U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA.
11 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
12 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
13 NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA.
14 DLR Institute of Space Simulation, Linder Hoehe, D-51170, Cologne, Germany.
15 NASA Headquarters, 300 E Street S.W., Washington, DC 20560, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: grantj{at}nasm.si.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Mars Exploration Rover Geologic traverse by the Spirit rover in the Plains of Gusev Crater, Mars.
L.S. Crumpler, S.W. Squyres, R.E. Arvidson, J.F. Bell, III, D. Blaney, N.A. Cabrol, P.R. Christensen, D.J. DesMarais, J.D. Farmer, R. Fergason, et al. (2005)
Geology 33, 809-812
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The Spirit Rover's Athena Science Investigation at Gusev Crater, Mars.
S. W. Squyres, R. E. Arvidson, J. F. Bell III, J. Bruckner, N. A. Cabrol, W. Calvin, M. H. Carr, P. R. Christensen, B. C. Clark, L. Crumpler, et al. (2004)
Science 305, 794-799
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Pancam Multispectral Imaging Results from the Spirit Rover at Gusev Crater.
J. F. Bell III, S. W. Squyres, R. E. Arvidson, H. M. Arneson, D. Bass, D. Blaney, N. Cabrol, W. Calvin, J. Farmer, W. H. Farrand, et al. (2004)
Science 305, 800-806
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Wind-Related Processes Detected by the Spirit Rover at Gusev Crater, Mars.
R. Greeley, S. W. Squyres, R. E. Arvidson, P. Bartlett, J. F. Bell III, D. Blaney, N. A. Cabrol, J. Farmer, B. Farrand, M. P. Golombek, et al. (2004)
Science 305, 810-813
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Localization and Physical Properties Experiments Conducted by Spirit at Gusev Crater.
R. E. Arvidson, R. C. Anderson, P. Bartlett, J. F. Bell III, D. Blaney, P. R. Christensen, P. Chu, L. Crumpler, K. Davis, B. L. Ehlmann, et al. (2004)
Science 305, 821-824
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Initial Results from the Mini-TES Experiment in Gusev Crater from the Spirit Rover.
P. R. Christensen, S. W. Ruff, R. L. Fergason, A. T. Knudson, S. Anwar, R. E. Arvidson, J. L. Bandfield, D. L. Blaney, C. Budney, W. M. Calvin, et al. (2004)
Science 305, 837-842
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Basaltic Rocks Analyzed by the Spirit Rover in Gusev Crater.
H. Y. McSween, R. E. Arvidson, J. F. Bell III, D. Blaney, N. A. Cabrol, P. R. Christensen, B. C. Clark, J. A. Crisp, L. S. Crumpler, D. J. Des Marais, et al. (2004)
Science 305, 842-845
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