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Science 6 August 2004:
Vol. 305. no. 5685, pp. 842 - 845
DOI: 10.1126/science.3050842
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Reports

Basaltic Rocks Analyzed by the Spirit Rover in Gusev Crater

H. Y. McSween,1 R. E. Arvidson,2 J. F. Bell, III,3 D. Blaney,4 N. A. Cabrol,5 P. R. Christensen,6 B. C. Clark,7 J. A. Crisp,4 L. S. Crumpler,8 D. J. Des Marais,5 J. D. Farmer,6 R. Gellert,9 A. Ghosh,1 S. Gorevan,10 T. Graff,6 J. Grant,11 L. A. Haskin,2 K. E. Herkenhoff,12 J. R. Johnson,12 B. L. Jolliff,2 G. Klingelhoefer,13 A. T. Knudson,6 S. McLennan,14 K. A. Milam,1 J. E. Moersch,1 R. V. Morris,15 R. Rieder,9 S. W. Ruff,6 P. A. de Souza, Jr.,16 S. W. Squyres,3 H. Wänke,9 A. Wang,2 M. B. Wyatt,6 A. Yen,4 J. Zipfel9

The Spirit landing site in Gusev Crater on Mars contains dark, fine-grained, vesicular rocks interpreted as lavas. Pancam and Mini–Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) spectra suggest that all of these rocks are similar but have variable coatings and dust mantles. Magnified images of brushed and abraded rock surfaces show alteration rinds and veins. Rock interiors contain ≤25% megacrysts. Chemical analyses of rocks by the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer are consistent with picritic basalts, containing normative olivine, pyroxenes, plagioclase, and accessory FeTi oxides. Mössbauer, Pancam, and Mini-TES spectra confirm the presence of olivine, magnetite, and probably pyroxene. These basalts extend the known range of rock compositions composing the martian crust.

1 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996–1410, USA.
2 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130–4899, USA.
3 Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853–6801, USA.
4 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109–8099, USA.
5 NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035–1000, USA.
6 Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287–6305, USA.
7 Lockheed Martin Corporation, Littleton, CO 80127, USA.
8 New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque, NM 87104, USA.
9 Max Planck Institut fur Chemie, D-55099 Mainz, Germany.
10 Honeybee Robotics, New York, NY 10012, USA.
11 National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA.
12 U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ 86001–1698, USA.
13 Institut fur Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg–Universitat, Mainz, Germany.
14 Department of Geosciences, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY 11794–2100, USA.
15 NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA.
16 Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, 29090–900 Vitória, ES, Brazil.

*To whom correspondence should be addressed, E-mail: mcsween{at}utk.edu

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