[watsisname]

bumpity

Bright Particle in Hole Dug by Scooping of Martian Soil

This image shows part of the small pit or bite created when NASA's Mars rover Curiosity collected its second scoop of Martian soil at a sandy patch called "Rocknest." The bright particle near the center of this image, and similar ones elsewhere in the pit, prompted concern because a small, light-toned shred of debris from the spacecraft had been observed previously nearby (PIA16230). However, the mission's science team assessed the bright particles in this scooped pit to be native Martian material rather than spacecraft debris.

This image was taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on Curiosity's arm during the 69th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Oct. 15, 2012), about a week after the scoop dug this hole. The view here covers an area of ground about 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) across.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

article



So, is it Gold?  I bet it's Mars Gold.  GOLD RUSH ON MAAAARS, YEEEEEEEAH

IT'LL SAVE OUR ECONOMY

But seriously, this is pretty neat, can't wait for further analysis.

[Herra Tohtori]

Styrofoam...

[watsisname]

As said in the article, the science team's assessment is that this is native material...

You might be thinking of the thing found on the surface a few days earlier, but this is one of several small, light particles unearthed when the rover started scooping up some soil.

[Herra Tohtori]

Therefore, styrofoam is a naturally occurring mineral in Mars.


...I dunno, there's really not enough detail to look at - we'll know more if they target one of those grains with the LASER and do some spectroscopic measurement. It would be possible, although doubtful, that there had been statically charged styrofoam grains stuck on the scoop, but of course I hope not. I would like to think they have better accounting of what goes up into the space with their stuff than that, especially on a probe traveling to another planet when contamination concerns are especially important.

[newman]

Willing to bet it's a piece that fell from the rover itself. A small bit of insulation or something like that.

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1372

[watsisname]

Mmm, fair point.  That would would sense in such a dusty environment for foam grains to be stuck to it via static. :/

Maybe spectroscopic analysis wouldn't even be necessary if the underside of the scoop can be imaged to see if there is spacecraft debris stuck to it, though I don't know if it can be brought in view of the camera and imaged with sufficient detail.  It would also only allow a positive result if there is still debris on it -- if not then spectral analysis would be necessary anyway.