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Meridiani Planum 002
Basic information Name: Meridiani Planum 002
     This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name.
Abbreviation: MP 002
Observed fall: No
Year found: 2004
Planet: Mars
Mass:help 20 g
Classification
  history:
Meteoritical Bulletin:  MB 109  (2020)  Stony iron
Recommended:  Stony iron    [explanation]

This is 1 of 4 approved meteorites classified as Stony iron.   [show all]
Search for other: Metal-rich meteorites, Unclassified meteorites
Comments: Approved 17 May 2020
Writeuphelp
Writeup from MB 109:

Meridiani Planum 002        1.951°S, 5.512°W

Mars

Find: 27 May 2004

Classification: Stony iron

History: The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity observed a pebble on sol 121 at the rim of Endurance crater, informally named Barberton.

Physical characteristics: The pebble is angular, with flat facets intersecting at sharp angles, and has an indistinct surface texture without visible layering or crystals at the Microscopic Imager scale (Weitz et al., 2010). Longest dimension is 3 cm.

Geochemistry: In Pancam, Meridiani Planum 002 exhibits some spectral variation but not enough to adequately determine mineralogy (Weitz et al., 2010). The iron-bearing mineralogy determined with the rover’s Mössbauer spectrometer is dominated by ferrous iron in olivine and pyroxene with smaller amounts of metallic iron in the form of kamacite; minor ferric iron is likely a result of alteration on Mars (Schröder et al., 2010; Schröder et al., 2008). The chemical composition determined by the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) is rich in Mg and Ni and poor in Al and Ca compared to other material on the plains of Meridiani Planum and excavated by craters in the area. Meridiani Planum 002 has similar Mg/Si, Ca/Si and Al/Si ratios to HED meteorites, but is enriched in S/Si, Fe/Si and Ni and depleted in O (Schröder et al., 2010; Schröder et al., 2008).

Classification: The HED-like silicate composition with additional metal and sulfide composition links Meridiani Planum 002 with the HED or potentially the mesosiderite group. Meridiani Planum 002 is likely paired with Meridiani Planum 003, 004, and 005.

Bibliography:
  • Schröder C., Herkenhoff K.E., Farrand W.H., Chappelow J.E., Wang W., Nittler L.R., Ashley J.W., Fleischer I., Gellert R., Golombek M.P., Johnson J.R., Klingelhöfer G., Li R., Morris R.V., and Squyres S.W. (2010) Properties and distribution of paired candidate stony meteorites at Meridiani Planum, Mars. J. Geophys. Res. 115, E00F09. (link)
  • Schröder C., Rodionov D.S., McCoy T.J., Jolliff B.L., Gellert R., Nittler L.R., Farrand W.H., Johnson J.R., Ruff S.W., Ashley J.W., Mittlefehldt D.W., Herkenhoff K.E., Fleischer I., Haldemann A.F.C., Klingelhöfer G., Ming D.W., Morris R.V., de Souza, P. A. Jr., Squyres S.W., Weitz C., Yen A.S., Zipfel J., and Economou T. (2008) Meteorites on Mars observed with the Mars Exploration Rovers. J. Geophys. Res. Plan. 113, E06S22. (link)
Data from:
  MB109
  Table 0
  Line 0:
Origin or pseudonym:Meridiani Planum
Date:27 May 2004
Latitude:1.951°S
Longitude:5.512°W
Mass (g):20-25
Pieces:1
Class:Stony iron
Classifier:B. Cohen, GSFC
Type spec mass (g):0
Type spec location:Mars
Main mass:Mars
Finder:Opportunity rover
Comments:Submitted by B. Cohen, GSFC
Catalogs:
References: Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 109, in preparation (2020)
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Photos:
CreditPhotos
Public domain photographs:
Barbara Cohen   
Geography:

Mars
Coordinates on Mars:
     Recommended::   (1° 57' 4"S, 5° 30' 43"W)

Statistics:
     This is 1 of 15 approved meteorites from Mars
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