header
  MetSoc Home            Publications            Contacts  
Search the Meteoritical Bulletin Database
Last update: 12 Mar 2024
Search for: Search type: Search limits: Display: Publication:
Names
Text help
Places
Classes
Years
Contains
Starts with
Exact
Sounds like
NonAntarctic
Falls  Non-NWAs
What's new
  in the last:
Limit to approved meteorite names
Search text:
 
Meridiani Planum 006
Basic information Name: Meridiani Planum 006
     This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name.
Abbreviation: MP 006
Observed fall: No
Year found: 2009
Planet: Mars
Mass:help 240 kg
Classification
  history:
Meteoritical Bulletin:  MB 109  (2020)  Iron, IAB complex
Recommended:  Iron, IAB complex    [explanation]

This is 1 of 82 approved meteorites (plus 1 unapproved name) classified as Iron, IAB complex.   [show all]
Search for other: IAB complex irons, Iron meteorites, and Metal-rich meteorites
Comments: Approved 17 May 2020
Writeuphelp
Writeup from MB 109:

Meridiani Planum 006        2.120°S, 5.521°W

Mars

Find: 31 Jul 2009

Classification: Iron meteorite (IAB complex)

History: Meridiani Planum 006 (informally named Block Island) is an angular boulder discovered as the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity traversed to Endeavour crater.

Physical characteristics: Although much of the surface is dust-covered, Pancam images show Meridiani Planum 006 has a metallic surface texture, with numerous hollows and caverns, giving it a pitted appearance. Microscopic Imager (MI) images of smooth areas show slightly raised (resistant) linear features indicative of a Widmanstätten pattern exposed through aeolian scouring (Weitz et al., 2010). Pancam color images reveal spectral heterogeneities across the surface probably representing weathering rinds (Ashley et al., 2011; Weitz et al., 2010); similar ferric oxide coatings are seen in spectra of Meridiani Planum 001 (Heat Shield Rock) (Schröder et al., 2008). Dimensions: 60 × 40 × 25 cm.

Geochemistry: Mössbauer analyses showed the dominance of metallic iron-nickel phases, with resolvable kamacite and taenite; ferric oxides, cohenite, and schreibersite were also detected by Mossbauer in the coating areas (Fleischer et al. 2010a).

Classification: Iron, Ni, Ge, and Ga abundances abundances measured using the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) are consistent with an origin in the IAB Complex, followed by post-fall water-related oxidation and acidic corrosion (Ashley et al., 2011).

Data from:
  MB109
  Table 0
  Line 0:
Origin or pseudonym:Meridiani Planum
Date:31 Jul 2009
Latitude:2.120°S
Longitude:5.521°W
Mass (g):240000
Pieces:1
Class:Iron, IAB complex
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)
Find references in NASA ADS:
Find references in Google Scholar:
Photos:
CreditPhotos
Public domain photographs:
Barbara Cohen   
Geography:

Mars
Coordinates on Mars:
     Recommended::   (2° 7' 12"S, 5° 31' 16"W)

Statistics:
     This is 1 of 15 approved meteorites from Mars
Proximity search:
Find nearby meteorites: enter search radius (km):
Crosslinks:
Also see:
  This lists the most popular meteorites among people who looked up this meteorite.
Revision
  history:
  This lists important revisions made to data for this record.

Direct link to this page