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).