Finding the "Blueberry" Muffin Recipe

Scientists are hunting down the recipe for the "blueberries" they've
discovered on Mars.  Taken with the front hazard avoidance camera on
sol 45, March 10, image A shows the "Berry Bowl" area where many dark
and mysterious blueberries collected in a depression on the surface of
a rock.  Image B is the microscopic image of the same area taken on
sol 46, March 11, magnifying the Berry Bowl.

In order to figure out the chemical composition of the blueberries,
scientists are currently analyzing the area shown in the microscopic
image with the alpha particle x-ray spectrometer and the Moessbauer
spectrometer.  The field of view for the alpha particle x-ray
spectrometer is about equal to the field of view of the microscopic
image and the field of view for the Moessbauer spectrometer is about
half the size of the microscopic image, so the spectrometers will
capture a mix of spectra of sand, rock, and blueberries.  The
blueberries are too small to analyze alone.  Scientists will discern
the blueberry spectra from the sand and rock spectra by subtracting
out the known sand and rock spectra from the mix of spectra.
Basically, finding the blueberry recipe is like making a recipe in
reverse.  Chemical measurements of the sand were taken earlier, and a
measurement of the same rock in an area clear of the blueberries will
be taken with the spectrometers on sol 48.

The "triple berry" seen in the center of the microscopic image is
intriguing to scientists because it reveals a clue about how the
blueberries formed.  Spheres formed from impacts or volcanoes do not
tend to mold together like the spheres seen in the microscopic image.
Spheres from impacts or craters are usually round or teardrop shaped
from flying in the air and freezing before hitting the ground.  Any
droplets of magma that combine with other droplets usually grow into a
single mass in a spherical, dumbbell, or teardrop shape.  In contrast,
concretions could form this triple berry shape.  Concretions are
spherical mineral structures formed by groundwater percolating through
porous rocks.  On Earth, as concretions grow in close proximity to
each other, their outer edges often intersect each other, giving an
appearance like a triple soap bubble.

APPROVED BY: Steve Squyres,
SWOG Chair and Tim Parker - Cell: 818/653-8336

CAPTION WRITER:
Christine Johnson 818/667-7853 cell

Image A - Berry Bowl Context /
xpe_blueberry_a_w_arrow (and xpe_blueberry_a) 
Source File:
1F132186603FFL05AMP1214L0M1

Image B - MI of Berry Bowl /
xpe_blueberry_b
Source File: 1M132266947EFF05AMP2987M2M1

RELEASE
DATE: March 12, 2004


SUMMARY INFORMATION: Berry Bowl hazcam and
MI

NAME OF SUBMITTER: Tim Parker

INSTITUTION:
JPL

THEME/TEAM/GROUP: Geology

SOL OF OBSERVATION: 45 and
46

EARTH DATE OF OBSERVATION: March 10 and March 11, 2004






<br> USERNAME: cjohns