Soil-like deposits observed by Sojourner, the Pathfinder rover
Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets
By: Henry J. Moore, Donald B. Bickler, Joy A. Crisp, Howard J. Eisen, Jeffrey A. Gensler, Albert F.C. Haldemann, Jacob R. Matijevic, Lisa K. Reid, and Ferenc Pavlics
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Abstract
Most of the soil-like materials at the Pathfinder landing site behave like moderately dense soils on Earth with friction angles near 34°-39° and are called cloddy deposits. Cloddy deposits appear to be poorly sorted with dust-sized to granule-sized mineral or rock grains; they may contain pebbles, small rock fragments, and clods. Thin deposits of porous, compressible drifts with friction angles near 26°-28° are also present. Drifts are fine grained. Cohesions of both types of deposits are small. There may be indurated soil-like deposits and/or coated or crusted rocks. Cloddy deposits may be fluvial sediments of the Ares-Tiu floods, but other origins, such as ejecta from nearby impact craters, should be considered. Drifts are probably dusts that settled from the Martian atmosphere. Remote-sensing signatures of the deposits inferred from rover observations are consistent with those observed from orbit and Earth.
Suggested Citation
Moore, H.J., Bickler, D.B., Crisp, J.A., Eisen, H.J., Gensler, J.A., Haldemann, A.F., Matijevic, J.R., Reid, L.K., Pavlics, F., 1999, Soil-like deposits observed by Sojourner, the Pathfinder rover: Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets, v. 104, no. E4, p. 8729-8746, https://doi.org/10.1029/1998JE900005.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Soil-like deposits observed by Sojourner, the Pathfinder rover |
| Series title | Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets |
| DOI | 10.1029/1998JE900005 |
| Volume | 104 |
| Issue | E4 |
| Year Published | 1999 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | American Geophysical Union |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets |
| First page | 8729 |
| Last page | 8746 |