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Mineral Abundances in Martian Soils.
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Mineral Abundances in Martian Soils Data from instruments onboard the Mars Exploration Rovers provide researchers with mineralogical details of the average dark soils on the Gusev crater plains and on MeridianiPlanum. The procedure uses Mössbauer (MB) data for iron-bearing minerals, Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) data for iron-absent minerals, and MiniTES thermal infrared spectra for silica and clays.
Mineral Abundances in Martian Soils Soil data from two areas on opposite sides of Mars visited by the MER rovers show that there are more igneous minerals (about 70-85% depending on the model) at each location (Gusev and Meridiani) than alteration minerals (about 15-30%). These percentages may actually bracket the actual mineral abundances.